Camerata New York Presents the Triumph Of Music Opera Gala

Camerata New York to Present the "Triumph of Music" Opera Gala Orchestra to Perform Exquisite Operatic Masterpieces with Renowned International Soloists for Concert at St. Jean Baptiste Church, June 7, 2018 New York, NY - Camerata New York, now in its 17th year, will present the "Triumph of Music," a program featuring operatic favorites from Bizet, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner and others. The opera gala, which is part of Camerata New York's 2017-2018 concert series, is scheduled for Thursday, June 7, 2018, at 7:30 pm, at New York's St. Jean Baptiste Church on 76th Street at Lexington Avenue.

The orchestra will accompany top international soloists: Megan Nielson, soprano, Anna Viemeister, mezzo-soprano, Fanyong Du, lyric tenor, Ricardo Rivera, baritone, Riad Ymeri, Tenor and baritone Andrew Cummings in selections and arias from Mascagni's Cavelleria Rusticana, Verdi's Ballo in Maschera, Puccini's La Bohème and Madama Butterfly, Wagner's Flying Dutchman, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Gounod's Faust, and Bizet's Pearl Fishers. "

This concert will offer some of the most moving and memorable music in the opera canon," said Richard Owen, Camerata New York's music director and principal composer. "What's more, these favorites will be performed by some of the most expressive and engaging young voices in opera today, accompanied by the gifted musicians of Camerata New York."

The regular admission price is $25, $20 for students and seniors. Tickets can be reserved at Eventbrite.com or by calling 212-288-5082. Tickets will also be sold at the door on the evening of the concert. For more information, visit cameratany.org.

Camerata New York, which promotes the finest young musicians, is the resident orchestra of St. Jean Baptiste Church. Under the baton of music director Richard Owen, Camerata has performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Paul's Chapel, Merkin Hall and St. Patrick's Cathedral, among others. Critics have hailed Camerata's "lustrous tone-quality" and "near-definitive" performances and they have been in The New York Times, Newsday, Huffington Post, Opera News and Forbes. With a release on Albany Records, Camerata New York's acclaimed recordings have been aired on three continents and on New York's WQXR radio, WMNR and SiriusXM.

This season, in addition to its annual opera gala, Camerata presented a Dance Festival in St. Jean's Theater in January and Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the St. Jean Baptiste Festival Chorus. For more information, visit cameratany.org.

Maestro Richard Owen combines a career as a conductor, pianist and organist. Owen is the music director of Camerata New York Orchestra, St. Jean Baptiste Church and principal conductor of Adelphi Orchestra. He was formerly on the staff of the NY Philharmonic (cover conductor) as well as the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. This season, Mr. Owen conducts Nutcracker with the Donetsk Ballet and Mahler's Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen with Adelphi Orchestra. In past seasons, Owen conducted the Little Opera Theater of New York, Rioult Dance, Center for Contemporary Opera and Carmina Burana with the Montreal Symphony, alongside Kent Nagano. Owen has conducted orchestras in Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Rzeszow, Jacksonville, Monterrey, Belgrade, Weimar, as well as the Europa Symphony and Silesian Philharmonic. For more information, visit, RichardOwenJr.com.

Megan Nielson, soprano, has performed roles including Nedda in Pagliacci (Opera Ithaca & Amore Opera), 3rd Norn in Götterdämmerung (Miami Wagner Institute), Tatiana in Eugene Onegin (Utopia Opera), Tosca (Regina Opera & Chelsea Opera), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (ODSL - Mexico & Opera Ithaca), Judith in Bluebeard's Castle (Opera Ithaca), Mimì in La Bohème (CoOperative), Chrysothemis in Elektra (Manhattan Opera Studio), Suor Angelica (Chelsea Opera & Manhattan Opera Studio), Nedda in Pagliacci (Amore Opera). She has also taken part in numerous competitions: district winner Met Opera National Council Auditions, Meistersinger Competition, Orpheus Competition, UT Concerto Competition, Career Bridges, 3rd place Shreveport Opera, Finalist Jensen Foundation. Upcoming: Elsa in Lohengrin (Miami Wagner Institute).

