Artpark to Present PUCCINI'S GREATEST: A GALA OPERA CONCERT

Art Park will present Puccini's Greatest: A Gala Opera Concert on Sunday, July 14 at 2pm at the Artpark Mainstage Theater, 450 South 4th Street, Lewiston, NY.

Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased online at https://www.artpark.net/event/100079/puccinis-greatest-a-gala-opera-concert, by phone at 716.754.4375, or in person at 450 South 4th Street, Lewiston, NY.

Crafted by Michael Capasso, General Director of the New York City Opera, this performance is a tribute to the timeless works of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, showcasing renditions of his most beloved arias. Immerse yourself in the captivating melodies of classics from La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Turandot, and more, skillfully interpreted by the unmatched talents of three-time Grammy Award-winning soprano Latonia Moore, baritone Michael Chioldi, tenor Gregory Turay, soprano Kristin Sampson, soprano Tatev Baroyan, and tenor Dominick Chenes. Guided by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gil Rose, this mesmerizing journey through Puccini's repertoire will be complemented by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Artpark Festival Chorus, and additional artists to be announced.

Program includes selections from:

Le Villi

Edgar

Manon Lescaut

La bohème

Tosca

Madama Butterfly

La fanciulla del West

La rondine

Il tabarro

Suor Angelica

Gianni Schicchi

Turandot

Featuring:

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Conducted by Gil Rose

Artpark Festival Chorus

Michael Capasso

Often referred to as "a musician helping to shape the future of classical music", Gil Rose is acknowledged for his "sense of style and sophistication" by Opera News, noted as "an amazingly versatile conductor" by The Boston Globe, and praised for conducting with "admiral command" by The New York Times and has been called "one of the most adventurous conductors in the world" by KUSC Radio. Over the past two decades he has built a reputation as one of the country's most inventive and versatile conductors. His dynamic performances on both the symphonic and operatic stages as well as over 100 recordings have garnered international critical praise.

Considered one of the greatest sopranos in the world today and hailed by The New York Times for her "... radiant, plush and sizeable..." voice with "gleaming top notes," Latonia Moore opened the 2023- 2024 season of the Metropolitan Opera as Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking (new production). During the 2023-2024 season she'll sing Mefistofele at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, she'll reprise Billie in Fire Shut Up in My Bones at MET, and she'll sing Verdi Requiem with BBC. She also opened the 2021-2022 season of the Metropolitan Opera as Billie, in the New York premiere of Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones; a role she reprised for her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Ms. Moore has received global acclaim for her interpretation of the title role in Aida; houses where she has sung the role include the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Opernhaus Zürich, Opera Australia, Teatro Colón, English National Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, Dubai Opera, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Detroit Opera, Polish National Opera, and at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under James Conlon. Additional operatic highlights include appearances as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera, Liù in Turandot at Royal Opera Covent Garden, the title role in Tosca and Elisabeth in Don Carlo with Opera Australia, Tosca with Washington National Opera, and Mimì in La bohèmeand Cio Cio San with Semperoper Dresden.

Internationally acclaimed tenor, Gregory Turay, has sung all over the world and been awarded some of the industry's highest awards and recognition. His career spans more than twenty years and he is now singing opera's most beloved larger tenor roles, including Cavaradossi (Tosca), Fenton (Falstaff), Il Duca (Rigoletto), Hylas (Les Troyens), Ernesto (Don Pasquale), Nadir (Les pêcheurs de perles), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Grigory (Boris Godunov), Orfeo (Orfeo), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Roméo (Roméo et Juliette), and Tony (West Side Story), among others. Gregory has appeared at some of opera's most notable theaters, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Saito Kinen Festival-Japan, Il Escorial Opera-Spain, Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Bordeaux Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among others. A busy recitalist, Gregory received the Richard Tucker Award, the London Foundation Award, the Richard Gaddes Award, The Catherine Pope Foundation, and is a Metropolitan LYDP Winner.

Michael Chioldi is one of the world's most sought-after dramatic baritones. He has performed at nearly every major American opera house, including The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and Los Angeles Opera. Signature role highlights include Scarpia in Tosca with Hawaii Opera Theater, Ft. Worth Opera, New York City Opera, Toledo Opera, and Spain's Opera de Oviedo; Jochanaan in Salome with Utah Opera, Virginia Opera, and the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan; the title role of Macbeth with Detroit Opera and Palm Beach Opera; Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Washington National Opera, Utah Opera, and New Orleans Opera; and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Washington National Opera and in an Emmy-winning national broadcast on the PBS television series Live from Lincoln Center. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including The Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition (Winner 1995); The MacAllister Competition; The Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition; The Miami Opera Competition; The Sullivan Foundation; and The Anna Case-Mckay Award. He received his bachelor's degree from West Virginia University and his master's degree from Yale University. His recordings appear on the Sony Classical, BMG, Accord, and Newport Classics labels. He makes his home in New York City.

Mexican-born American soprano Kristin Sampson's recent and upcoming performances include returns to her signature Puccini heroines, the title roles in Tosca and Madama Butterfly, as well as Minnie in La fanciulla del West, and concert performances with New York City Opera, The Accord Symphony Orchestra, and Washington Opera Society. Last season's engagements included a company debut as Tosca with Connecticut Lyric Opera, a workshop of Jake Landau's Psyche, a return engagement with the Kauno Filharmonijain in recital with tenor Liparit Avetisyan, and concert performances with both New York City Opera and Washington Opera Society. Other recent notable performances include a guest artist appearance and debut with the Kauno Filharmonijain in Lithuania under the baton of Maestro Constantine Orbelian, a company debut with Opera Grand Rapids as Liù in Turandot, a role debut as Marguerite in Faust with the Washington Opera Society, a featured soloist engagement with Hudson Valley International Festival of the Voice, and concert performances with New York City Opera. Previously, Ms. Sampson appeared as Minnie in La fanciulla del West with New York City Opera, Opera Carolina, Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Teatro Goldoni in Livorno, and Teatro Verdi in Pisa, Italy. She sang Magda in Respighi's La campana sommersa with New York City Opera, and she made her debut at the Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago as Tosca.

