Opera Night update

What is Opera Night all about? When is the next concert? How can I participate?
e-mail your questions to Isabella at: vivaldi222@aol.com
Your questions will be answered promptly!



Opera Night began in 2004 as an informal "open mic" gathering of opera lovers at a café in Northport, New York, where singers were invited to bring sheet music for arias and duets and show off their talents for the community. Because the audience grew so quickly, in 2006 the performances were moved to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, and the number and professionalism of singers increased dramatically. Singers range from teenagers still in school to senior citizens, and from seasoned pros to talented amateurs, all sharing a love of performing opera arias for enthusiastic local audiences.
Since the beginning, performances have been given in Northport on the first Friday of the month; a second monthly Opera Night performance is now given in Oyster Bay on the third Sunday of the month. Over the years, Opera Night has met requests to perform in other Long Island towns, including Greenlawn, Huntington, Manhasset, Lindenhurst, Commack, Roslyn, Douglaston, and the Walt Whitman and Tanger shopping malls. Isabella Eredita-Johnson, the Music Director, is in charge of each performance, assembling the singers and accompanists, and occasionally performing herself as pianist, with or without other musicians. Singers may choose their own pieces, with the Music Director's approval, with Opera Night providing the accompanist for the singers.
Opera Night Mission Statement: The goal of Opera Night 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 in a location with fine acoustics, accompanied by a professional on a Steinway piano. Opera Night performances have consistently drawn audiences of 200 or more, and the Board has endeavored to continue to afford to established and emerging performers a large and appreciative audience. Talented singers and musicians are regularly invited to participate and new artists are welcomed along with returning ones. The long term goal of Opera Night is to establish an opera house and concert hall on Long Island, so that local artists have a home and the community outside New York City has a closer venue in which to experience consistent artistic excellence. The goal of Opera Nights is to keep concerts local and affordable, so that everyone has access to live opera on Long Island.
Until now, almost every Opera Night performance began with a chamber music performance, such as the 25 minute work by Bela Bartok entitled "Contrasts," for violin, clarinet and piano, which was performed by musicians from the Northport Symphony Orchestra at the October concert. However, beginning in January 2012, the chamber music portion of the concerts will become an occasional addition to Opera Night, rather than a regular feature, to accommodate the audiences' preference for singers performing popular arias over the 20th century music preferred by the chamber musicians. November's Opera Night will be introduced by a Huntington Town Councilwoman who is a supporter of the arts in the local community, and December's program will feature holiday music along with the regular program of arias and duets, with singers dressing in festive attire for the occasion. May is usually the month we have an Opera Night in Costume extravaganza, a perennial audience favorite, where most of the singers perform in a costume appropriate to their musical selection. For a complete look at past performances, see the attached email newsletters sent regularly to Opera Night's patrons.


All of Opera Night's activities are devoted to music, with a particular emphasis on operatic music, and funding comes from donations, including suggested donation for tickets to each concert. Opera Night intends to seek grants from local organizations which support the arts, such as the Huntington Art Council, and to engage in fundraising activities such as a gala.
Opera Night L.I., Inc. will continue to do business as "Opera Night," because that is the name that has become known in the community over the past 7 years and it is "Opera Night" which has developed such a large and devoted following of opera fans.







Opera Night performed in Oyster Bay on October 23rd, 2011:
A collage of autumn colors surrounded our performance venue in Oyster Bay on Sunday. The subtle variations of natures colors escorted each singer in , as the entered with music in hand and in heart. And that is what they gave our audience....their hearts! The arias that were brought to us were woven throughout the evening as a fine tapestry might be too be artfully assembled. Yes, our singers are the artisans of the music world, their voice is their craft, and in turn we receive their gifts with exuberance. As Fall brings us a full cornucopia of musical delights, so too with the month of December. Be a part of our Christmas program on December 16th in Oyster Bay and welcome in the season with gaiety and your love of Opera. We will do the rest!
- Maddalena Harris


October 23rd, Sunday 4:00 pm in Oyster Bay


"Psyché"
Emile Paladilhe
Jeanny Schwartz, mezzo soprano

"Ah, mes amis"
La fille du régiment (Daughter of the Regiment)
Gaetano Donizetti
Robert Murphy, tenor

"Salve Regina"
Giacomo Puccini
Linda Garrity, soprano

"Ritorna vincitor!"
Aida
Giuseppe Verdi
Maria Ciccaglione, soprano

"Smanie implacabili"
Cosi fan tutte
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lorraine Helvick, mezzo soprano

"O quante volte"
I Capuleti e I Montecchi
Vincenzo Bellini
Kimberly Iannuzzi, soprano

"Ah! per sempre"
I Puritani
Vincenzo Bellini
Stephen Barchi, baritone

"Un bel di"
Madama Butterfly
Giacomo Puccini
Barbara Divis, soprano

"Stride la vampa"
Il Trovatore
Giuseppe Verdi
Frances Fascetti, mezzo soprano

intermission

"Must the winter come so soon"
Vanessa
Samuel Barber
Frances Fascetti, mezzo soprano

"Wiegenlied"
Op.49 No.4
Johannes Brahms
Kimberly Iannuzzi, soprano

"O du mein holder Abendstern"
Tannhäuser
Richard Wagner
Stephen Barchi, baritone

"Io son l'umile ancella"
Adriana Lecouvreur
Francesco Cilea
Barbara Divis, soprano

"Printemps qui commence"
Samson et Dalila
Camille Saint Saens
Jeanny Schwartz, mezzo soprano

"Donde lieta"
La Boheme
Giacomo Puccini
Linda Garrity, soprano


"Deh' tu bell'anima"
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Vincenzo Bellini
Lorraine Helvick, mezzo soprano

"Una furtiva lagrima"
L'elisir d'amore
Gaetano Donizetti
Robert Murphy, tenor

" Voi lo sapete, o mamma"
Cavalleria Rusticana
Pietro Mascagni
Maria Ciccaglione, soprano

Richard Cordova, piano


Other News:
Town of Huntington's 10th Anniversary of Women's Networking Day
Rhonda Shephardson (Director of Women's Services) organized a very successful event on October 26th, networking, and displaying information. Opera Night is a musical series and involves many talented Opera singers as well as Opera lovers, attracting hundreds of Opera fans. One day, we hope to have an Opera house. An Opera house involves more networking, and companies/donors who are willing to sponsor. Perhaps that day may come.

In the mean time, we HOPE to see you at our next event on November 4th. If we're lucky, Councilwoman, Susan Berland will be in attendance, and say a few words of support. Feel free to stop by, and come up to us during the refreshment hour.