Il Trionfo dell'Onore (Honor Wins Out)

at MOSA

(Music at our Saviour's Atonement)

Sunday, May 5 at 5pm

Free event! 

Sung in Italian with English and Spanish supertitles

Underworld Productions Opera presents the New York premiere of Alessandro Scarlatti's only full-length comic opera, Il Trionfo dell'Onore, a fast-paced romp of high and low characters laced with glorious melody.  

Premiered on November 26, 1718 at the Teatro dei Fiorentini in Naples, Il Trionfo dell’Onore is seminal in the development of opera buffa. Its libretto by Francesco Antonio Tullio about four couples staying at two Pisan alberghi centers on the exploits of the dissolute protagonist Riccardo, a precursor to Mozart’s Don Giovanni. At the premiere this quintessential womanizer was played by a woman, soprano Caterina Testi.  This has inspired us to cast soprano Kelli Butler in the lead role. Featuring 8 singers, this 80-minute work will be performed semi-staged.

Featuring: 

Kelli Butler as Riccardo (pictured above)

Maria Todaro as Leonora

Rachel Policar as Doralice

Miran Robarts as Cornelia

Catherine Leech as Rosina

Stephanie McGuire as Erminio

Christopher Preston Thompson as Flaminio

Stephen Lavonier as Rodimarte

Dorian Komanoff Bandy - Music Director, violin

Christine Gummere - cello

Elizabeth Rodgers -- keyboard

Gina Crusco, Director 

Music at our Saviour's Atonement

178 Bennett Avenue

New York, NY 10040

Click HERE for Directions

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. This program is also made possible in part with public funds from the Fund for Creative Communities, supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.  Additional funding has been provided by the Venable Foundation and Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance; the NoMAA Creative Grant Program was made possible by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation.

Arias and Irish Songs at the Y

Arias and Irish Songs

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with UPO 

Free.

Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 2pm

YM&YHWA 
of Washington Heights/Inwood

54 Nagle Street

New York, NY 10040

Radoslav Lessay

Rachel Policar

Miran Robarts

         

 

        Briana Sakamoto

Program Includes: 

The Silver Aria from Douglas Moore's Ballad of Baby Doe

Durch Zärtlichkeit from Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio

Laurie's Song from Aaron Copland's The Tender Land

Dalla sua pace from Mozart's Don Giovanni

Plus:

Danny Boy

and

 When Irish Eyes are Smiling

Gina Crusco, director

Elizabeth Rodgers, accompanist

FREE with RSVP to underworldprod@gmail.com

Festive Opera Arias at the Y

December 2, 2012
2 pm
YM & YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood
54 Nagle Avenue
New York City

UPO Fall 2012 Resident Artists
L to R: Aditi Chavravarty, Rado Lesay, Elise Jablow, Alicia Williams, Danielle Bendjy

FREE but space is limited.
Reserve your places: underworldprod@gmail.com

Hear arias and duets by Underworld Productions Opera Resident Artists and Guests on the Y's delightful stage in a neighborhood setting. Selections include:

Duets by GF Handel 
Hear the themes the composer drew from for his famous holiday oratorio!

"Black Horses" by Michael Dutka
Nero has a new job pulling a heavy cart with 3 other black horses, little knowing what the sad cargo may be. NY Premiere of a 15-minute opera 

Festive arias from Don Giovanni, Turandot, L'Elisir d'Amore and more.

Artists include:

Aditi Chakravarty
Amanda Hick
Elise Jablow
Radoslav Lesay
David Mimran
Alicia Williams

Accompanied by Elizabeth Rodgers. Directed by Gina Crusco.

To get to the Y:

By Bus

Take the #7 or #100 to Broadway and Nagle Avenue. The Y is ½ block down Nagle Avenue on your left.

By Train

Take the “A” train to 190th Street Stop. Exit through tunnel following signs for Bennett Avenue. Once leave station, go left down small hill to intersection of Broadway and Nagle Avenue. Cross over Broadway and continue walking straight onto Nagle Avenue. The Y is ½ block on your left.

