Award-winning singer and PBS/WNET and NY affiliates Host for Andrea Bocelli "Live From Central Park" and "Il Volo Takes Flight" CRISTINA FONTANELLI brings her program of Italy's best-loved songs, arias, Neapolitan and Christmas classics during her 11th-Annual "Christmas In Italy" show at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts today, December 6 at 3:00.
This year's show falls on the Feast of St. Nicholas and will highlight Santa Claus and children, and is under the auspices of the Casa Italiana NYU (Stefano Albertini, director). Called a "vocal genius" by the New York Sun, Ms. Fontanelli's show is a love letter to her Italian heritage and a tribute to her grandparents. "I began this beloved annual Holiday tradition to preserve Italy's great classic and popular song heritage and to teach them and, more importantly, the values they represent to younger generations." says Ms. Fontanelli. [headline] "Cristina Fontanelli, Preserving Values Through Opera" The Epoch Times, December 2013.
The NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is located at 566 LaGuardia Place, across from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village in New York City. Tickets and information can be purchased through 1-888-611-8183 and online at www.nyuskirball.org "Christmas in Italy" will also take place for the 4th year in San Diego, California on Sunday, December 14 at 3:00 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. More information on Ms. Fontanelli can be found at www.cristinafontanelli.com and on "Christmas in Italy" at www.christmas-in-italy.com and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cristina-Fontanellis-Christmas-in-Italy-TM/1455402571361751
For this special one-day event, Ms. Fontanelli will be accompanied by Maestro David Maiullo on piano, John T. La Barbera and Tamara Volskaya on mandolins/guitar and
Bill Schimmel on accordion evoking the authentic Italian flavor of the music. Students from the St. Brigid School (Michael Bodnyk, Music and Italian Teacher) of E. 7th Street, NYC will sing and dance to the traditional Italian Christmas carol "Tu scendi dalle stelle" ("You came down from the stars"); youth from The
Jersey City Ballet will perform from the Nutcracker and The Seton Hall University Choir of South Orange, NJ (
Jason C. Tramm, Musical Director) will also join Cristina. PBS-TV hosts
Denise Richardson and
Jim Masters will emcee, along with celebrity guests, and tenor soloist t/b/a.
Cristina Fontanelli is PBS/WNET host for
Andrea Bocelli's concert "Live From Central Park", "Il Volo Takes Flight", Vienna Boys Choir and Qi Gong specials. She appeared on CBS Weekend in interview/performance/co-hosting roles; (
Cristina Fontanelli describes the show on this CBS Interview YouTube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xDMoWNe1c4&feature=email) and performing the song "Time to Say Goodbye (Con te partiro)" from a previous "Christmas In Italy"
http://youtu.be/VNqNNqj2JxE . She has performed for the Clinton White House, the President
George W. Bush Inaugural Ball in 2005, with The Boston Pops, the St. Louis Symphony, at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency, has completed 3 world tours with the Mantovani Orchestra and has sung title roles with the Palm Beach Opera, New Jersey, New York Grand and Cairo Opera companies. Ms. Fontanelli has performed for
Jimmy Kimmel's "Feast of San Gennaro" in Hollywood; is the voice of "Nonna" on PBS Chef Lidia Bastianich's animated Christmas special; and is the "voice" of Domino's Pizza on the national radio commercial.
Brooklyn-born
Cristina Fontanelli was awarded the OSIA Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts (previous recipients include
Luciano Pavarotti), has been cited as one of the top alumni of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (along with
Robert Redford,
Anne Bancroft, Cecil B. Demille,
Anne Hathaway et al) and has been named "Woman of the Year" by many Italian organizations throughout the country.
Boys' & Girls' Towns of Italy (
www.BGTI.org) was founded by Monsignor John
Patrick Carroll-Abbing at the end of WWII to help the orphaned children in Rome. Today BGTI empowers war refugee, migrant and at-risk youth living on the streets of Italy. Through BGTI's self-government approach, young people develop vital skills needed to integrate into and contribute to society as active, self-reliant adults.
NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is located at 566 LaGuardia Place across from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10012 and tickets for "Christmas In Italy" are sold at
1-888-611-8183 and online at
www.nyuskirball.org with tickets ranging from $52.50 to $67.50 (Group, senior and students discounts available). Ms. Fontanelli's website is
www.cristinafontanelli.com.
