Opera at Florham to Present 'An Afternoon of Arias about Spring and Songs of Love'

Opera at Florham presents its next Musicale on Sunday, March 20th, 2016 at 3 p.m. in Lenfell Hall, 'The Mansion', Hennessy Hall, featuring a variety of famous opera arias and Broadway songs. This Musicale will take place at Fairleigh Dickinson University's College at Florham, Madison, NJ.

The venue, Lenfell Hall located in Hennessy Hall, was the drawing room of the Twombly family when they lived in the gilded age 100-room mansion.

The Musicale will feature several distinguished performers: soprano, Ashley Kerr; baritone, Suchan Kim; tenor, Christopher Colmenero; organizer & accompanist, Mary Pinto; and narrator, Stephen DeMaio. Both Pinto and DeMaio are members of the Board of Trustees at Opera at Florham.

The performances will include arias from Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème & Madama Butterfly, Richard Wagner's Die Walküre, George Bizet's Carmen, Fredrick Loewe's My Fair Lady, and Richard Rodgers' South Pacific.

Soprano Ashley Kerr is rapidly garnering attention from critics and opera companies alike. She has been praised for her "plush and seductive" tone. A native of Charlotte, NC, Ashley holds a Master of Music from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music with Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ashley received third prize in the 2014 Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition. Baritone Suchan Kim has performed in many operas, both in the United States and abroad. He is a native of Busan, South Korea and holds a Bachelor of Music from Korea National University of Arts, a Master of Music and a Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College the New School for Music. Christopher Colmenero, tenor, is an emerging artist currently based in New York City. His educational achievements include a PDPL in Voice/Opera from the Mannes College of Music and B.M/M.M degrees in Voice/Opera from the Purchase College Conservatory of Music. Christopher was a Metropolitan Opera National Council semi finalist of 2016. Mary Pinto is an acclaimed accompanist and vocal coach who has worked with international opera singers and major American opera companies for the past 25 years. She maintains a busy private coaching studio in New York City.

Light refreshments will be served at intermission.

Everyone is encouraged to bring children and grandchildren to Opera at Florham's events as this is a wonderful way to introduce them to the beautiful and varied world of opera! There is no charge for children under 12 years old when accompanied by an adult.

Tickets are $35 for regular admission, $30 for seniors, and $10 for students. Special rates are available for Groups of 10 or more at $25 per ticket. Tickets can be ordered by calling 973-443-8620 or on the website http://www.operaatflorham.org. Checks can be mailed to Opera at Florham, P. O. Box 343, Convent Station, NJ 07961.

Funding has been made possible in part by funds from the Morris Arts Council through the New Jersey State Council of the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The College at Florham of Fairleigh Dickinson University is located at 285 Madison Ave., Madison, NJ. For more information, visit www.operaatflorham.org.

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