Aaron Caruso and Melanie Goerliz Headline Opera Series at Enrico Caruso Room, 7/10

Tenor Aaron Caruso and lyric soprano Melanie Goerlitz will perform in concert on Tuesday, July 10, at 8 PM as part of the Enrico Caruso Room Tuesday Night Opera Series. They will be supported on keyboard by David Schaefer. Dinner is available from 7 PM. There is a $20 cover charge and no minimum. Reservations are suggested by calling Grotta Azzurra at 212-925-8775.                                                                  

With the pairing of Aaron Caruso and Melanie Goerlitz, the Enrico Caruso Room presenters Mort Berkowitz and Les Schecter are looking forward to a great evening of music featuring a selection of operatic arias, Neapolitan folk songs and American Songbook favorites performed by the multi-talented and charismatic singers.  

Aaron Caruso has been singing for 20 years. Classically, he studied piano for ten years and trombone for six years. He has been performing on stage since the age of six. He attended high school at the world renowned "Interlochen Arts Academy" and later earned his bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance with an Italian Minor from the University of Michigan. He speaks four languages fluently (Italian, English, Spanish and French) and can sing in seven, including Italian, Russian, Latin and German. He has studied Opera abroad in Italy for one year and in New York City for eight years with Maestro Luigi Veccia, who was a student of Marcello and Mario Del Monaco. Aaron has performed extensively throughout the United States at Performing Arts Centers, Concert halls and festivals. Aaron also specializes in Classic Neapolitan music. 

Aaron is not only an amazing singer, but he is a terrific all-around entertainer as well who studied the art of entertaining an audience with 10-time, Reno, NV,  “Entertainer of the Year” Danny Marona. Critics have noted that Aaron mesmerizes his audiences with the beauty and power of an operatic voice singing marvelous Italian songs like they should be sung in a fun entertaining way.

Not too long ago, Aaron performed to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall in a tribute to Mario Lanza and on the Red Carpet event for NBC at the Columbus Day Parade in New York City. He sang to a crowd of 10,000 people in Lawrence, MA at the “Feast of the 3 Saints” and has also performed at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, many casinos in Reno, NV, Atlantic City and Connecticut. Aaron has headlined hundreds of Italian Festivals across the country from San Diego to Boston and everything in between.

Making his debut in the Enrico Caruso Room has special meaning for Aaron Caruso who was chosen by film producer Sonny Grosso and 15-time Grammy winner, Phil Ramone to sing the role of Mario Lanza in their planned Broadway musical about the great Italian-American singer and movie star.  “I can’t believe that I was chosen to portray Mario Lanza on the stage, and now making my debut in the Enrico Caruso Room at Grotta Azzurra Ristorante, a venue celebrating the legendary Enrico Caruso.” 

Melanie Goerlitz, a lyric soprano based out of New York City, recently made her European debut in a concert tour throughout Poland. The concert highlighted the works of contemporary and traditional musical theater, and she was accompanied by a full symphony orchestra. Additionally, she just recorded her first album, “Broadway After Midnight,” which was released in Poland this past March. Melanie also made her Carnegie Hall debut in December 2011 as a member of the New York Choral Society. 

Music has always been the breath of life for Melanie. Growing up in “a one stoplight small town in Pennsylvania,” she began her study of music at the age of eight with piano lessons but it wasn’t long before Melanie found her “voice.”  At the age of 10, she auditioned for an exclusive group called Marywood College Children's Choir, competing against all the "city girls” from Scranton, PA. She sang her first solo with this group, and from that moment on, she knew she belonged on a stage. Fast forwarding several years, it was apparent that Melanie was going to have a promising future in music. In high school, she competed statewide at PMEA music festivals and was awarded first place soprano in the entire state--the biggest achievement she'd made up to that point. Soon after, she was admitted into her top choice school, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh where she managed to sing her way to the top. She performed in many concerts, and a few of the highlights included the role of Val in A Chorus Line, Nancy in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring, Second Lady in scenes from The Magic Flute, soloist in Bach's Magnificat, and was featured in the ensemble in Candide. After graduating with the highest honors, Melanie spent the summer studying opera in Italy, an experience that had a great influence on her. After spending the rest of the year on a national tour of Swing! The Musical, she returned to Italy to spend another summer studying and performing. This wonderful experience led to her operatic debut in the prize role of Nannetta in Falstaff at the Crested Butte Music Festival.  After making the big move to New York City she had a series of jobs that took her right back out of the city. She was lead singer on a luxury cruise line, where she also developed her own one-woman cabaret act. She even had the pleasure of singing back-up for Florence Henderson. Traveling the world while singing was an incredible and life-changing experience for Melanie. She was able to ride a camel at the pyramids, see penguins in Antarctica, and swim with sting rays in Bora Bora.  Now that she is planning to stay in New York, she is exploring the many performing opportunities the city has to offer. 

Future  Performance Schedule for the Tuesday Night Opera Series:                                                                    Tuesday, July 17 –  Ernest Revell and Lori Fredericks                                                                                                                   Tuesday, July 24 --  Caranza (Patric Hale) and Samantha KnJoi

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