Armenian American soprano Tatev Baroyan joins the Metropolitan Opera in the 24-25 season for their premiere of Golijov's Ainadamar. She recently made her European debut at the Salzburger Landestheater, creating the role of Iolante in a unique combination of Tchaikovsky's Iolante and Nutcracker, crafted into an opera-ballet fantasy. Tatev joined Sarasota Opera's Apprenticeship program and then Will Crutchfield's Teatro Nuovo's Studio Artist program in New York for which she prepared and sang various roles including Alaide in Bellini's La straniera, Anna in Rossini's Maometo II, as well as Rossini's Stabat Mater. With New York City Opera, Tatev has appeared in productions of La traviata, La bohème, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie's The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. She has also appeared in various concerts in Bryant Park with the New York City Opera Orchestra in Bryant Park. Ms. Baroyan's talents have been acknowledged through various awards including the second prize in the Southeast Region of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the first prize in the Laffont Competition Florida District, the second prize in the Vero Beach Rising Stars Competition, the second prize in the Opera at Florham Competition, as well as prizes from the Premiere Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition and the Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition.

Praised by the Huffington Post as a "breakout star" and "powerhouse lyric tenor," Dominick Chenes began the 2023-24 season as Pinkerton in Boston Lyric Opera's Madama Butterfly. Other engagements last season included Pollione in Norma with the Boston Youth Symphony, the title role in Les contes d'Hoffmann for Palm Beach Opera, and Nicias in Thaïs for Utah Opera. Engagements in 2024-25 include his house debut as Pollione for Oper Leipzig, Cavaradossi with the New Orleans Opera, Turiddu with Opera Orlando, Erik in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer with Oper im Steinbruch, and a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Greenhorn in Moby Dick (cover). Dominick's most recent engagements included Cavaradossi in Tosca for the Metropolitan Opera (cover), his role debut as Canio in Pagliacci for the Sacramento Philharmonic, a return to Seattle Opera for Alfredo in La traviata, a return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the title role in Don Carlos (cover), Pollione in Norma for Musica Viva Hong Kong, the Verdi Requiem for the Reading Symphony, and Don José in Carmen for Palm Beach Opera. Dominick was awarded second prize from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, third prize from the Mario Lanza Competition, and a Grant from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. He was also a finalist in the Meistersinger Competition in Graz Austria.

Michael Capasso is the General Director of the New York City Opera. He has produced, directed, and toured opera and musical theater productions in the U.S. and abroad for over 40 years. In June of 2014, along with philanthropist Roy Niederhoffer, he led the successful effort to bring the New York City Opera out of bankruptcy, laying the artistic, administrative, and fiscal groundwork for the company's future. The revitalized New York City Opera returned to the stage in January 2016 with a celebratory production of Tosca. The company is once again on solid financial footing and producing full seasons of opera, concerts, and educational programming, with a special concentration on City Opera's long legacy of producing new and innovative opera, refocused through a modern lens. Current company programming efforts, which have included seven New York, U.S., and world premieres since 2017, seek to reflect the diverse tapestry of New York City through ongoing initiatives: Ópera en Español, LGBTQ+ Pride Series, an ongoing partnership with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, and a celebration of Black excellence.

New York City Opera was famously dubbed "The People's Opera" by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia at its founding in 1943. More than 80 years later, City Opera continues its historic mission to inspire audiences with innovative and theatrically compelling opera, nurture the work of promising American artists, and build new audiences through affordable ticket prices and extensive outreach and education programs. For more information, visit https://nycopera.com/about

ARTPARK is a park and a cultural institution located on the Niagara Gorge, USA. Established in 1974, Artpark is a collaboration between the New York State Parks and the cultural nonprofit institution Artpark & Company. Artpark & Company fosters a transformative world of artistic engagement that explores the human experience, cultivates creativity, and encourages curiosity. Our work is informed by a long tradition of discovery, an expectation of artistic excellence, and an awareness of the inspiration of singular natural splendor.

Located at the birthplace of Niagara Falls, and situated on traditional indigenous lands of many nations, Artpark & Company honors the historic legacy on which it was created, supporting the evolution of the arts and its role as a cultural leader, aspiring to a progressive future. We embrace a philosophy that Art, Culture, and Nature can harmoniously coexist and inspire. We advocate for every art, both known and not yet known, as created in public by diverse artists, often with assistance from their audience, attracted by the discovery, learning, and exploration that the arts encourage.

Artpark is currently programmed and managed by an independent nonprofit Artpark & Co. and is widely regarded as a summer outdoor music venue ranked one of the top 100 Amphitheaters Worldwide by Pollstar. Artpark delivers 150+ events attended by 150,000+ visitors, on 150+ acres of land over 110 days of summer. Ninety of these events are community & family programs delivered to over 50,000+ people at low or no cost. Artpark & Co. programming delivers $13-Mil in estimated annual economic impact on the community. For more information, visit https://www.artpark.net.

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