Lorela Cubaj, Italian, drafted!
"Drafted" is a word that a few days ago added a page of history to the book of Italian basketball. Lorela Cubaj, 23 years old, from Terni (Perugia), center of the Italian national team, already bronze at the Under 16 European Championships and silver at the Under 17 World Championships, was the fifth Italian player in history to be chosen at the WN...
The Metropolitan to Premiere New, Modern-Day Production of Donizetti's LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
The Metropolitan Opera will present an audacious new production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, which moves the Bel Canto masterpiece from 18th-century Scotland to a present-day town in the American Rust Belt, with nine performances April 23-May 21, 2022. Australian film, theater, and opera director Simon Stone makes his Met debut with this bol...
Five Talented Brooklynites
When five young Italian American friends from the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn discovered that they each had talented voices, they started singing together as a group on street corners in 1957. After being together for a short time, the singing group decided to call themselves the Overons. They started the group just for the love of singing and...
In the afterglow of his Yankees debut, Ron Marinaccio feels the pride of Toms River
Imagine being a lifelong Yankees fan and fulfilling a dream of pitching in pinstripes – with your big-league debut against the Boston Red Sox. At Yankee Stadium, in front of a packed house. That scene unfolded on Saturday afternoon for Ron Marinaccio, though it might not have been the most nerve-wracking moment of his day. Awarded the “championship...
Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” On Stage at The Metropolitan Opera in New York
In New York, opera lovers can rejoice. The Metropolitan Opera’s Madama Butterfly is in production. It’s the opera in three acts that Giacomo Puccini wrote and dedicated to the Queen of Italy, Elena of Montenegro. Interpreting the role of the tragic geisha will be the soprano Eleonora Buratto. Until May 7th, those interested may attend the six oper...
The Tank to Bring Italian Theatre to New York With Two Winners of the Mario Fratti Award
The Tank has announced it will present The Land of Swollen Faces by Paolo Bignami and Hide and Seek by Tobia Rossi in collaboration with Kairos Italy Theater as part of the 2022 Play It Again In Scena!: A Very Special Coming Back Edition of the Italian Theater Festival. Performances are scheduled for May 5-15 at The Tank's Proscenium Theater. Bigna...
Grand Lodge honors radio personality Melissa Cannavo-Marino
Several years after Italian oriented radio programs ceased broadcasting in the Delaware Valley, a group of Italian-American business owners and other individuals funded the return of Italian American radio programming. On Sunday, Nov. 13, 2013, at 8 a.m., “Radio Italian Style” debuted on Wilmington’s WILM 1450 AM. The sponsors engaged the talents o...
Who was the real Lucrezia Borgia?
Naming her brings to mind a time of conspiracies, cloak-and-dagger events, and lascivious, decadent orgies of sex and wealth. But was Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI and his favorite, Vannozza Cattanei, truly such a dissolute being? According to historians and researchers, including Anita Sanseverino, a photographer with a focus on t...
‘Meals by Cugine’: The Staten Island food influencer blowing up TikTok
He’s the cuisine cugine. Meet Danny Mondello, the Rossville, Staten Island, native behind the wildly popular TikTok account “Meals_by_cug.” Cug is short for cugine, which means “cousin” in Italian, but is also a colloquial term used to describe an Italian-American. “When I made this page, it was a persona. Cug isn’t Danny,” Mondello, 24, told The P...
New York Yankees’ Slugger Joey Gallo Reveals the Heartwarming Reason His Family Breaks Into Tears Watching Him With Anthony Rizzo
Joey Gallo, who has been playing for the New York Yankees for over a year now, is a crucial part of the Yankees’ roster. Many people might know, that Joey Gallo has Italian roots. And the Yankees’ slugger never shies away from embracing his love for Italy. Recently, he opened up about his connections with Italy and a unique reason why his family br...
Theatre Review: Engeman Theater’s ‘A Bronx Tale’ is breathtaking in every way
The John W. Engeman Theater in Northport captivates once again and this time it’s with the gritty, heartfelt, edge of your seat excitement of A Bronx Tale: The Musical. The show opened on March 24. From the moment you enter the theatre, you are immersed in the Italian flavor of the show from the red/white checkered cloths decorating tables, to the...
New York Rangers sign Setauket’s Bobby Trivigno out of UMass-Amherst
Cue the “Coming Home” music! Setauket native and college free agent Bobby Trivigno has signed a contract with the New York Rangers. Trivigno, who recently completed his senior season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, was one of college hockey’s top free agents. The 23-year-old forward was among 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker award, give...