St. Petersburg Opera Presents Evenings With The Maestro: 'What Makes a Great Opera Melody', 4/1

Why do some opera melodies get used over and over, in commercials, movies, and popular music? Everyone recognizes some of the music from Bizet's Carmen: The Toreador Song, the Habanera, and the Seguidilla have become familiar, but why do we like them so much?

Maestro Mark Sforzini will explore these questions with the help of some of St. Petersburg Opera's favorite singers: St. Petersburg natives baritone Todd Donovan and soprano Sara Peeples. They will be joined by Sarasota resident Rachel Nelson Assi, a mezzo soprano, and Allan Armstrong, pianist. All three of these singers will be appearing in St. Petersburg Opera's June 4, 5, and 6 performances of Carmen.

This session of Evenings with the Maestro will be the last of this season and will serve as an introduction to the full opera production. In addition to the Bizet arias, the program will include some Mozart, Gounod, Puccini, and Sondheim and Maestro Sforzini will accompany some of the arias on his bassoon.

Evenings with the Maestro will be held at the Music Gallery, 5990 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater, at 6:00 p.m. on April 1, 2010. Each of these first Thursday of the month lectures addresses a different theme to enhance your understanding of opera and of music in general and lasts approximately 90 minutes. Following the program, the audience is invited to join the Maestro and the cast for conversation and refreshments at a local restaurant. Details will be announced at the performance.

Tickets are $10 ($5 seniors and students) and are available in advance on the St. Petersburg opera website, www.stpeteopera.org or by calling the office at 727-823-2040. All tickets at the door will be $10.