Opera Orlando's Fifth Anniversary Party A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING Will Feature Soprano Laura León

Opera Orlando's virtual Fifth Anniversary Party: A Grand Night for Singing will be livestreamed from Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum on Sunday, September 20 at 2 p.m., complete with "red carpet" coverage, special guests, a silent auction, and a look back on a grand five seasons of opera in Orlando. Hosted by executive director and Grammy award-winning baritone Gabriel Preisser, the party will also feature a stellar quartet of singers from previous seasons and from the upcoming 2020-21 season, accompanied by pianist Robin Stamper.

Audiences are in for a virtual feast for the ears as Metropolitan Opera singer and Broadway veteran bass-baritone Gregg Baker, who will be making his MainStage debut as Zuniga in the spring production of Carmen, is joined by international tenor David Margulis, Ernesto in Opera Orlando's inaugural season production of Don Pasquale, and powerhouse mezzo-soprano Robyn Rocklein, also making her MainStage debut this season as the scary-fun Witch in Hansel & Gretel. Cuban soprano Laura León, who brought the house down as the four heroines in Opera Orlando's 2018 Tales of Hoffmann, rounds out this incredible group of performers as they sing and toast Opera Orlando.

Laura León is quickly becoming a rising star since making her dèbut as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Orchestra Miami under the baton of Elaine Rinaldi. This past

season, Ms. León joined Opera in Williamsburg for their production of Les pêcheurs de perles, as well as for Die Zauberflöte, where she reprised the role of Queen of the Night. She also took on the role of Susanna in Chautauqua Opera's production of a contemporized The Marriage of Figaro, ¡Figaro 90210!.

In concert, Ms. León has been a featured soloist in Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass, Orff's Carmina Burana, Beethoven's Choral Fantasia and Egmont, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Missa Solemnis, Rutter's Requiem, and Al Borde de la Esperanza with the University of Miami and in the Ernesto Lecuona International Festival with Alba Productions.

Ms. León was a 2018 and 2019 Jensen Foundation Competition finalist as well as a 2019 Giulio Gary Competition finalist. She was the winner of the 2018 Metropolitan National Council Competition for the District of Florida, and she placed second in the Deborah Voigt Rising Stars Competition with Vero Beach Opera. In 2015, she won first place in the Zarzuela de las Americas competition. Ms. León holds a master's degree in voice performance from Florida International University and is currently an instructor at the New World School of the Arts and Area Stage Company in Miami.

Donate $75 today for exclusive access to Opera Orlando's virtual Fifth Anniversary Party on Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 2 p.m. Donations made through the United Arts 2020 Empower the Arts Campaign, a new fundraiser designed to help support small and midsize arts and cultural organizations in Orange County, will be eligible for a 15% match by United Arts, with all administrative fees waived. The campaign runs from July 15 to September 15, 2020 with a goal to collectively raise $162,000. Opera Orlando is honored to be a participating organization and hopes to surpass its individual goal of raising $30,000. Gifts can be made online at the United Arts (https://unitedarts.cc/empowercampaign/).

Opera Orlando continues to connect with its audience through all its summer virtual offerings. "Like" Opera Orlando's Facebook page for event schedules and updates, then subscribe to Opera Orlando's YouTube Channel for all archived episodes, concerts, and more.

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