Bryant Park to Present New York City Opera in VIVA VERDI!

For the fourth (and final!) performance for Bryant Park Presents, New York City Opera is proud to present a performance filled with Giuseppe Verdi's most beloved arias and duets, culminating with Rigoletto. The concert, titled "Viva Verdi!" is set for Friday, September 15 at 6 p.m.

City Opera stars including sopranos Kristin Sampson and Elizabeth Caballero, mezzo-soprano Kristee Haney, tenor Jason Karn, and baritone Michael Corvino perform some of the most famous arias and ensembles from the towering genius of Italian opera, Giuseppe Verdi. This celebration of the unrivaled master of melody includes selections from his beloved operas: Macbeth, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La Traviata, and Aida.

Bryant Park Corporation (BPC), a private not-for-profit company, was founded in 1980 to renovate, finance and operate Bryant Park in New York City. BPC is funded by income from events, concessions and corporate sponsors, as well as an assessment on neighboring properties, and does not accept government or philanthropic monies. In addition to providing security and sanitation services and tending the park's lush lawn and seasonal garden displays, BPC provides public amenities and activities, including movable chairs and tables, cafe umbrellas, restaurants, food kiosks, world-class restrooms, and a wide range of free events throughout the year. The Midtown Manhattan park is visited by more than six million people each year and is one of the busiest public spaces in the world. BPC's website, bryantpark.org, is available for more detailed information and a schedule of upcoming events.

Since its founding in 1943 by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as "The People's Opera," New York City Opera has been a critical part of the city's cultural life. During its history, City Opera launched the careers of dozens of major artists and presented engaging productions of both mainstream and unusual operas alongside commissions and regional premieres. The result was a uniquely American Opera Company of international stature. For more than seven decades, City Opera maintained a distinct identity, adhering to its unique mission: affordable ticket prices, a devotion to American works, English-language performances, the promotion of up-and-coming American singers, and seasons of accessible, vibrant and compelling productions intended to introduce new audiences to the art form. Stars who began their careers at New York City Opera include Plácido Domingo, Beverly Sills, Samuel Ramey, and dozens more. In 1999, New York City Opera founded VOX, Contemporary Opera Lab, an annual concert series that offered composers and librettists the opportunity to hear excerpts of their works performed by professional singers and musicians. For decades City Opera has been committed to introducing opera to the young, bringing the art form to new audiences with educational outreach performances in New York City's public schools. Now, having returned to the stage, New York City Opera continues its legacy at a new, state-of-the-art home at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with revitalized outreach and education programs, and programming designed to welcome and inspire a new generation of City Opera audiences.

Follow Bryant Park online at www.bryantpark.org, on Twitter: @BryantParkNYC, Instagram:@BryantParkNYC and facebook.com/BryantParkNYC.

Bryant Park is situated behind The New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan, between 40th and 42nd Streets & Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Take the B, D, F, or M train to 42nd Street/Bryant Park; or, take the 7 train to 5th Avenue.

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