Collegiate Chorale to Host Annual Gala at Carnegie Hall, 11/6

The devil is coming to Carnegie Hall and he has a heavenly voice! Eric Owens will star in the title role of Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele on the occasion of The Collegiate Chorale's 2013 Annual Fall Gala on November 6, 2013 at 6pm at Carnegie Hall, 154 West 57th Street, NYC. The festive Gala evening will honor Directors Emeriti Anna M. and William H. Mann for over ten years of dedicated and inspired Board service.

The evening will start at 6pm with a cocktail reception in Carnegie Hall's Rose Museum, followed by a seated dinner in the Rohatyn Room. The concert performance of Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele will start at 8pm in the Stern Auditorium with the dashing Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Faust, the heavenly Julianna di Giacomo as Margherita, and the great bass-baritone Eric Owens as Mefistofele. A dessert buffet will be served during intermission. Attire is festive and Gala tickets are available from $1,000 to $2,500 while tables range from $10,000 to $25,000. For more information, please email Mariane Lemieux at mlemieux@collegiatechorale.org or call 646-435-9052.

The evening will honor our special friends and extraordinary Directors Emeriti Anna and William Mann, for over 10 years of inspired Board leadership. Their rare combination of charm, intelligence, connoisseurship, generosity and engagement has benefited The Chorale in ways great and small. As Board Vice Chairs since 2008 they have mindfully led by example and been a vital force in our organizational growth. We celebrate them for their warmth and wisdom, for their great contributions to The Chorale's institutional strength, and for sharing with us their profound knowledge and love for the choral repertoire, opera and every other sort of beautiful music. Anna and William Mann will be present at the benefit evening to accept the honor.

Rima Ayas and Ronald Moore, Susan Baker and Michael Lynch, Philip Geier and Julie Weindling, Antonia and George Grumbach, and James and Kathryn Murdoch will co-chair the event.

ArrigoBoito based his only completed opera on the legend of Faust, but titled after the character that truly drives the action: Mefistofele, the devil himself. And what a devil we have in great bass-baritone Eric Owens who will make his debut in the role. The dashing Arturo Chacón-Cruz and the heavenly Julianna di Giacomo will star as Faust and Margherita. InMefistofele, good triumphs over evil in just over two hours of ravishing music. The Combined forces of The Collegiate Chorale and Manhattan Girls Chorus depicting sorcerers, witches, ancient Greek nymphs, and cherubim, the thrilling musical fireworks of the soloists, and the impressive American Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro James Bagwell will provide a spectacular evening of heavenly music and devilish good fun.

The mission of The Collegiate Chorale is to enrich its audiences through innovative programming and exceptional performances of a broad range of vocal music featuring a premier choral ensemble. Founded in 1941 by the legendary conductor Robert Shaw, The Chorale has established a preeminent reputation for its interpretations of the traditional choral repertoire, vocal works by American composers, and rarely heard operas-in-concert, as well as for commissions and premieres of new works by today's most exciting creative artists.

For more information about this concert and The Collegiate Chorale, visitwww.collegiatechorale.org. For information on the Fall Gala, please visit collegiatechorale.org/support/special-events .