Sunday, May 19, 2024 @ 5:00pm – 6:45pm (EDT)
Community Lutheran Church, Sterling, VA, United States
Leonard Bernstein — Selected works
Gaetano Donizetti — Selected works
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Selected works
Richard Rodgers — Selected works

Opera at its best! An evening delight of arias and ensembles, sung by a new and vibrant generation of classical singers.

Featuring special guest artist Joélle Harvey of the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, and more.

The concert will be accompanied by Lucy Arner and Liora Maurer (Metropolitan Opera), and followed by a Meet and Greet with the artists.

A unique event in Loudoun County!

About Canto Vocal Programs

Canto is an international opera program for emerging artists, providing the highest level of training by acclaimed teachers and featured guest artists in major cities all over the world.

https://www.canto-vocal.org

About Riley Findley, baritone

Baritone Riley Findley's recent roles include Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi) with Opera Lucca, James Mills (The House Without a Christmas Tree) and Albert (Werther) with William Jewell College. Notable roles include Sam (Trouble in Tahiti), Peter Quince (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and Melisso (Alcina). Findley holds a bachelor's degree in music from William Jewell College.

About Liora Maurer, piano

Liora Maurer joined the Metropolitan Opera as an Assistant Conductor during the 2008-2009 season. She has prepared a wide variety of repertoire at the Met, from the new productions of Fedora and Rigoletto to productions such as The Dialogues of the Carmelites and the American premiere of Nico Muhly's Two Boys. Liora can be seen playing the rehearsals filmed for the feature on Maestro Nézet-Séguin shown worldwide during the 2018 HD telecast of La Traviata, as well as in a documentary shown on PBS titled Yannick – An Artist's Journey. She appeared in concert with tenor Roberto Alagna and soprano Aleksandra Kurzak in a benefit for the Conservatorio de Musica de San Juan in Puerto Rico.

In 2015, Liora Maurer co-founded Canto Vocal Programs with Lucy Arner (conductor/vocal coach) and Sharon Mohar (stage director/interpretation coach). Ms. Maurer currently serves as Director of Opera Studies. Since its founding, Canto has worked with hundreds of singers all over the world, providing professional training programs in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Zagreb, Bucharest, Louisville (KY), New York, and northern Virginia. Canto alumni can be seen and heard on opera stages in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Prior to joining the Met, Ms. Maurer was an Assistant Conductor at New York City Opera, beginning with the 1997-98 season. She was the recitative accompanist for several productions, including Don Giovanni, L'Elisir d'amore, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Il Viaggio a Reims. Ms. Maurer has also worked with Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Opera Omaha, the New Israeli Opera, and Spoleto Festival USA. She was the official pianist for the 2014 George London Foundation Competition. Ms. Maurer has been on the faculty of the International Vocal Arts Institute, and has performed all over the world, including Israel, Germany, Spain, Romania, Japan, Italy, Perú, and Puerto Rico. She is a graduate of the Rubin Academy in Tel Aviv and received a Master of Music degree in Accompanying from the Manhattan School of Music. She has won numerous awards, including a merit scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.

https://www.canto-vocal.org/liora-maurer

About Lucy Arner, piano & conductor

Cuban-born conductor Lucy Arner brings to the podium a special affinity for Italian and French opera that is enhanced by her vast experience working in some of the world's greatest opera houses such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and the Metropolitan Opera. In the fall of 2015, she was named Music Director and Principal Conductor of New Jersey Verismo Opera, becoming the first female music director for the company. Since 2015, she has conducted La Gioconda, Rigoletto, Tosca, Aida, Turandot and Norma to critical acclaim.

​Ms. Arner was a member of the Metropolitan Opera's music staff from 1994 through the 2007-08 season. Specializing in Italian repertory, she was featured as the recitative accompanist in productions of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Handel's Guilio Cesare, and Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore; as well as preparing several Met telecasts such as Giordano's Fedora with Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo, the spectacular production by the late Anthony Minghella of Madama Butterfly, Verdi's Macbeth, and Bellini's I Puritani with Anna Netrebko. She has worked with many prominent singers in operatic productions including Alfredo Kraus, Montserrat Caballé, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Aprile Millo, Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Mignon Dunn, José Carreras, Juan Pons, Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo, Giuseppe Giacomini, Sharon Sweet, June Anderson, Jane Eaglen, Anna Netrebko, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Ben Heppner, Jennifer Larmore, Juan Diego Florez, Rockwell Blake, Paul Plishka, Olga Borodina, Dolora Zajick, Deborah Voigt, Renée Fleming, and Thomas Hampson. Ms. Arner was quoted extensively about her experiences with Montserrat Caballé in the November 2002 Opera News cover article about the great Spanish soprano.

http://www.lucyarner.com/

Community Lutheran Church

21014 Whitfield Pl
Sterling, VA 20165
United States

https://communitylutheran.org/