Harvest of Music & Song

Sunday, September 18, 2016, 2pmLenfell Hall - The Mansion

Fairleigh Dickinson University285 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ 07940

For More Information contact OAF:PO Box 343, Convent Station, NJ 07961

973-443-8620 • www.OperaatFlorham.org

Message From The PresidentJoan Del Giudice

Welcome Opera Lovers to Opera at Florham’s opening musical for the New Season 2016-2017,

Our 35th Anniversary Season at our new time of 2pm.

Thank you!

From Opera To American SongbookIn 2017, Opera At Florham will celebrate its 35th Anniversary

IN APPRECIATIONMary Pinto, Opera at Florham Vice President,

Board of Trustees & Organizer of OAF’s Musicales

Stephen DeMaio, Gerda Lissner Foundation President,OAF Board Member & Narrator of the Musicales

Board of Trustees, Opera at FlorhamOfficers:

President: Joan Del Giudice, Vice President: Mary PintoSecretary: Patricia Wickens, Treasurer: Albert Wickens

Additional Members:Stephen DeMaio, Joseph DuPont, Richard Kopp, Pauline Rush,

Barbara Ann Testa, Dee Robertson, Rhoda WolinPublic Relations - Marketing Coordinator: Amanda Zook

CONTRIBUTIONSAngels

Stephen DeMaio, President, The Gerda Lissner FoundationMary Pinto, Organizer & Piano Accompanist of OAF Musicales

Adrianne Petillo, Constant ContactAlbert & Patricia Wickens

Dee RobertsonWilliam Henderson, Videographer

SupportersGuy Brennert Marie Bosco

Mr. & Mrs. Harold CarlsonJudy MartorelliPauline Rush

Marietta & David AlitzPatrons

Doris Bogart • Dolores Croneberger

The Telephone and The Old Maid & the ThiefNovember 2016

The Barber of SevilleApril 2017

Sweeney ToddJuly 2017

UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS

UPDATE ON OAF’S ARTISTS New York City Opera’s re-birth this past weekend at the Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, Time Warner Building, New York City, featured Pagliacci with Jessica Rose Cambio singing the lead role of Nedda ‘.. a full-bodied Italianate soprano while also navigating the character’s repugnant pride and endearing longing…’ per New York review. Jessica won 2nd prize in OAF’s 2011 Vocal Competition and in same year portrayed Violetta in OAF’s La Traviata. She has now returned to New York City after spending 5 yrs in Italy studying and performing. Alasdair Kent, 2014 1st prize winner of OAF’s Vocal Competition, has won the Joan Sutherland Bel Canto Award. Our winners continue to fulfill their operatic careers.

Opera at FlorhamSunday, September 18, 2016 at 2PM

A Harvest of Music and SongMaria Natale, soprano

Fanyong Du, tenorMatthew Ciufitelli, baritone

As the colors of the leaves change, so do the feelings of the characters in opera and song.

The texts explore thoughts of redemption, transformation and love.

Opera ProgramGaetano Donizetti Bella siccome un angelo from Don Pasquale (1797 – 1848) Matthew CiufitelliMalatesta is trying to convince Don Pasquale that he has found a suitable bride for

him, who will be transformative for him because she is as beautiful as an angel.

Giuseppe Verdi Sempre Libera from La Traviata(1813 – 1901) Maria Natale

Violetta sings “I must always be free, and hurry from pleasure to pleasure and always be happy.”

Vincenzo Bellini A Te O Cara from I Puritani(1801 – 1835) Fanyong Du

“To you, o dear one, love at times leads me, and in tears guides meto your side in exaltation and joy. “

Gaetano Donizetti Ai perigli della guerra from L’elisir d’amore(1797 – 1848) Fanyong Du and Matthew Ciufitelli

Nemorino and Belcore work together to transform Nemorino into a soldier and win Adina’s affection.

Johann Strauss II Czardas from Die Fledermaus(1825 – 1899) Maria Natale

Rosalinde sings of love at a masquerade ball to tryand win back the love of her husband.

Georges Bizet Je crois ententre encore from Les pêcheurs des perles(1838 – 1875) Fanyong Du, Nadir’s aria

Johann Strauss II Die Uhr Duett from Die Fledermaus Maria Natale and Matthew Ciufitelli

The famous Watch duet

Charles Gounod Avant de Quitter de ces lieux from Faust(1818 – 1893) Matthew Ciufitelli

Protect my sister while I go to battle, and if I do go, God will protect Marquerite.

Ah! Je ris de me voir from FaustMaria Natale.

The Jewel song, in which Marguerite looks in the mirrorand dreams of Faust seeing her beauty.

