OPERA America to Celebrate National Opera Center's 2nd Anniversary, 9/28-29

OPERA America is delighted to mark the second anniversary of the opening of its National Opera Center with a series of public events on September 28 and 29. The celebration kicks off on Sunday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m. with Double Date, a cabaret featuring two incomparable artistic duos - William Bolcom and Joan Morris, and Amy Burton and John Musto - who will perform of songs by Gershwin, Porter, Coward, Bolcom, Musto and other favorites. Visit operaamerica.org/DoubleDate to join these dynamic husband-and-wife teams for a enchanting evening of song. Tickets are $100 and include wine and casual fare. This event helps support the Patricia Scimeca Fund for Emerging Singers, an endowment that nurtures promising talent in the field.

The festivities continue on Monday, September 29 when OPERA America welcomes the arts community to a National Opera Center Open House from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. Attendees can mingle and exchange ideas with colleagues during the wine reception and see the Opera Center in action through tours of the facility. All are welcome to attend; tickets are free but reservations are requested. Visit operaamerica.org/OpenHouse to register.

As part of the Open House on September 29, the New York Opera Alliance (NYOA) will present its Fall 2014 Showcase (4:00 to 6:00 p.m.), featuring seven opera companies: Bronx Opera Company, Chelsea Opera, Encompass New Opera Theatre, New York Opera Exchange, OperaOGGINY, operamission and Rhymes With Opera. Excerpts from beloved operas such as Gounod's Faust and Strauss' Die Fledermaus will be heard alongside works written within the last few months. Tickets are free, but reservations are encouraged. Visit operaamerica.org/OpenHouse to register.

The celebrations will culminate on September 29 at 7:00 p.m. with the first Emerging Artists Recital Series performance of the season: a recital by Korean baritone Joo Won Kang, winner of Fort Worth Opera and the Opera Guild of Fort Worth's 2014 McCammon Voice Competition. Kang's appealing vocal quality and mastery of a varied repertoire have garnered him widespread acclaim, including top prizes from the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition and the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition. Kang and pianist Eric Malson will take the audience on a musical tour of the East and West, performing works by Beethoven, Finzi, Korngold, Poulenc and Verdi, as well as Korean songs. Tickets are free for members and $25 for non-members. Visit operaamerica.org/Recitals to register.

In September 2012, OPERA America opened the National Opera Center in New York City in response to the industry's critical need for rehearsal and performance space. In the past year, more than 52,000 people - as many as 5,000 per month - visited the Opera Center for public programs, auditions, recitals, rehearsals, recording sessions and meetings. An ever-growing and diverse constituency benefited from the Opera Center's state-of-the-art facilities, which include an Audition Recital Hall, Rehearsal Hall, Learning Center, recording studio, music library and ten studios.

"We have been thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response we've received since inaugurating the National Opera Center," stated Marc A. Scorca, president/CEO of OPERA America. "When we opened the Opera Center, we could have never anticipated the varied, innovative ways in which the space has been used by the performing arts community over the past two years. The sheer number of visitors to the Opera Center speaks volumes about the vibrancy of opera today and the field's need for a home in the heart of Manhattan."

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