Lucy Arner to Conduct Verismo Opera's Premiere of LA GIOCONDA This Sunday

Fort Lee, New Jersey - The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera announces Cuban born Lucy Arner will debut as Principal Conductor in the company's performance of Amilcare Ponchielli's magnificent work, LA GIOCONDA.

The production, replete with complex plots and intrigue, will be presented on Sunday, April 17 at 3:00 p.m. at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC), located at 30 North Van Brunt Street, in Englewood, New Jersey. Arner will also become the company's first female Principal Conductor/Music Director and join a small group of women serving as Principal Conductors in the classical music world.

"I am very excited to begin my relationship with the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera, a company that specializes in presenting the verismo and bel canto operas that are so close to my heart. To make my debut with LA GIOCONDA, an opera that is on every opera conductor's 'bucket list', is an added bonus. The score is brilliant and full of orchestral color, and three of the leading roles sing arias that everyone loves to hear, from the hauntingly beautiful "Voce di donna" to the tenor and soprano war horses, 'Cielo e mar' and 'Suicidio!'" explains Arner.

From 1994 through the 2007-2008 season, Ms. Arner served on The Metropolitan Opera's music staff as the recitative accompanist in several productions, including Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore. She prepared several Met telecasts such as Giordano's Fedora with Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo. Among the prominent singers she has worked with in operatic productions are Alfredo Kraus, Montserrat Caballé, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, José Carreras and Placido Domingo.

Known as "a true singer's conductor," Lucy Arner debuted professionally in 1996 conducting Puccini's Suor Angelica and Menotti's The Telephone at the Teatro Mancinelli in Orvieto, Italy. Ms. Arner has conducted opera and concerts worldwide, and she was the first woman to conduct opera in Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, debuting with Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. She was the Artistic Director of the New York Chamber Opera from 2000-2005 and the interim Music Director of the University of Houston's Opera Center in the 2008-2009 season, conducting Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld and critically acclaimed performances of Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas. She was the first Cuban woman to conduct an opera with Florida Grand Opera and received the Henry C. Clark Distinguished Conductor Award for her work on Les Contes d'Hoffmann.

Ms. Arner attended Baldwin-Wallace College and Indiana University, receiving Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Miami.

"Verismo Opera's LA GIOCONDA is overflowing with human passions--real life protagonists and antagonists. Lovers of opera rarely get to see this opera produced. This production is more thrilling than anything I have ever seen. The costumes are grand, and the sets are magnificent. The great stage designer, Sormani, whose work graces opera houses around the world, created the exquisite sets in our production. Ponchielli's music was way ahead of his time! This is pure verismo," says Artistic Director Lucine Amara.

Based on Angelo, Tyrant of Padua by Victor Hugo, the story takes places in the magical city of Venice, during the seventeenth rule of the doges. Under the direction of Stage Director and Canadian soprano Evelyn La Quaif, the fully staged production in four acts is set to Arrigo Boito's Italian libretto. The cast sings in Italian, and English supertitles are provided for the audience.

Tickets are on sale for LA GIOCONDA and may be purchased online at www.bergenpac.org, at the bergenPAC box office, and by calling (201) 227-1030 or toll-free at 1-888-PACSHOW. Special discount ticket rates for senior citizens, children, and groups are available through April 17. Senior citizens receive a 10% discount on any regular priced ticket. The company is offering a reduced rate of $10 on all tickets for children, ages 12 and under. Special senior citizen and children's discount ticket rates are available at the box office only and must be requested before the purchase. For special rates for group sales only, call (201) 224-2809. Discount tickets are not available for purchase online.

Verismo Opera is committed to ensuring its programs and services are accessible to all. bergenPAC is handicapped accessible. Street parking is available in front of the theatre with designated handicapped parking spaces. Hearing assist systems are available upon request to the house manager in the lobby.

For 27 years, the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera has been an integral part of the region's classical music culture. Led by Metropolitan Opera luminary Lucine Amara, Verismo Opera delivers a rich, grand opera experience for performers and viewers.

As the Bergen Performing Arts Center's house opera company, Verismo Opera provides performing opportunities for young musicians and artists through its semi-annual productions at the theatre and concerts held in community settings. Community members are invited to get involved as supernumeraries and volunteers.

An annual international vocal competition is conducted in November with finals generally drawing artists throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Verismo Opera also organizes opera workshops, master classes and concerts and offers affordable, highly professional productions.

For more information, visit Verismo Opera's web site, www.verismopera.org; follow the company on Facebook, http://bit.ly/9JXTP8, or Twitter @NJVerismoOpera; or call (201) 886-0561.

Pictured: Lucy Arner. Photo by Pierre-Etienne Bergeron.

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