William Maselli Presents World Premiere Opera DRACULETTE

Composer William Maselli presents the world premiere of his opera, Draculette, at Merkin Concert Hall on Saturday, October 4th at 8pm. Featuring an all-star cast of Olga Zhuravel, Micaëla Oeste, Brad Cresswell, John Bellemer and Kevin Glavin led by Conductor Charles Coleman. Also on the program, the world premiere of Mr. Coleman's Carmilla for string orchestra and the world premiere of Mr. Maselli's Visions of Sabbath, Classic Early Themes of Black Sabbath adapted and arranged for string orchestra.

CAST: Olga Zhuravel Draculette, Micaëla Oeste Diva, Brad Cresswell Robert, The Composer, John Bellemer The Tenor, Kevin Glavin Maestro

http://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/draculette-world-premiere

Merkin Concert Hall
129 W. 67th Street
New York, NY
(212) 501-3330
Subway: 1 to 66th St./Lincoln Center; 2 & 3 to 72nd St.
Admission: $35-$150

William Maselli, composer of the opera Draculette, works as a producer, composer, and writer in New York City. Draculette is the third of Maselli's three major works for voice and orchestra, being preceded in time by the John F. Kennedy Requiem (Lyric Symphony In Song), and the opera, Spirit Fire.

The Kennedy Requiem was premiered in Carnegie Hall in chamber orchestra version in November of 2004. The recording of this chamber version was completed in 2011, featuring Olga Zhuravel, Megan Weston, Marc Heller and Aaron Borst.

Selections from Spirit Fire were performed with chamber orchestra in Carnegie Hall in April 2004 by Marc Heller and in February 2005 by Mirjam Tola, Megan Weston, Eric Jordan and Steven Ebel. The Kennedy Requiem and Spirit Fire, a music drama based around the relationship of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, are brothers, being expositions based on spirituality and American History. Draculette takes a decided turn toward other spheres.

However, Maselli is currently preparing a series of operas and oratorios based on early American Indian societies and the collisions with, primarily, French and English cultures and conquest. The series will begin with the stunning and dramatic Norse entry into North America in approximately 1000 A.D. and will end with an oratorio painting the forced removal of the 'civilized' Indian societies in the South, including the compelling characters of John Marshal, Sam 'Blackbird' Houston and Andrew Jackson.

Maselli has written numerous songs, including the cycles Easter Songs, Dreams Of Love, Flowers and Finnish Songs. Easter Songs and Dreams Of Love were premiered in recital in Carnegie Hall by soprano Adina Aaron in April 2004. Flowers premiered in Carnegie in February of 2005 with bass Kevin Burdette. Finnish songs was premiered in May of 2007 in Carnegie in recital by soprano Anna-Kristiina Kaappola. Finnish Songs was recently recorded by Olga Zhuravel and pianist Alina Kiryayeva, along with the songs Oblivion and Aria Of Farewell and collectively released as Fall Songs in 2011. Maselli also has written hundreds of songs in popular styles, many of which can be heard, along with the classical recordings, on www.worldkrystal.com.