The Riverside Opera Company to Present a Celebration of Hispanic Heritage With Concierto Español

The Riverside Opera Company will celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month featuring Carla López-Speziale, mezzo-soprano; Alejandro de los Santos, baritone and Nilko Andreas, guitar, with all accompanied on piano by Riverside Opera Company's Olga Gurevich in Concierto Español. Narrations and performance in Spanish and English. 

The performance takes place Friday, September 20, 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.

For information: https://www.facebook.com/share/xYhB7pSF7bMcBDQT/?mibextid=9VsGKo or call 718-876-7945.

About the performers: 

Alejandro De Los Santos is a Colombian Bass-Baritone specializing in Italian Opera and Spanish Zarzuela. He has performed internationally, including in Italy, France, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, as well as in various U.S. cities such as San Antonio, Great Barrington, and New York City, where he currently resides. Alejandro's recent achievements include his Carnegie Hall solo debut with the United Nations Chamber Ensemble, performing the role of Figaro at the Estates Theatre in Prague, and being part of the Grammy Award-nominated Trinity Wall Street Choir. Originally from Dover, NJ, Alejandro is deeply grateful for the support from his hometown community, which has been instrumental in his journey.  

Nilko Andreas had his Carnegie Hall solo debut (2009). This multi-faceted touring artist has entertained audiences on three continents as an internationally awarded classical guitarist, composer, actor, music director and singer. Born in Colombia, he carries the musical legacy of his motherland, layered with his experiences as a leading classical musician worldwide and 22 years of living, performing as a soloist and chamber musician, producing and conducting in New York City. He is the founder of the “Amazonas,” a series presented at Carnegie Hall since 2010, and he has a heavy interest in raising awareness of environmental damage worldwide. He recently performed the role of “Don Quixote” in the acclaimed Musical “The Man of La Mancha” by Musical Theater Heritage; his passion for the work of Federico Garcia Lorca made him collaborate and produce many Lorca plays, Including “La Zapatera Prodigiosa” (Spanish repertory theater NYC) his collaboration with grupo Artificio Theater lead to rave reviews and awards. An accomplished educator, Nilko Andreas has given master classes and conferences on classical guitar and Latin American and Colombian Music in universities and conservatories worldwide.He is the Founder of the Latin American Chamber Music Society and the Founder of Azlo.

Carla López-Speziale has enjoyed a distinguished career in opera, zarzuela, and as a concert artist. She has appeared with the Bellas Artes Opera, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and the Domingo-Embil Zarzuela Company in her native Mexico, at Weill Recital Hall and the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, the New York City Opera National Company, Caramoor Opera in New York, Utah Festival Opera, and Hong Kong Musica Viva and Hangzhou Opera (China).

Ms. López-Speziale has been awarded top prize in the Vincenzo Bellini Competition in Italy, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the New York District, and the ‘Carlo Morelli' Competition in Mexico City.  Ms. López-Speziale holds a Bachelor of Music from the National Conservatory in Mexico. As a Fulbright fellow,  she received both Master of Music and Doctorate in Musical Arts Degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.

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. 

ABOUT RIVERSIDE OPERA COMPANY 

Founded in 1996, the Riverside Opera Company (ROC) is the longest-running and only opera company on Staten Island. ROC performs full and semi-staged productions with a full orchestra conducted by Maestro Alan Aurelia, who has conducted it in Italy and the U.S.  Its singers are winners of open public auditions held in New York City. ROC also provides yearly workshops for professional and emerging professional singers and free operas in the schools as educational outreach.