It's well known that there is a long history of bright Italian inventions, from art and architecture to food and technology. Since the Roman Empire era, the peninsula has been the perfect habitat for creativity, genius and maverick thinkers. Many of you probably remember genius like Donatello or Leonardo Da Vinci or Galileo Galilei, but th...
READ MOREby Warren Boroson New Jersey has had its share of famous singers. Frank Sinatra, Jon Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Sarah Vaughn. Opera singers, too. Frederica von Stade, Barbara Bonney, Richard Crooks, Dorothy Kirstin, Paul Robeson (he did occasionally sing opera). And now...James Valenti, born in...
READ MOREBy Roy Proctor Richmond will launch its 2013-14 opera season with two salutes in honor of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi's 200th birthday. Virginia Beach-based Lyric Opera Virginia will commence its four-event season this month with "Viva Verdi!" a program of Verdi scenes, in the Oates Theater at the Collegiate School. Read more ...
READ MOREBy Donna Doherty They might be teenagers, but they sing the kinds of songs that bring moms and daughters to concerts together, and they do so well enough to capture the attention of Barbra Streisand, who invited the Italian trio to sing with her on her 2012 tour. Il Volo, which appropriately means "the flight," has skyrocketed to...
READ MOREBy Charles T. Downey The narrators of songs can be such complainers. Luca Pisaroni's recital Friday night, presented by Vocal Arts D.C. at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, brought together a program of songs, half in Italian and half in German and all dramatic. The nature of the music can make the words seem more or less sincere, but t...
READ MOREThe Wagnerian Ring Cycle is dark and moody and takes patience and study to understand. Contrast it with the typical Italian operas that are light and bright like the Italian cities and countryside where they take place. The characters in a Rossini opera are all recognizable, albeit a tad exaggerated, and we understand well their parts in the play....
READ MOREA New York, per le celebrazioni del Giorno del Ricordo, che quest'anno è scalato di un mese causa maltempo, dopo la commemorazione e il dibattito all'Istituto Italiano di Cultura, il Consolato ha ospitato la proiezione del documentario di Chiara Barbo e Andrea Magnani, prodotto da Pilgrim Film con il supporto dell'Ambasciata americana a Roma, dal t...
READ MOREOnesti Entertainment will continue its yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra's birthday with a hallmark performance by his son on Nov. 11 at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles. In stories, photos and videos, Frank Sinatra Jr. will deliver first-hand recollections of life on and off stage with his iconic father in "S...
READ MOREby Lesley Abravanel Pomellato jewelry hosted a special fundraiser for Baptist Health South Florida at the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne Residences on Wednesday at which Andrea Bocelli sang for an hour for an intimate group of 75. Bocelli's mother was seen in the audience, patting her heart as she was clearly moved and emotional during his per...
READ MOREBy Mauro Battocchi The San Francisco Opera company has announced an ambitious calendar of ten operas this season, up from eight last year. Included from the Italian opus will be Vincenzo Bellini's Norma (Sep 5 - 30, 2014), Giuseppe Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (Oct 4 - 22, 2014), Gioachino Rossini's La Cenerentola (Nov 9 -26, 2014), Marco...
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