Amor Latino Songs of Love and Longing from Spain and the Americas

Vocalists Celia Castro, Anna Tonna and Celeste Mann join forces with pianist Max Lifchitz the afternoon of February 12 for an afternoon recital featuring art songs about love and longing by composers from Spain and the Americas.

The intimate, one-off a kind program, will highlight songs with texts in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian by Brazilians Chiquinha Gonzaga and Claudio Santoro; Peruvian Clotilde Arias; and Spaniard Joaquín Turina.

Of special interest, will be the premiere of a song cycle especially written for the occasion by Barcelona-based Miquel Ortega and one by Max Lifchitz inspired by the poetry of Mexico's muse - the 17th century intellectual and women's rights activist Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

The free-admission concert will start at 3 PM and will be held at the National Opera Center's Marc A. Scorca Hall located at 330 Seventh Ave (FL 7) in New York City. http://www.northsouthmusic.org/calendar.asp

The event is possible in part with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs as well as grants from the Women's Philharmonic Advocacy and the Zethus Fund.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Soprano Celia Castro is a graduate of Rutgers University and the Mannes College of Music. A winner of the NYSTA Young Artists Competition and the Clarisse Kampel Foundation Prize, Ms. Castro has appeared in numerous opera and zarzuela productions throughout the tri-state area, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

"A born star who effectively stole the show" is how the press describes mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna. Her performances have been depicted as "...full of charm and magnetism with her dark, compact lyric mezzo-soprano ideally suited for the flamenco-like vocal flourishes of Spanish music." Well known for her commitment to the music of Spain and Latin America, Ms. Tonna was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study and perform in Spain upon her graduation from the Mannes College of Music.

Contralto Celeste Mann studied at Yale University and the University of Iowa. The Philadelphia DiCapo Opera honored her with the Gary Giardina Young Artist Award. She also won the Premio Studio Monte dei Paschi di Siena, awarded by Siena's Dante Alighieri Society. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, Ms. Mann has lived and studied in Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

Pianist Max Lifchitz has appeared on concert stages throughout Europe, Latin America and the US. The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "a stunning, ultra-sensitive pianist" while the New York Times praised him for his "clean, measured and sensitive performances." Lifchitz appears as collaborative artist and conductor in over fifty compact disc albums, including nine widely praised solo albums featuring piano music from the Americas.

For the complete Winter/Spring concert series schedule please visit

http://www.northsouthmusic.org/calendar.asp

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