An Evening of Opera Narrated by New York Times Music Critic Vivien Schweitzer

The International Masters Academy of Opera presents an intimate concert that celebrates the birth of opera to modern operatic repertory. Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times classical music critic and author of A Mad Love: An Introduction to Opera will narrate the evening of crowd-pleasers and boundary pushing pieces to compliment the evening’s musical journey.

Rising artists will perform favorite pieces such as The Flower Duet from Lakmé, Una furtiva lagrima from L’elisir d’amore, the famous quartet from Rigoletto Bella figlia dell'amore, and Make Our Garden Grow from Candide as well as pieces by Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky, Korngold, Mozart, Dove, Monteverdi and more.

“IMAO began as an idea to give international masterclasses. We began in

Moscow, Russia, and subsequently have brought our musical ideas around the

globe. Tonight, we celebrate in New York by bringing our talented and gifted

young artists to Carnegie Hall with Vivien Schweitzer’s fresh perspective on

opera through the ages,” says Dr. Richard Milton Barrett, Artistic Director of

IMAO.

Singers include sopranos Juliet Morris, Samantha McElhaney, Margarita

Gushcha, Diana Skavronskaya; mezzo-sopranos Corinn Springer and Polina

Egudina; tenor Juan Hernandez; baritone Samuel Chiba; and bass-baritone Tair

Tazhi. Giovanni Longo and Christian Ugenti accompany on the piano. The

internationally-diverse group is from all over the United States, Canada, Russia,

Kazakhstan, Puerto Rico, and Italy, reflecting the mission of the company.

The evening’s performance was designed by International Masters Academy of

Opera’s Artistic Director Dr. Richard Milton Barrett, President Olga An, and

Director of Program Development Corinn Springer, with the support of Alex Cao.