Underworld Productions Opera sings Don Pasquale
Presented by Inwood Shakespeare Festival Free Opera in the Park produced by Moose Hall Theatre Company
Four shows at 7:30 pm
Inwood Park penninsula
(westernmost continuation of 218th St., Manhattan)
Wednesday June 27 thru Saturday June 30
FREE!
Don Pasquale: Peter Castaldi
Norina: Paige Cutrona (6/27, 29, 30); Diane Lynn (6/28)
Ernesto: John Calkins
Dr. Malatesta: Rashard Deleston
Signora Pasquale: Lauren Alfano
Signora Pasquale: Lauren Alfano
Directed by Gina Crusco
"A witty production that combined a gently tweaked storyline with an intimate setting that gave audience members a rare chance to experience opera up close." -- Classical Review
WHO's WHO IN THE CAST
John Calkins (Ernesto) has sung Don Ramiro in Cenerentola with Opera New Jersey outreach and Capitol Heights Lyric Opera; Almaviva in Barber of Seville with Light Opera of South Maryland; and Tamino in The Magic Flute with Opera Columbus. He is a semi-finalist in the New York Lyric Opera vocal competition, and has participated in the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.
Rashard Deleston (Dr. Malatesta) earned a degree from Manhattan School of Music. His roles include Figaro (Barber of Seville) with Amore Opera, Escamillo (Carmen) with Opera Company of Brooklyn, Peter (Hansel and Gretel) with New York Lyric Opera, and Marullo (Rigoletto) with Bleecker Street Opera. He participated in the Intermezzo Music Festival and the Operafestival di Roma.
Diane Lynn (Donna Diana; Norina 6/28) holds a MusM from Boston University. Her roles include Dew Fairy in Hansel & Gretel (Emerald City Opera Institute); First Lady in Magic Flute (American Singers’ Opera Project); Belinda in Dido & Aeneas (Bay Area Opera Theater); and Mlle. Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor(Boston University). Upcoming is Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Ms. Lynn is a 2011-2012 Underworld Productions Opera Resident Artist.
"A witty production that combined a gently tweaked storyline with an intimate setting that gave audience members a rare chance to experience opera up close." -- Classical Review
Paige Cutrona plays Norina 6/27, 29 and 30
Peter Castaldi plays Don Pasquale
"... formidable acting skills and vocal authority ... inhabits the role of Pasquale with absolute conviction." -- Classical Review, May 2012
WHO's WHO IN THE CAST
Gina Crusco (Director) has been praised in The New York Times for her "elegantly simple staging" and in the Italian press as "la bravissima Gina Crusco." She served as Maestro del Coro of Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto (Italy) for two opera seasons and on the voice faculty of New School University for nine years. She has won awards from NoMAA, Uptown Arts Stroll, Fractured Atlas, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and SPARC, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Pianist Elizabeth Rodgers holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, and is currently on the faculty there. She has also taught at Bard College, and was pianist in residence with the Berkshire Choral Festival. Ms. Rodgers has performed with The Metropolitan Players, Downtown Chamber Players, Friends and Enemies of New Music, Music Under Construction and The Lark Ascending. She has participated in the preparation and performance of operas with The Little Orchestra Society, Center for Contemporary Opera, and American Opera Projects. She has recorded with Opus I, CRI, Grenadilla, Musical Heritage, New World, Aurora, Albany, Avant and Mode.
Peter Castaldi (Don Pasquale) is a Paris-born baritone who was raised in Milan and finished his education in New York, where he earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, majoring in composition. Mr. Castaldi’s engagements include Gotham Chamber Opera’s production of Montsalvatge’s "El gato con botas," directed by Moisés Kaufman and Mahler’s 8th Symphony in the Sydney Opera House. Mr. Castaldi was featured in the spring of 2010 singing the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Florentine Opera. In 2008 and 2009 he sang the title role of Falstaff for Opera Roanoke.
Paige Cutrona (Norina) has been described as “passionate” and “vocally striking” by Anthony Tommasini inThe New York Times; Allan Kozinn of the Times wrote of her performance in Rameau’s Pygmalion with Underworld Productions Opera that she “made the most of Céphise’s brief moment in the spotlight.” Ms. Cutrona made her solo debut at Lincoln Center in Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” Her roles include Mimí inLa Bohème; Valencienne in The Merry Widow; Pamina in The Magic Flute and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. She has toured the US and Canada with A Royal Christmas featuring Andrea Bocelli, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Rashard Deleston (Dr. Malatesta) earned a degree from Manhattan School of Music. His roles include Figaro (Barber of Seville) with Amore Opera, Escamillo (Carmen) with Opera Company of Brooklyn, Peter (Hansel and Gretel) with New York Lyric Opera, and Marullo (Rigoletto) with Bleecker Street Opera. He participated in the Intermezzo Music Festival and the Operafestival di Roma.
Diane Lynn (Donna Diana; Norina 6/28) holds a MusM from Boston University. Her roles include Dew Fairy in Hansel & Gretel (Emerald City Opera Institute); First Lady in Magic Flute (American Singers’ Opera Project); Belinda in Dido & Aeneas (Bay Area Opera Theater); and Mlle. Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor(Boston University). Upcoming is Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Ms. Lynn is a 2011-2012 Underworld Productions Opera Resident Artist.
Lauren Alfano (Signora Pasquale) performs extensively as an oratorio soloist. In addition to performing as a Resident Artist with the Underworld Productions Opera, Ms. Alfano also sings with Satori Opera, New York Lyric Opera, and the Opera Company of Brooklyn. A proponent of new music, she was featured at the 2011 “Music With a View” Festival. Ms. Alfano recently made her Carnegie debut with the Remarkable Theater Brigade in their production of Opera Shorts. Her performances include Die Zauberflote (Erste Knabe), GiulioCesare (Cleopatra), Don Giovanni (Zerlina), and Alessandro Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater with ARTEK.
Matt Antar (Servant) is a recent graduate of SUNY Fredonia's BFA Acting program. Credits include "Nero, Seneca, Agrippina and Apples" (Workshop Theatre Co.) , and "The Region of Unlikeness" (Foobi Films) College credits include "[title of show]," "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," and "The History Boys." Matt works as the Administrative Assistant and Dance Instructor/Choreographer at the Pied Piper Children's Theatre of NYC.
Jonathan Breit (Stage Manager) is a composer and pianist living in New York City. Recent compositions include The Rivals (BMI, Lively Productions), written with Greg Edwards, The Senator and the Slave Girl (Yale University), and The Awkward Stage (Golden Fleece series), written with Leah Maddrie, and a song cycle based on the poems of La Fontaine (Chromatic Voice Exchange). He holds degrees from Yale College and Mannes College of Music.
