Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

A quick heads up about a great event tomorrow night (Wednesday, 7/25).

The New York Metropolitan Opera is kicking off its “Summer Recital Series” with a free performance in Central Park.

Full details are available at cityparksfoundation.org (the organizers of SummerStage).

The performance starts at 8:00 pm at Rumsey Playfield (doors open at 7:00 pm):

This performance features Met stars Danielle de Niese (soprano), who also hosts the evening; Dimitri Pittas (tenor); and John Del Carlo (bass-baritone). The singers will be joined by pianist Dan Saunders for a program of favorite arias and duets.

Dimitri Pittas (tenor) was heard at the Met this season as Rodolfo in La Bohème and Macduff in Macbeth. Other Met appearances include Tamino in The Magic Flute, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Herald in Don Carlo (debut, 2005), Tybalt inRoméo et Juliette, the First Prisoner in Fidelio, and the First Knight in Parsifal. He is a graduate of the company’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

Danielle de Niese (soprano) sang Ariel in the Met’s world premiere production of The Enchanted Island this season. She previously appeared with the company as Despina in Così fan tutte, Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, a Flower Maiden in Parsifal, the Child in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, Poussette in Manon, and Susanna and Barbarina (debut, 1998) in Le Nozze di Figaro. She is a graduate of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

John Del Carlo (bass-baritone) appeared at the Met this season as Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Dansker in Billy Budd. His repertoire with the company also includes Don Pasquale, the Speaker in The Magic Flute, the Prince in Adriana Lecouvreur, the Sacristan in Tosca, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, Kothner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (debut, 1993), Mathieu in Andrea Chénier, Swallow in Peter Grimes, Alfieri in Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge, Quince in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow, and Balducci inBenvenuto Cellini.

Dan Saunders has worked as conductor, pianist, and coach in the fields of opera and song. He began his operatic career as rehearsal pianist at the Met and later became an Assistant Conductor with the company. He made his Met debut as harpsichordist in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s 1984 production of La Clemenza di Tito (telecast on Live From Lincoln Center) and subsequently played continuo for many other productions, including Le Nozze di Figaro, Idomeneo, L’Italiana in Algeri, and Don Giovanni.

If you feel like traveling there are five more performances after tomorrow — one other in Manhattan and one each Brooknly, Queens, Staten Island, and The Bronx.

Filed under: Central Park, Entertainment, Events, Free, Manhattan, Music, New York City, News, NYC, Seniors, Things to do, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, Upper West Side Date Stuff, UWS No Comments »
Tags: Dan Saunders, Danielle de Niese, Dimitri Pittas, John Del Carlo, Metropolitan Opera, New York City, New York Metropolitan Opera, NYC, Summer Recital Series, SummerStage, Upper West Side, UWS