Shana Farr and Vincent Ricciardi Return to Enrico Caruso Room, 6/26

Soprano Shana Farr and tenor Vincent Ricciardi, who performed on the Opening Night of the Enrico Caruso Room at Grotta Azzurra in late April, will be doing an encore performance in the new venue this coming Tuesday, June 26, at 8 PM. Dinner will be available starting at 7 PM. There is a $20 cover charge and no minimum. Reservations are suggested by calling Grotta Azzurra at 212-925-8775.

The legendary Grotta Azzurra Ristorante, located on the corner of Broome and Mulberry Streets in one of lower Manhattan’s historic neighborhoods – Little Italy, originally opened more than 100 years ago in 1908. The original restaurant, which was often frequented by the world famous Naples-born tenor Enrico Caruso and his friends, occupied the same space as the newly decorated Enrico Caruso Room. The walls feature framed authentic collectibles, including vintage photos, old acetate music discs and records and caricatures drawn by Caruso himself, all of which have been donated by Cav. Uff. Aldo Mancusi, founder and curator of the Enrico Caruso Museum in Brooklyn.

The music performances at the Enrico Caruso Room are being presented by Mort and Ray Productions and LS Communications.

Shana Farr is a singer/actress who has performed leading roles in operetta and musical theater on New York stages and has also brought her talents to the intimate world of cabaret. Everything she performs from operetta and great American standards to contemporary musical theater and jazz is sung with a lush voice that shows off her different colors of musical sounds. She has received rave reviews in The New York Post, Wall Street Journal, New Jersey Star Ledger, Cabaret Scenes, Back Stage, and numerous other publications for her performances at New York City Center, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Feinstein's at the Regency, The Metropolitan Room and elsewhere. She has been recognized for her work with symphony orchestras, including the Missouri Symphony Orchestra and South Shore Symphony. On October 17, Shana has been invited to perform at the Mabel Mercer Foundation Cabaret Convention at The Rose Theater, home of Jazz At Lincoln Center. She will also be performing her acclaimed cabaret show Whistling Away The Dark: Through the Songs of Julie Andrews on Wednesday, July 18, at 7:30 PM at The Players Club, a performance that will be open to the public. She just returned from her hometown of Columbia, MO, where she introduced her new cabaret show Shana Farr in Blue Skies, featuring songs of George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Noel Coward and more. She also is a multi-talented jewelry designer whose company, Shana Farr Designs (www.shanfarrdesigns.com) recently launched its new line – PURE IMAGINATION by Shana Farr.

Vincent Ricciardi possesses a rich, warm Lyric Tenor voice reminiscent of the great Italian tenors of the past. As a concert artist, he has performed throughout the tri-state area, specializing in Italian Opera, Neapolitan song and Operetta. His highlights include Bella Napoli: A Celebration of Neapolitan Song and Dance in New Jersey and Vincent Ricciardi Sings Mario Lanza ….. and Caruso Too! at The Triad in New York. He is also a featured soloist at St. Monica’s Church in Manhattan. Recently, he has been seen in various productions around New York with Regina Opera, Opera of the Hamptons and Bleecker Street Opera. His study of classical voice began at Adelphi University. After years of study, Vincent has embarked on a journey of artistic self-discovery to find his own place in the wonderful world of Grand Opera. Vincent will be making his operatic leading role debut as The Duke in Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto with Amici Opera on July 21 in Margate, NJ. He will also be the featured Italian singer at the Southington, CT, Italian Festival on July 28. He will also be performing at New York’s 86th Annual Feast of San Gennaro in September.

The Enrico Caruso Room features a Tuesday Night Opera Series and a weekly Thursday Night Open Mic Series for opera and classical music performers. The singers on both nights will be supported by David Schaeffer on keyboard.

Upcoming Performance Schedule for the Tuesday Night Opera Series is as follows: Tuesday, June 26 – Vincent Ricciardi and Shana Farr Tuesday, July 3 – Michael Padgett and La Toya Lewis Tuesday, July 10 – Aaron Caruso and Melanie Goerlitz Tuesday, July 17 – Ernest Revell and Lori Fredericks Tuesday, July 24 -- Caranza (Patric Hale) and Samantha KnJoi

Producers Mort Berkowitz and Les Schecter, who have presented numerous opera competitions and concerts at various Little Italy venues and elsewhere over the past decade, believe the intimacy and ‘grotto’ atmosphere of the room, and its close association with one of the greatest Italian operatic tenors of all time – Enrico Caruso -- make this a perfect venue to present multi-talented classical singers who can perform a repertoire of songs ranging classic opera to Italian folk music. “We want the music to reflect New York and the historic Italian neighborhood,” they said. “For decades people have been coming to Little Italy for the food and the atmosphere and Grotta Azzurra has as much atmosphere as anywhere else in the neighborhood. We hope the Enrico Caruso Room will rapidly become a place where professional opera singers will want to perform at our Tuesday Opera Nights and where up and coming classical singers will want to take part in our Thursday Night Opera Open Mics.”

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