Anna Viemeister, mezzo soprano, is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. She has been praised for delivering her warmth, engaging presence, musicianship and intensity of sound to countless audiences on the stages of New York City, the Pacific North West, Bulgaria and Germany and is "destined perhaps for heftier assignments..." (NYT). Anna currently sings for St. Jean Baptiste as part of the professional quartet on Sundays and enjoys sharing her gifts immensely in that respect. Recently Ms. Viemeister has returned triumphant from an Outreach concert for rural communities in the Pacific Northwest and is about to embark on an Italian Music Festival in Tuscany, where she will be performing and teaching on voice faculty (Lunigiana International Music Festival). Recent NYC Credits include Beethoven's 9th (Camerata NY) mezzo soloist, Don Carlo (Eboli) VPOpera, Suor Angelica (Principessa) NY Lyric, Die Walkürie (Fricka) NY Lyric Opera, Pagliacci (Nedda VPNYC), Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira/Anna), Dido and Aeneas (Dido/Sorceress) NY Lyric Opera/Da Ponte Soloists, Tales of Hoffmann (Giulietta) VPNYC, Le Nozze di Figaro (Marcellina) LI Opera/NY Lyric Opera, Barber of Seville (Berta) VPOpera, Rigoletto (Giovanna) Amore Opera, Mozart Requiem (Mezzo) VPOpera, and Rossini Stabat Mater (Mezzo soloist VPNYC.).

Fanyong Du, lyric tenor, has frequently performed in Italy with the renowned baritone Renato Bruson and also Giuseppe Sabbatini. His roles include Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Rodolfo in La Bohème, and he is a frequent soloist in Rossini's Stabat mater. His portrayal of Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore received rave reviews 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 America, Italy, Czech, Switzerland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia and China.

In the spring of 2015, baritone Ricardo Rivera - who was a semifinalist in the Met Opera National Council Auditions - made major debuts at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and San Diego Opera in the world premiere of El pasado nunca se termina in the leading role of Acalán. Role and company highlights of the past two seasons include Hérode in Hérodiade with Washington Concert Opera, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and Lt. Audebert in Silent Night with the Opera San José, Escamillo in Carmen with Heartbeat Opera and Musica Viva Hong Kong, Schaunard in La bohème with Musica Viva Hong Kong, and El payador in María de Buenos Aires with Des Moines Metro Opera. In addition to the companies listed above, Ricardo has sung roles with Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Orchestra of NY, Knoxville Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Opera Company of Middlebury. His upcoming engagements include Lt. Gordon in the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night with Arizona Opera and Acalán in El pasado nunca se termina with Fort Worth Opera. In 2013 & 2014, Ricardo was an Apprentice Singer at the Santa Fe Opera. He is a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant and is a graduate (B.M., M.M., & PDPL) of Mannes College the New School for Music.

Riad Ymeri, Tenor, was born in Kosovo. Riad debuted at the Albanian State Opera as Tamino in The Magic Flute and sang, Nemorino (L'elisir d'Amore); Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni); Walther (Tannhäuser) among other leading roles. He is a major prize winner in Europe and in NYC. Mr. Ymeri was nominated by the Kult Awards in Albania, as Lyric Interpreter of the year. He sang in various concerts in NYC (Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, UN) sang Tamino at Lincoln Center; Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Amore Opera; and covered Don Carlo in Wichita Grand Opera in KS. Riad made his debut with Camerata New York Orchestra in Carmina Burana (Swan) as well as singing in the 2017 Opera Gala at St. Jean's.

Andrew Cummings is consistently praised for his rich, flexible baritone and heart-wrenching expressiveness, as well as his stage presence and dramatic intensity. Recent appearances include the title role in Verdi's Macbeth in Houston, TX, Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, as well as the title role in Verdi's Rigoletto in Central Florida, Kurwenal in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in Bogotá, Colombia, and Count in Strauss' Capriccio in Pittsburgh, PA. Frequenting the concert stage, Mr. Cummings has appeared as baritone soloist for Britten's War Requiem, Brahms' Deutsches Requiem with the Flint Symphony, Mahler's Songs of the Wayfarer, and more, with ensembles all over the country. Andrew lives with his son in Riverdale, and studies with Arthur Levy.