Opera Orchestra of New York Presents ANDREA CHENIER at Avery Fisher Hall Today

Mr. Veronesi is also Music Director of the Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago, Artistic Director of the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Artistic Director of the Bellini Opera Festival held in the ancient city of Catania, Sicily, the birthplace of Vincenso Bellini, and Permanent Conductor of the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, one of Italy's leading opera houses.

The Opera Orchestra of New York was established in 1971 by Eve Queler, the company's Conductor Laureate, to present to rarely-heard operas and provide the public with an opportunity to hear them performed in major concert venues. Among the Opera Orchestra's numerous U.S. premieres are Puccini's Edgar with Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto; Boito's Nerone with James Morris and Pablo Elvira; and Smetana's Libuse with Gabriela Benacková and Paul Plishka. The company also performed the New York premiere of Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans, with Dolora Zajick and Jorma Hynninen, which was also the American premiere of the Russian language version. The ensemble has also presented works long neglected in New York, such as Wagner's Rienzi, Verdi's I Lombardi, Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, and Catalani's La Wally. These pioneering efforts have led national opera companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric and Houston Grand Opera to add to their permanent repertoires works that received their first major modern hearing by The Opera Orchestra of New York including I lombardi, Donizetti's La Favorita, Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, Dvo?ák's Rusalka and Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina.

The Opera Orchestra of New York was also established as a means to identify and foster young operatic talent, providing young singers with an opportunity to rehearse and perform with full orchestra and chorus. The Opera Orchestra of New York has nurtured the talents of Renée Fleming, Aprile Millo, Vivica Genaux, Deborah Voigt, Latonia Moore, Stephen Costello, Michael Fabiano, Bryan Hymel and Eglise Gutiérrez. Other singers who have worked with Opera Orchestra very early in their careers include José Carreras, Barbara Hendricks, DWayne Croft, Samuel Ramey and James Morris. Singers who made their U.S. or New York debuts with Opera Orchestra include Gabriela Benacková, Stephanie Blythe, Olga Borodina, Ghena Dimitrova, Jane Eaglen, Carlo Guelfi, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Vesselina Kasarova, Paul Plishka, Rosalind Plowright and Krassimira Stoyanova and Dolora Zajick.

Sunday, January 6, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY

Andrea Chénier
Music by Umberto Giordani
Italian libretto by Luigi Illica, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé
The Opera Orchestra of New York
Alberto Veronesi, conductor

Andrea Chénier Roberto Alagna, tenor
Carlo Gérard George Petean, baritone *
La contessa di Coigny Jennifer Feinstein, mezzo soprano *
Maddalena di Coigny Kristin Lewis, soprano *^†
Bersi, serva mulatta Renata Lamanda, mezzo soprano *
Roucher David Pershall, bass *
Mathieu, detto Populus Ricardo Rivera, baritone
Madelon Rosalind Elias, mezzo soprano *
Un Incredibile Nicola Pamio, tenor †
Pietro Fléville, romanziere Angelo Nardinocchi, bass *^†
L'abate Ronald Naldi, tenor
Schmidt, carceriere a San Lazzaro Eric Keller, bass

New York Choral Ensemble

* Opera Orchestra of New York debut
^ U.S. debut
† Lincoln Center debut

Single tickets priced from $35 to $165 can be purchased online by visiting www.operaorchestrany.org, www.lincolncenter.org, or by calling CenterCharge at 212-721-6500.