Utah Opera announced its 2014-15 season Friday. The season begins in October with the ultimate operatic tear jerker, Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. It also includes two company premieres, Georges Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles) and Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Rounding out the season is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comic masterpiece Così fan tutte.

Yunah Lee (Photo © Yunah Lee)

Madama Butterfly stars Korean-American soprano Yunah Lee as Cio-Cio San in her Utah Opera debut. Singing the role of Suzuki is mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen, who sang the role of Cherubino in Utah Opera’s production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro a few years ago. The opera will be directed by Garnett Bruce and conducted by Utah Opera veteran Robert Tweten.

Bizet is best remembered today for Carmen, but he was a prolific composer for the stage writing more than a dozen operas in his short life. One of his forgotten gems is The Pearl Fishers, which has finally found its way to the Capitol Theatre. A story about two brothers who are rivals for the same woman, the opera contains one of the most gorgeous duets for male voices, “Au fond du temple saint.” Singing the friends are tenor Phillippe Talbot as Nadir and bass-baritone Derrick Parker as Nourabad. Soprano Andrea Carroll takes on the role of Leila, the object of the men’s affections. Kristine McIntyre, last seen at Utah Opera directing Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men in 2012, directs and the Venezuelan-born Carlos Izcaray will conduct.

One of his final operas, Mozart’s Così fan tutte, returns to the Capitol Theatre in March 2015 with soprano Karin Wolverton as Fiordiligi and current Utah Opera resident artist Abigail Levis as Despina. The opera will be directed by Crystal Manich, last seen here directing Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera L’elisir d’amore.

Thierry Fischer (Photo: Scott Jarvie)

The season ends with the Utah Opera conducting debut of Utah Symphony music director Thierry Fischer in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Written in 1951 to a libretto by W.H. Auden, it was one of the composer’s final neoclassical works before turning to and experimenting with 12-tone technique.

In the cast are tenor Norman Reinhardt as Tom Rakewell, soprano Joélle Harvey as Anne Trulove, a role which was created by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and bass-baritone Mark Schnaible as Nick Shadow. Utah Opera will use the design created by David Hockney for the 1975 Glyndebourne production of the opera.

Subscription renewals and purchases are available at www.utahopera.org starting Feb. 4. Current subscribers have until March 27 to renew their subscriptions or request seat changes for the 2014-15 season before seats will be released to new subscribers. Subscriptions and renewals can also be made by calling 801-533-6683 or in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office.

Below is a schedule of performances. All performances take place in the Capitol Theatre.

• Madama Butterfly: Oct. 11, 13, 15, 17, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 19, 2 p.m. (Sung in Italian with English supertitles.)
• The Pearl Fishers: Jan. 17, 19, 21, 23, 2015, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 25, 2015, 2 p.m. (Sung in French with English supertitles.)
• Così fan tutte: March 14, 16, 18, 20, 2015, 7:30 p.m.; March 22, 2015, 2 p.m. (Sung in Italian with English supertitles.)
• The Rake’s Progress: May 9, 11, 13, 15, 2015, 7:30 p.m.; May 18, 2015, 2 p.m. (Sung in English with English supertitles.)