INTERMISSION(Lights refreshments will be served)

American Songs & Musical Theatre ProgramRichard Rodgers Soliloquy from Carousel (1902 – 1979) Matthew Ciufitelli

Paolo Tosti ‘A vucchella (1846 – 1906) Fanyong Du

Franz Lehar Meine Lippen sie Küssen(1870 – 1948) so heiss from Giudetta Maria Natale

Richard Rodgers If I Loved You from Carousel Maria Natale and Matthew Cifitelli

Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific Matthew Ciufitelli

Shall We Dance from The King and I Maria Natale and Fanyong Du

Maria NataleHailed by The New York Times for her “plummy, penetrating voice”, soprano Maria Natale made her professional debut with Sarasota Opera as Liu in Turandot was noted for her “unequivocal Italian sound” (New Outpost). She received a professional studies certificate from the Manhattan School of Music, where she sang the role of Lady Macbeth in Ernest Bloch’s only opera Macbeth and was praised for her “high voltage

vocal thrills” (OPERA NEWS). Ms. Natale is a grant winner from the Licia Albanese- Puccini Foundation, Giulio Gari Vocal Competition finalist and was the second prize winner of the Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition. In 2015 she was a winner of the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades vocal competition at the Manhattan School of Music and a two time grant recipient from the Gerda Lissner Foundation. She received her Master’s degree from the University of Tennessee, and was a studio artist with Knoxville Opera where she sang the roles of Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Pousette in Massenet’s Manon. Other credits include the Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Genovieffa in Suor Angelica and Nancy in Albert Herring with the University of Tennessee Opera Theater. Ms. Natale received her Bachelors in Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Fanyong DuFanyong DU, lyric tenor, is currently in the Professional Studies Program at Mannes College of Music. He lived in Ukraine from 2003 to 2013 and received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Odessa State Academy, where he studied with Elvira Letyagina. In America studied with Mignon Dunn and Arthur Levy. Mr. Du has frequently performed in Italy in masterclasses of the renowned baritone Renato Bruson and

that of Giuseppe Sabbatini. His operatic roles include Lensky in “Eugene Onegin”, and as soloist in Rossini’s “Stabat mater”. Recent operatic engagements were as Rodolfo in La Boheme( June in New York and July in Crested Butte, Colorado2016) as covers for Malcolm in “Macbeth” (Bloch) in the Manhattan School of Music. Opera role was Nemorino in “L’elisir d’amore” (Mannes production, Dec. 2015), which received raved review from Opera News “Du brought a real sense of bel canto style to bear, with fine gradation of dynamics and tone color culminating in a really admirable ‘Una furtiva lagrima’, complete with perfectly executed messa di voce at the close.” Besides opera, he has performed in recitals, concerts and galas in Italy, Czech, Switzerland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia and China

Mary Pintois an acclaimed accompanist and vocal coach who have worked with international opera singers and major American opera companies for the past 25 years. During the past year, Mary has had the pleasure of coaching for Metropolitan Opera star and international soprano, Deborah Voigt. As Ms. Voigt prepared the three Brünnhilde’s for the Met’s new production of the Ring

Cycle during the 2011 and 2012 season, Mary served as lesson and rehearsal pianist and private coach. Ms. Pinto can be seen in the documentary, Wagner’s Dream: The

Making of the Met’s Ring which premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. The film has since been broadcast globally as part of the HD Broadcasts and will be shown this season on American PBS channels as part of the “Great Performances” series. Mary is a student of John Wustman, the renowned accompanist for Luciano Pavarotti. She began her professional career as a rehearsal pianist for Dayton Opera, Omaha Opera and Augusta Opera. While at Omaha Opera, Mary privately coached many singers, including a young Susan Graham. She went on to coach for the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center preparing performances of Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and the world premieres of Bright Sheng’s The Song of Majnun and Bruce Saylor’s Orpheus Descending. More recently, Ms. Pinto worked as a rehearsal pianist and coach at Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, where she prepared singers for Tosca, Otello and André Chénier. From 1995 to 1999, Mary was a staff rehearsal pianist for Dallas Opera, working on Carmen with Denyce Graves as well as preparing performances of Billy Budd, Kát’a Kabanová, and Aida. Following Dallas, Mary worked at Opera San Antonio, where in addition to coaching and rehearsal pianist duties, she served as the audition pianist for Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, an honor she repeated in Chicago several years later. Since returning to her home state of New Jersey, Mary joined the faculty at Montclair State University, where she coaches for the opera departments, as well as giving private lessons. She served as rehearsal pianist and harpsichordist for 2013’s New Jersey State Opera’s production of II Barbiere di Siviglia under Jason Tramm. 2015 saw Mary coaching the winners of Gerda Lissner and Giulio Gari’s Grant awards, serving as Vice President of Opera at Florham’s Board of Trustees plus planning and accompanying their Musical events. Mary maintains a busy private coaching studio in New York City.

Matthew CiuffitelliMatthew Ciuffitelli’s pleasing, plangent baritone, his ability to negotiate fioritura, and his bravura on stage has brought him acclaim from audiences at a very young age. Matthew has spent the past three years in Chicago studying at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts having moved back to his hometown in New Jersey this past June. Since then he has performed in venues all over the New Jersey and New York area

from straight theatre all the way to his New York operatic debut in Apotheosis Opera’s production of La Fanciulla del West followed almost immediately by his New Jersey operatic debut as Dr. Malatesta in Light Opera of New Jersey’s Don Pasquale. Matthew also appeared in their production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood as John Jasper. Other roles performed this season have been Sergeant Belcore in Eastern Opera’s L’Elisir d’Amore as well as the Sacristan in their production of Tosca. He also appeared as Papageno in Nyack College’s Die Zauberflöte. “Ciuffitelli has resonance and power” wrote Brooklyn Discovery in regards to his performance at a Columbus Citizen’s Foundation Event: Opera Night Live! While studying and working in Chicago he had the unique opportunity to perform with the Rolling Stones at Chicago’s United Center and appear in the U.S. premier of Dutch composer Jacob Ter Veldhuis’s Mountain Top.

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