Underworld Productions Opera presents

A Gala Concert At Casa Italiana

Join opera’s favorite dramaturg Cori Ellison, some of UP’s most talented performers, and Sinfonia NY Chamber Players for an evening of wine and cheese, great conversation and extraordinary Italian music.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010
6:00 – 8:00 in the evening

Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo
24 West 12th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue

Special Guest: Sinfonia NY Chamber Players

Come toast our rave NY Times review, our many free community programs, and our commitment to nurturing tomorrow’s opera stars. Highlights include a reprise of Jeannie Im’s astounding Queen of the Night, a taste of Nils Neubert’s elegant bel canto, and a sneak preview of our upcoming premiere “Clarence & Anita” with comments by composer Ben Yarmolinsky.

Special guest Sinfonia NY Chamber Players will delight us with their expert instrumental selections from the roots of Italian repertoire, and Cori Ellison, frequent Metropolitan Opera broadcast commentator and New York Times writer, will share her musical insights throughout the evening.

Donation: $70 per person, $120 for two. This includes a tax-deductible donation of $50 per person. Payment is accepted online at PayPal.

Or mail a check payable to Underworld Productions Opera to:
Judith Binney
333 East 46th Street, #4A
New York, NY 10017

The concert will feature music by Karen Goldfeder, Olivier Messiaen, David Rothenberg, and Ben Yarmolinsky, as well as musical contributions from some of our finest feathered friends.

Performers:
Eileen Clark – soprano
Karen Goldfeder – mezzo-soprano
Silvie Jensen – mezzo-soprano
Mary Marathe – alto
Marija Ilic – piano
David Rothenberg – clarinet and pre-recorded birds
Ben Yarmolinsky – guitar and voice

Birdsong specialist David Rothenberg will be performing his new work based on transcriptions Olivier Messiaen made of birds in the wild. Karen Goldfeder will enlist a quartet of unaccompanied voices “to sing the songs we are genetically predisposed to sing.” Ben Yarmolinsky will premiere his new piece “Twelve Days” in which three singers impersonating Greek goddesses intone harmonious sequences while Mr. Yarmolinsky reads from the New York Times. All this and several more avian/musical surprises!

The Friends & Enemies of New Music recently celebrated their 20th season as a presenter of new American chamber music. Since 1989, they have produced over 80 concerts featuring more than 350 new American works by over 185 composers. Funding for this concert is made possible through the support of the New York State Council on the Arts.

The concert will feature the first public performance of Ben Yarmolinsky’s A Marriage Cantata, a varied collection of songs and duets about marriage and aging, on texts ranging from Shakespeare to Muriel Rukeyser, Billy Collins, and Donald Hall. This premiere will be performed by mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert, bass-baritone Robert Osborne, and pianist Djordje Nesic.

A special guest for this concert will be cellist Caroline Stinson.  Ms. Stinson will be performing solo cello works by Elliott Carter and Andrew Waggoner.

Also on the program will be the young pianist/composer Christian McLeer.  Mr. McLeer will perform several of his solo piano works, including the virtuosic Carnival.

The Friends & Enemies of New Music recently celebrated their 20th season as presenters of new American chamber music.  Since 1989, they have produced over 80 concerts, featuring more than 350 new American works by over 185 composers.  Funding for this concert is made possible through the support of the New York State Council on the Arts.