Riverside Opera's GIVING THANKS FOR SONG to Feature Opera & Pop, Iconic Arias & '60s Tunes

The Riverside Opera Company (ROC), under the direction of Maestro Alan Aurelia, presents: Giving Thanks for Song a performance that includes returning audition winner Tenor Seunghwan Oh performing Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot and other performances by audition winners from operatic favorites including Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, Bizet's Carmen all accompanied by a full professional orchestra.

With a nod to popular music of the 1960s the band Not From Concentrate accompanied by the orchestra performs iconic tunes including I'm a Believer, Strawberry Fields Forever, San Francisco and more.

The concert will take place on Saturday, November 18 at 8 p.m. at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York 10301. For tickets, click here. Prices: $15 per Adult in advance; $20 at door; Students & Children are FREE! Call 718-876-7945 for more information.

Opera musical compositions include:

Se Vuol Ballare and Voi Che sapete from Marriage of Figaro by Mozart.

O mio babbino Caro from Gianni Schichi by Puccini

Habanera from Carmen by Bizet

Quando men vo from la Boheme by Puccini

Nessun dorma from Turandot by Puccini

1960s songs being performed by Not From Concentrate include:

Sgt. Pepper/WALHFMF

I'm A Believer

Strawberry Fields Forever

Whiter Shade Of Pale

San Francisco

Daydream

Please, Mr. Postman

Ain't No Mountain

All You Need Is Love

Check out the aria nessun dorma being performed with the Riverside Opera Company below!

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:

Not From Concentrate- (NFC) was formed in 2008 at The College of Staten Island by bassist Alan-Arthur Aurelia and Drummer Joseph Giunto. They recruited guitarist Jenna Calderon & vocalist Margaret Hampton and set out to be a ska band. The group honed their skills playing hundreds of shows releasing their 2012 EP "This One's On Us!". The band completing an acoustic tour to Nashville, TN in 2014 and releasing the single "Product Of My Century/Little Voices." NFC band today has a new sound with Aurelia and Calderon working on an album slated for release in 2018. NFC continues to perform live at venues and festivals along the East Coast & Midwest and regularly collaborates with The Richmond County Orchestra & Riverside Opera Company.

Caroline Brazelton (soprano) is a Floridian native that has been in the New York City for just over a year. A graduate in both Vocal Performance and Music Education from Stetson University, Ms. Brazelton has strived for the classification of a crossover artist. She has had a broad amount of experience in both musical theater and classical opera, and continues to actively study both. Some of her favorite roles include Cunegonde in Candide,Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, and Claire in Ordinary Days.

Alexander Hahn (Bass) recent performances include his debut with the Beethoven Easter Festival of Warsaw as Pietro in Simon Boccanegra, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with Bronx Opera, Monterone with in Rigoletto with Opera Theater of Connecticut, Le Bailli in Werther with Opera Company of Brooklyn, and the bass-baritone soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with EOS Orchestra of Beijing. Mr. Hahn is a graduate of the Yale School of Music, where he earned both a Master's degree in Music and an Artist Diploma as well as being awarded the David L. Kasdon Memorial Prize, for the most outstanding singer in the School of Music. Mr. Hahn earned his Bachelor's degree in Music from Mannes College of Music.

Viktoriya (Vita) Koreneva (mezzo-soprano) is a native of Moscow, Russia. Her musical training includes piano and vocal studies at the Central Music School of Moscow under the auspices of the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory. Currently, Vita is pursuing her Music Composition degree at Berklee School of Music.

Ms. Koreneva is a finalist of New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera International Vocal Competition, prize winner at the International 2016 Lyra New York Competition, and a First prize recipient in the 2015 William Haralson Vocal Competition in New York. Vita is also a 2016 recipient of UNESCO Honorary Award for premiering the Greek opera and a 2014 distinguished recipient of recognition award for strengthening Russian-American cultural relations.

Stephanie Leotsakos (soprano) was most recently applauded by Parterre Music Box Reviews for her "standout" performance as Frasquita in George Bizet's Carmen with Amore Opera in NYC. Stephanie has had recent success in performances with Amore Opera, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, the Princeton Opera Theatre, and now the Riverside Opera Company. A 2016 graduate of Princeton University, Stephanie is a multi-talented young artist. Aside from being a singer, Ms. Leotsakos is a budding composer and conductor who has composed and produced various new works, most notably her first original opera, titled 'OMG', in Princeton, NJ and off-Broadway in NYC in 2016. She has also served as Assistant Student Conductor to the Princeton University Glee Club and Chamber Choir and currently serves as Assistant Conductor of the Sussex County Youth Orchestra in NJ.

Seunghwan Oh (Tenor) holds a Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes School of Music where he studied with Ruth Falcon, Dan Marek, and Bachelor's Degree in Voice from the Korea National University of Arts. In addition, he received a Master of Christian Counseling from Washington University of Virginia. He performed with several orchestras including Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Festival Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Oh performed in Korea, Japan, China, Austria, Italy and U.S.A including the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York.

Perri Sussman (mezzo-soprano) has been on the rosters of prestigious companies including New York City Opera Renaissance, dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, Bronx Opera Company, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Opera Breve, Opera Pomme Rouge, Regina Opera Company, Opera Company of Brooklyn, Amore Opera, and OperaOggiNY. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in the 2011 Master Singer Finalist Concert for the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition. She was named the 2012 Grand Prize Winner in the voice category of the Ensemble 212 Young Artist Competition and was a finalist in the 2012 New York Lyric Opera Theatre Vocal Competition.

The Riverside Opera Company is based on Staten Island in New York City. It performs fully and semi-staged productions with full orchestra conducted by Maestro Alan Aurelia, who has conducted in Italy as well as in the U.S. Its singers are winners of open public auditions, held in New York City.