The Riverside Opera Company Presents a Celebration of Hispanic Heritage With Concierto Espanol

With a nod to Latin composers and music, the Riverside Opera Company celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month featuring Soprano Maria Brea, her father Fernando Brea on guitar, Mezzo Soprano Anna Tonna and Tenor Sebastian Armendariz.  All are accompanied on piano by Riverside Opera Company’s Olga Gurevich.  The performance takes place Friday, September 22, at 8  p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel -St Benedicta Church, 1265 Castleton Ave, Staten Island with free parking across the street in the school parking lot.  Admission is a suggested donation of $10 at the door FREE for students and children.  This program is made possible in part with public funding from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the NYS Council on the Arts and Northfield Bank.

Featuring Zarzuela and Latin American song selections for the program include “Estirpe llanera” by Orlando Cardozo. “El Choclo” by Ángel Villodo, “Latin Dance No. 2, Merengue”  by Patrick Hiketick, “Three Tangos” by Astor Piazzolla and more.    

Maria Brea 

Maria Brea, soprano, is a native of Caracas, Venezuela, currently residing in New York City, New York. Ms. Brea's 2023-2024 season saw her reprising one of her most performed roles, Micaëla in Bizet's “Carmen” at the Hogfish Festival in Maine. In June 2023, Ms. Brea appeared in the  Metropolitan Opera in their American Ballet production of “Like Water for Chocolate”. 

Additionally, Ms. Brea returned last  December to Carnegie Hall to make her debut singing Handel's Messiah with the prestigious Oratorio Society of New York. She headlined at the Schubert Club's 140th season along with a rare performance by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma and mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie von Otter.  

Fernando Brea

Guitarist Fernando Brea, a native of Maracay, Venezuela is currently residing in New York City and is a music teacher and Cuatro player.  Praised for being a "Latin American music specialist " Brea has played with Son Marabino, Reggae Pack, Salsa orchestra Fósforo, Franklin Steel Band, and Grupo Experimental Gwen. 

Anna Tonna   

Mezzo soprano  Anna Tonna  has bowed as Rosina, Carmen, and Dorabella, as well as in rarer repertoire by Paisiello, Vivaldi, Mascagni, Zandonai and Giordano. She has appeared with the Casals Festival and Festival Iberoamerican de las Artes in Puerto Rico; El Festival de Segovia, Fundación Juan March, Auditorio Nacional de España and the Museo del Romanticismo in Spain; Teatro Grattacielo, Joy in Singing, Elysium Between Two Continents, Música de Cámara, Americas Society and Hispanic Society in New York City; and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan among others.  

 Sebastian Armendariz 

 Born in El Paso, TX, Sebastian Armendariz is a Mexican-American tenor, actor, content creator, and cancer survivor currently based in New York City. The youngest of five children, a proud uncle, and a lover of sonnets, soccer, and Salsa dancing, he has performed with Indianapolis Opera as a Resident Artist, the Chautauqua Institution, and Sarasota Opera as an Apprentice Artist. Armendariz holds an MM in Voice Performance from DePaul University in Chicago and a BA in Music from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. 

Pianist Olga Gurevich's career spans the disciplines of concert artist, chamber musician, accompanist, and pedagogue.  She earned her Master's degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy at the Gnesin Academy of Music and then finished her post-graduate studies at Maimonides State Academy in Moscow, Russia. Olga is a winner of several international piano competitions