Or

Take the “1” train to the Dyckman Street stop. Exit down stairs and turn left onto Nagle Avenue. Go 4 blocks to the Y which is on your right side.

By Car

From points South: Take the Henry Hudson Parkway North to Dyckman Street exit. Follow Dyckman Street two lights and then merge right before island onto Broadway. Immediately turn right at stop sign onto Broadway. Turn left at 6th light onto Nagle Avenue. The Y is ½ block on the left side with a parking lot immediately next to the Y.

Or

From points North: Take the Henry Hudson Parkway South to Dyckman Street exit. Make left trun off exit and go straight, 3 blocks to Seaman Ave (can not go further). Turn right onto Seaman Avenue to first light (short block). Turn left onto Dyckman Street and then quickly merge right before island at next light. Immediately turn right at stop sign onto Broadway. Turn left at 6th light onto Nagle Avenue. The Y is ½ block on the left side with a parking lot immediately next to the Y. Or From points East: Take the Harlem River Drive North to the Dyckman Street exit. Turn left at the end of the highway onto Dyckman Street. Go to next light and turn left onto Nagle Avenue. The Y is 4 blocks on your right side with a parking lot immediately next to the Y.

UPO at Morris-Jumel Mansion

Songs & Arias on the Front Porch

Saturday, October 6, 2012

1-1:30 pm

With (top to bottom) Aditi Chavravarty; Elise Jablow; Alicia Williams; Danielle Bendjy; Radoslav Lesay. Accompanied by Elizabeth Rodgers. Directed by Gina Crusco.

Thank you so much for participating in the Festival again. As always you and your singers were great! And all the ladies looked so glamorous, definitely the best dressed group of the afternoon. 
-- Carol Ward, Education Director, Morris-Jumel Mansion

Missed it?

Never miss another UPO event!

Email us at underworldprod@gmail.com

Here's what you missed:

Danielle Bendjy in "Mein Herr Marquis"
or as you can see "The Laughing Song"

Aditi Chakravarty in "Adieu, notre petite table."
Imagine saying goodbye to your boyfriend's table!

Elise Jablow in "Deh vieni, non tardar"
telling Figaro she loves him by telling another man she loves him.

Radoslav Lesay in "Mamma" by Bixio.
Is it still possible for a man to love his mother best?

Alicia Williams in Micaela's aria.
Good girl to Carmen's bad girl.

Not to mention The Vanilla Ice Cream Song; Steal me, sweet thief; and Lonely House. 

Next time be sure to join us! 

That email address once again: underworldprod@gmail.com.

Don P for FREE

Moose Hall Theatre Company / Inwood Shakespeare Festival 

Free Opera in the Park presents 

Underworld Productions Opera's

Don Pasquale

& His Trophy Wife 

Free in Inwood Hill Park  

Two more shows! 

Friday-Saturday, June 29-30th, 7:30 pm

Peter Castaldi (Don Pasquale) and Paige Cutrona (Norina). Photo by George Tsugranes.

Classical Review says it's "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."

 New York Magazine says: "The innovative local troupe [is] known for its reinterpretations of opera classics."

Time Out says: "Donizetti's sassy comedy is thoroughly reimagined in this novel outing by Underworld Productions Opera."

Paige Cutrona plays Norina

 "Passionate...vocally striking."

-- The New York Times     

Peter Castaldi plays Don Pasquale  

"... formidable acting skills and vocal authority of baritone Peter Castaldi who inhabits the role of Pasquale with absolute conviction."

-- Classical Review, May 2012

You can say what you like.

But only if you come to Don Pasquale & His Trophy Wife

FREE in Inwood Park.

Two more shows, June 29-30, at 7:30 pm.

Directions: 

Take the A train to 207th St. or the #1 to 215th St.  Walk north on Broadway, turn left on 218th St., and continue into park, over footbridge, to the northwestern-most point of the peninsula.  We'll see you there!

