Riverside Opera Company to Present FROM OPERA TO SINATRA, 5/16

The Riverside Opera Company performs "From Opera to Sinatra" a PoPera Concert that features winners from live auditions judged by former metropolitan opera singers. The program was compiled from songs the performers sang best. under the direction of Maestro Alan Aurelia on Saturday, May 16, 8 p.m. at The Music Hall at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York

For information contact: riversideoperacompany@gmail.com or call Riverside Opera Company at 212-729-4792. For tickets: http://m.bpt.me/event/1560075 $20. general admission; $15. advance tickets (brown paper tix);$15. Seniors; Children, students and veterans free

The winning performers are soprano Rosa D'Imperio, tenor Charlie Berrios and soprano Savannah Bisset singing music Mozart, Wagner, Donizetti, and Verdi In addition to these stellar artists, Amy Marie Stewart, who has just finished a Disney cruise playing "Snow White " will sing "Poor Wandering One" from Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Jay Montgomery, Co-Artistic Director and co-founder of the Harbor Lights Theater Company and Amy Marie Stewart will pay tribute to Frank Sinatra's 100th anniversary singing special full orchestrations of "something stupid" and "It Was A Very Good Year."

All will be accompanied by the full symphonic sound of the Richmond County Orchestra lead by Maestro Alan Aurelia.

The Riverside Opera Company is based on Staten Island in New York City. It performs fully and semi-staged productions with full orchestra conducted by Maestro Alan Aurelia, who has conducted in Italy as well as in the U.S. Its singers are winners of open public auditions, held in New York City.

About the Artists:

JAY MONTGOMERY is the Co-Artistic Director and co-founder of the Harbor Lights Theater Company, Staten Island's only professional, Equity Theater Company. Jay made his Broadway debut as 'Whizzer' in the Tony Award-winning Falsettos, opposite Mandy Patinkin, and also played 'Whizzer' in the National Tour and Los Angeles productions of Falsettos. He toured the country twice in Heart Strings, the landmark AIDS benefit. Off Broadway credits include Brel Returns and Rings. Regionally, Jay has appeared in over seventy productions; favorite roles include 'Antony' in Sweeney Todd, starring George Hearn and Judy Kaye, the 'Gentleman Caller' in The Glass Menagerie, 'Robert' in Company, 'Che' in Evita, 'Curly' in Oklahoma!, 'Rutledge' in 1776, 'Billy' in Anything Goes, 'Anatoly' in Chess, 'Valentin' in Kiss Of The Spider Woman, 'Sky' in Guys & Dolls, 'Dan' in Snapshots (by Stephen Schwartz) and 'Alan/Fred' in the world premiere of Charles Strauss' You Never Know. Mr. Montgomery has worked at some of the nation's finest theaters, among them Alabama Shakespeare, Trinity Rep, the Pioneer, Walnut Street, the Pittsburgh Public, Casa Manana, the Lyric, Kansas City Rep, and The Papermill Playhouse. At Harbor Lights, Jay has played 'Harold Hill' in The Music Man and 'Barrymore' in I Hate Hamlet, and "Boolie" in Driving Miss Daisy, as well as directing The Empress, An O. Henry Christmas, and My Way. His favorite credits by far are husband to Harbor Lights' co-founder and Executive Artistic Director Tamara Jenkins and father to Emerson Grace.

Rosa D'Imperio

Praised by Opera News for her "agile and gleaming tone", Rosa D'Imperio's most recent engagements include Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera for Miami Lyric Opera, Senta in Der Fliegende Hollaender with the UN Orchestra, Aida with Opera Tampa, a Verdi Concert for the MET Guild, de Falla's Siete Canciones Populares Espanolas and Isolde in Tristan and Isolde with the Bogota Philharmonic, Verdi's Messa di Requiem with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, Lady Macbeth in Houston, Santa Barbara and Fresno, Tosca in Columbia SC, Abigaille in Nabucco with Opera de Massy in Paris and Turandot for Opera New Hampshire. D'Imperio's vocal glamour and riveting interpretations in the Verdi, Puccini, Verismo, Strauss, Wagner and Zarzuela repertoire such as Don Carlo, Oberto, Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Un Ballo in Maschera, Otello, Aida, Attila, Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Turandot, La Fanciulla del West, Andrea Chenier, Adriana Lecouvreur, Cavalleria Rusticana and Die Aegyptische Helena have taken her throughout the USA, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, including Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Basel, Paris, Shanghai, Cagliari and San Juan, and to venues such as Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space in New York City.

Amy Marie Stewart

Noted for her "sweet-toned singing" by the New York Post, Amy is an actor and singer whose performances have spanned both musical theatre and opera. New York credits include the role of goth teen Barbara in "¡Figaro! (90210)" with Morningside Opera, a reimagining of Mozart's classic work called both "blasphemous" and "brilliant" by the New York Times, and named one of the top 10 opera performances of 2013 by the New York Observer.

Stewart was most recently seen as Megan in the rock musical "Bright Lights, Big City" with freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg, Florida, in a performance called "heartwarming and moving" by BroadwayWorld.com. Before that, Amy was a Mainstage Performer on the Disney Dream where she played Sophia in "Disney's Believe" and Snow White in "The Golden Mickeys."

She has also performed with opera companies across the country, including the Utah Festival Opera Company, Colorado Light Opera, the dell'Arte Opera Ensemble in New York, and the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre.

A Colorado-native, she earned her Bachelor of Music at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She later earned her Masters in Music from CCPA at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Charles Trinidad Berríos:

Mr. Berríos is a native of Bayamón Puerto Rico and he is a graduate from the University of Massachusetts Music Department at Amherst. An active performer ever since his days as a student, Charles has appeared with Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Buffalo Opera Theater, Pacific Opera of NY, Commonwealth Opera of Massachusetts, Lowell House Opera, Boston Vocal Arts, New York Touring Concert Opera and Opera Classica Europa. Throughout the years Charles has delighted audiences either on the operatic stage or as a concert soloist.

Gifted with a strong lírico-spinto tenor, Mr. Berríos is capable of delighting audiences who have a taste for Opera, Zarzuela or Spanish romantic and Art music. The Spanish repertory has always been a repertory where he has scored significant success and has always enjoyed great reception by his followers.

In 2011 Charles was a finalist at the Concorso Lirico Internazionale G. di Vincenzi at Savona Italy. In 2009 he was awarded 2nd price at the National Association of Teachers of Singing, New York City Auditions, at Columbia University.

An avid linguist, Mr. Berríos is fluent in Spanish, Italian, French, German and Russian.

Savannah Bisset

Is a Canadian born soprano who studied seriously with her Mother (Audrey Bisset) for nine years, Miss Bisset went on to earn her B.A. in Vocal Performance through Purchase College while studying with Bonnie Hamilton. At Purchase, Bisset opened the world premiere of Raphaël Lucas award-winning opera "Confession", playing the role of Sofie. Miss Bisset also performed the roles of Die Erste Dame as well as Pamina in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" and was the lead in "Les mamelles de Tirésias" which won the esteemed award from the National Opera Association. One month after receiving her degree, Miss Bisset performed André Grétry Marguerite in Richard Coeur-de-lion and received a "New York Times" review exclaiming "Ms. Bisset to have excelled in one of the score's surprisingly few arias". Savannah has also performed with the NY Opera Exchange as well as the LOFT Opera singing the role of Mozart's Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Ms. Bisset currently resides in Port Chester N.Y. and continues her studies and performing.

To post a comment, you must register and login.