Opera Night in September

Opera Night Mission Statement:





Our goal is to foster the production and appreciation of opera and chamber music in the Long Island Community by providing an excellent venue for participating musicians. Opera Night brings together Long Island's finest singers, chamber musicians, and costume designers. Our concert location provides fine acoustics, with a professional accompanist on a Steinway piano.

Opera Night performances have consistently drawn audiences of two hundred or more. We strive to maintain and grow this popularity so that established and emerging performers have a


Two performances took place in September:

Opera Night, September 3rd at St. Paul's
Program:

"Doretta's aria"
La Rondine
Giacomo Puccini
Alexis Pesenti, soprano

"Morgen", op 27 #4
Richard Strauss
Jeanny Schwartz, mezzo soprano

"Nacht" op 10 #3
Richard Strauss
Linda Garrity, soprano

"I'll sail upon the Dog Star"
Henry Purcell
Bruce Solomon, tenor

"Auf Flugeln des Gesanges" op. 34 #2
("On Wings of Song")
Felix Mendelssohn
May Liz O'Neill, soprano

"Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle?"
Romeo et Juliette
Charles Gounod
Melissa Block, mezzo soprano

"Voi lo sapete"
Cavalleria Rusticana
Pietro Mascagni
Marie Michalopoulos, mezzo soprano

"Here is Winter"
"Six Elizabethan Songs"
Dominick Argento
Jennifer Lynde, soprano

intermission

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525
Serenade for Strings
transcribed for Piano Duet
Karen Beluso, pianist
Isabella Eredita Johnson, pianist

"Quando m'en vo"
Musetta's Aria
La Boheme
Giacomo Puccini
Sharon Pesenti, soprano

"Ah! Mes Amis"
Daughter of the Regiment
Gaetano Donizetti
Sal Cappellino, tenor

"The Little Horses" (Lullaby)
from American Songs
Aaron Copland
Linda Garrity, soprano

"Va! Laisse couler mes larmes"
Werther
Jules Massenet
Marie Michalopoulos, mezzo soprano

"Che faro senza Euridice"
Orfeo
Christoph von Gluck
Ariana Warren, mezzo soprano

'Ch'ella mi creda libero e lontano'
La Fanciulla del West
Giacomo Puccini
Bruce Solomon, tenor

"Sull'aria"
Le Nozze di Figaro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Alexis and Sharon Pesenti, sopranos

"Mandoline"
Claude Debussy
Mary Liz O'Neill, soprano

"Volta la terrea"
Un Ballo in Maschera
Giuseppe Verdi
Justine Lorenteson, soprano

"Largo al factotum"
Barbiere di Siviglia
Gioacchino Rossini
Gary Lorenteson, baritone

"Si, vendetta, tremenda vendetta"
Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi
Justine and Gary Lorenteson

Chamber Music, 7:30 pm


Pre-concert program:

W.A. Mozart Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333

F. Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11

Karen Beluso, pianist



Karen Beluso is Glen Cove resident and a graduate of the Juilliard School, where she received a D.M.A. under the tutelage of Herbert Stessin. She has been on the faculties of the Portledge School and the C.W. Post Summer Chamber Music Festival. Dr. Beluso is currently the Director of Education & Community Engagement for the Long Island Philharmonic. She made her Carnegie Hall solo debut with the New York Youth Symphony in 1989 and has performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Brentwood-Westwood (CA) Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Beluso has performed extensively in Costa Rica, Switzerland, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Tennessee, South Carolina, Washington, DC and the tri-state area.



Thank-you Steinway & Sons Gallery, (Rte. 110, Melville) for providing us with a Steinway concert grand!



Memos from Maddalena

There was excitement in the air as Isabella and I watched the piano movers dollying in the Steinway concert grand Friday afternoon. When great piano meets master pianist, magic happens. It did Friday night, when Karen Beluso struck the opening notes of Mozart's B-flat Sonata, K.333. The audience was hushed, listening to her finesse the keys and deliver what was to be a stellar performance. Ms. Beluso accepted our standing ovation, and graced us with an encore by Ginestera. A great pianist will be versatile and in doing so, Ms. Beluso accompanied a varied program of Opera arias and art songs. Opera Night endured several cancellations that evening due to the storm that wasn't , but our devoted patrons that filled the pews were rewarded many times over. As we revelled in the selections of music, and feasted in the communality that only opera audiences share, the night drew to a wonderful conclusion with opera singer and opera lover, agreeing that it was a superb night. When I leave for Italy this week, I will take with me the hearts of those who love opera, and when I stand outside the portals of La Scala in Milano, I will thank the great composers who are remembered over and over again in Northport.

Maddalena Harris, Opera Night's assistant director





Upcoming events:
September 25, 2010: Karen Beluso, pianist performs in concert. Beacon Music Series at St, Patricks Church, Glen Cove, NY, 7:00 pm

October 1st, 2010 Opera Night at St. Paul's: an evening of Puccini, organized by Daniel Ragone 7:30 pm

October 15th "Heritage Night" , 7:30 pm, Sopranos Lauren Haber and Rebecca Posteraro perform at the Kings Park Heritage Museum (RJO School, Kings Park). Free admission

October 23rd: Opera Night performs at Betheny Presbyterian Church, Huntington Station. 8:00 pm.
for more info, e-mail maddalen@optonline.net $15.00 donation

November 5th, 2010: Opera Night at St. Paul's, 7:30 pm.

November 20, 2010: Opera Night performs at the Tanger Mall in Deer Park. A Holiday program and Christmas Tree lighting event.


Bravissimo to our singers who participated in the Walt Whitman Mall concert on Sunday, September 5th, 2010:
Young Ha Kim, tenor
Robert Cinnante, tenor
Jennifer Lynde, soprano
Mary Elizabeth O'Neill, soprano