FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 20, 2020 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 59
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Photo courtesy of Queens College
Queens College Opera to perform in annual New York Opera Fest
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e Queens College Opera is set to perform
in New York Opera Fest celebrating
its fi ft h season with performances
by 20-plus local opera companies across
the city.
On Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m., Th e
Queens College Opera will host a Young
Artists Concert featuring excerpts from
past, present and future productions at
Aaron Copland School of Music in Room
270 on campus at 65-30 Kissena Blvd.
“Each year, Queens College Opera
provides talented students of the Aaron
Copland School of Music with the opportunity
to show off their talents and gain
performing experience in beloved works of
opera,” said Elizabeth Hastings, director of
Queens College Opera. “Th is concert will
off er audiences a chance to hear selections
from past, present and future productions.”
Peter Szep, founding director of the
New York Opera Fest and co-founder of
New York Opera Alliance, said they are
honored to provide artists with a platform
to develop new works, and engage with
communities of all ages and backgrounds.
“What a great time to be enjoying opera
in the city,” Szep said. “We strive to provide
an event that is accessible and aff ordable
for all audiences. Th is is truly your
neighborhood festival.”
Presented by the New York Opera Alliance,
with support from OPERA America, the
annual festival runs for two months from
May through June starting with a special
kick-off event on April 27. Th is year’s festival
includes 60-plus performances including
eight world premieres:
No Dominion Th eatre Company’s
HindSight by librettist Bea Goodwin and
composer Felix Jarrar; KAMMEROPER
1804, Beethoven’s other opera, performed
by Capital Opera Albany; a translation
of Mozart’s Il re pastore (Th e Shepherd
King) by the little OPERA Th eatre of ny,
a new four-piece Richard Burke Opera by
Hunter Opera Th eater, Midnight in the
Garden by Vertical Player Repertory showcasing
soprano Francesca Mondanaro,
American Opera Project’s biannual concert
of world premiere songs; sci-fi work
Red Giant performed by Rhymes with
Opera; and Performance of Self, a new
work commissioned by Beth Morrison
Projects that explores gender and sexuality
identifi cation.
Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO
of OPERA America, the national membership
organization for opera that supports
NYOA and the Opera Fest, said,
“Th e vibrancy and ingenuity of the companies
that make up the New York Opera
Alliance and perform in the NY Opera
Fest are inspiring innovation across
the entire country. Similar companies
are popping up in cities across North
America, and many of them are inspiring
innovation at larger established companies.
Th ey all should aspire to collaborate
as eff ectively as the NYOA in producing
such a reputable annual festival.”
Th e festival has grown tremendously
over the past fi ve years. Since its inception
in 2016, the festival has premiered 40-plus
works, presented over 360-plus performances
by 100-plus companies. In addition,
NYOA is thrilled to report that the
number of works by women has doubled
the past fi ve years.
For the fi rst time, the festival will take
place in all fi ve boroughs in diverse venues
such as theaters, bars, school playgrounds,
and museums. Opera on Tap
will perform thrice in Brooklyn bars and
even in a Harlem school playground.
According to WQXR Radio, “the festival
is a reminder that opera doesn’t need a
3,000-seat theater to be grand, and some
of the more innovative, impassioned,
exciting, and vital — as well as aff ordable
— productions are coming out of these
smaller, more nimble companies.”
Last year’s performance of The Magic Flute featuring Carlos Arcos and Caitlin Timken as Papageno and Papagena.
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