  

Information:

 www.underworldprod.com

  

RSVP:

 underworldprod@gmail.com

Share the Stage Final Concert!

SHARE THE STAGE CONCERT

Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 2 pm

YM & YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood

54 Nagle Avenue

FREE WITH RSVP: underworldprod@gmail.com

or 212-569-6200 x 231

Come hear the unique combination of professional singers and volunteer seniors and community chorus.  

Highlights of the program:

♪  Vilja from Franz Lehar's Merry Widow

♪  Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen

♪  Nessun dorma from Puccini's Turandot

♪  Choral Selections from the Hebrew, Latino, 

Quaker, Gospel and Musical Theatre traditions

Gina Crusco, Director

Sung by the Share the Stage Chorus with UPO guest singers Gregory Armstrong, Tara Bobiak, and Stephanie McGuire; Elizabeth Rodgers will be at the piano.  Last concert of the season!

SPARC is a collaboration among the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department for the Aging and the City's five local arts councils. This program is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is also supported by the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Neighborhood Fund.

Animals in the Park

Underworld Productions Opera

and The Metropolitan Soloists Woodwind Quintet

present

Animals in the Park

A FREE Family Performance

Monday, June 18, 2012 at 7 pm

Isham Park

Entrances south of 215th St. from Park Terrace East or Park Terrace West

Light classics for a summer evening featuring the soloists of Underworld Productions Opera in the premiere of "Wynken, Blynken & Nod" and "The Gingham Dog & the Calico Cat" by Henry Papale, arranged by the composer for voice and woodwind quintet.  

Also on the program is last summer's favorite, "El Rinoceronte/The Rhinoceros" by Michael Dutka on a poem by Elisa Gonzalez.

                                                                    

Performed by Tara Bobiak, soprano; Stephanie McGuire, mezzo-soprano; and the Metropolitan Soloists woodwind quintet.  Vocal selections conducted by Gina Crusco.

  

Underworld Productions Opera has a mission to take music to historically underserved populations including Washington Heights and Inwood and to engender a wider audience for opera through participation by those of diverse backgrounds and ages. UPO has been recognized for innovation and excellence by Musical America’s “Year in Music 2009,” The New York Times, Opera News, Early Music America, and in the blogosphere (“This is genius!” -- Madison Opera Blog).  Underworld Productions Opera, 10 Park Terrace East #4C, New York, NY 10034; underworldprod@gmail.com;  www.underworldprod.com.

Tara Bobiak’s recent roles include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel, and Frasquita inCarmen. Training programs include Opera Project NYC Scenes Program, Juilliard Evening Division Opera Workshop, New York Lyric Opera Artist in Residence Program, and Brooklyn Conservatory Opera Workshop. Ms. Bobiak holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice from Penn State and is a 2011-2012 Underworld Productions Resident Artist.

Gina Crusco 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. 

Michael Dutka is currently completing Liebovar, about the inmates of the Maritzenstadt Concentration Camp who write a children’s opera to save their children from the Nazi death camps. He has completed 5 operas including The Crowded House and The Animal Kingdom on bilingual poems by Elisa Gonzalez, both performed by Underworld Productions Opera.

Stephanie McGuire, mezzo-soprano has performed in two roles in New York City Opera’s VOX festival of contemporary music as well as numerous roles in operas such as Handel’s Alcina and Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. She holds a Master’s degree in music from Longy Conservatory and a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford. Ms. McGuire is a 2011-2012 Underworld Productions Resident Artist.

Henry Papale has written six operas, including JULIA: An Operatic Monodrama premiered by Underworld Productions Opera in 2007.  He has written hundreds of art songs, 10 string quartets, and over 200 piano pieces. His chamber opera, Balloon, received 8 performances in Toronto; other performances include Bach & Madrigal Society of Phoenix; John Harms Theatre in Englewood, NJ; and Duquesne University.