Man of La Mancha cast members, from left: Lucy Schaufer (BMus87) as Aldonza,
Alexander York as Don Quixote, and Keith Jameson as Sancho.

Alexander York, a master’s voice student of W. Stephen Smith, will replace baritone Robert Orth to perform the role of Don Quixote (Cervantes) in Central City Opera’s sold-out performance of Man of La Mancha on Tuesday, July 28, 2015.

York was named an apprentice artist for the 2015 Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program – Central City Opera’s selective, ten-week professional development program for young singers. Michael Ehrman, the Bienen School of Music’s director of opera and artist-in-residence, is director of the Artists Training Program.

Full of heart and adventure, the Tony award-winning musical Man of La Mancha is a play within a play. As Don Miguel de Cervantes awaits his trial by the Spanish Inquisition, he acts out a story for his fellow prisoners. He becomes Don Quixote, a fanciful knight on a quest to rid the world of his mortal enemy. This uplifting ode to remaining true to your ideals in the face of all odds features the popular song “The Impossible Dream.”

York will portray Pedro in the other performances of Man of La Mancha. Among his recent credits, York appeared as Joseph DeRocher in the Bienen School of Music’s production of Dead Man Walking.

Bienen students Emily Barnash, a master’s voice student of W. Stephen Smith, and Gabriel Wernick, a voice student of Theresa Brancaccio, were selected as studio artists for the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program and both students also appear in Man of La Mancha.

Man of La Mancha runs through August 9 at the Central City Opera House.

UPDATE: Following the July 28 show, a review by Peter Alexander in the blog Sharps & Flatirons said York “took the stage with great assurance and gave a strong performance.”

“The understudy who saves the performance and jumpstarts a career is one of the oldest clichés of theater, but sometimes impossible dreams come true. York was a commanding presence and sang with a lovely lyrical baritone. I expect to hear him back at Central City in future as a full-fledged artist.”