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OPERA SHOWSTOPPERS AT THE WOOD THEATER AUG. 1

GLENS FALLS - For one magical evening, the sounds of world-class opera will descend on downtown Glens Falls when “Opera Showstoppers” is performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, at The Charles R. Wood Theater 207 Glen St. Tickets are $20.

Soprano Jacqueline Noparstak, First Place winner of the 2008 Sembrich Voice Scholarship Competition, is joined by another of American opera’s rising young stars, tenor Eric Fennell, for a diverse program featuring some of the most beloved arias and duets from the world of opera.
 
"We're delighted to bring these two outstanding young singers to Glens Falls for a program of some of the most beloved melodies from the world of opera,” said the museum’s artistic director Richard Wargo.  “It’s an ideal sort of entertainment for a summer's night."
 
Also performing on the program will be Polish violinist Malina Sarnowska and pianist Michael Fennelly.  Included in their selections will be the rapturously beautiful "Meditation" from Thais by Massenet.

Noparstak’s distinguished career has led to roles that include Hanna, in “The Merry Widow,” with the Liederkranz Foundation; Contessa Almaviva, in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” and Micaëla in “Carmen”. In addition to her recent award, she has been a finalist in several competitions and most recently won First Prize in the Marie E. Crump Vocal Arts Competition, hosted by the Maryland Opera Society; and won First Prize in the Lois Alba Competition in Houston, Texas.

Lyric tenor Eric Fennell’s performances have been described by The Boston Globe as “touchingly vulnerable…his sweet lyric tenor is capable of not only great nuance but is ready and able to trumpet out thrilling high notes.”

Operatic highlights include Rodolfo in “La Bohème” with New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Lake George Opera Festival, Pensacola Opera, and Baz Luhrman’s La Bohème on Broadway. He has also performed as Alfredo in “La Traviata with New York City Opera; as Tamino in “Die Zauberflöte” for Sarasota Opera; and as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette for Toledo Opera.

“Opera Showstoppers” is a tribute to the Kosciuszko Foundation’s Sembrich Voice Scholarship Competition, which honors the great Polish soprano Marcella Kochanska Sembrich, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut in its brand-new building in 1883. After an enormously successful career, the popular singer founded the vocal programs at both the Juilliard School and Curtis Institute.

 The Competition, held every two years, is open to young singers, who prepare a repertoire of standard works and songs and arias of Moniuszko, Szymanowski, and other Polish and American composers. Previous winners of the competition include Barbara Hendricks and Jan Opalach. The winner of the Sembrich Competition in New York is customarily sent to the Moniuszko International Competition in Warsaw, next held in May 2010. Cash scholarship prizes are $2000, $1250, and $750.

“Because it’s “The Year of Sembrich,” we want to recognize the Kosciuszko Foundation scholarship founded in Madame Sembrich’s name,” said Wargo, who added that many of the selections from “Opera Showstoppers” will be from Marcella Sembrich's own repertoire and as such will celebrate her career as a prima donna on the opera stage.

The Kosciuszko Foundation is dedicated to promoting educational and cultural relations between the United States and Poland, and to increasing American understanding of Polish culture and history in the United States.

“Marcella Sembrich was a brilliant opera singer whose dedication to creating beautiful music was endless,” said Noparstak. “We owe her a great debt of gratitude for her contributions to opera on and off the stage.  I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in honoring her legacy.”

Wargo said that the selection of timeless opera arias selected for the evening’s performance will appeal to opera buffs and novices alike.

“Some of most beautiful music ever written is found in end of first act of Puccini's “La Boheme,” in which the tenor and soprano each have solo arias (Rodolfo's "Che gelida manina — What a cold little hand" and Mimi's "Sì, mi chiamano Mimì — Yes, they call me Mimì"), culminating in a beautiful final duet, ("O soave fanciulla — Oh gentle maiden")  "It’s a glorious scene that Marcella Sembrich sang, often times paired with tenor Enrico Caruso."

The Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, Inc., a not-for-profit organization founded in 1940, dedicates its existence and purpose to honor the life and career of internationally renowned soprano, Marcella Sembrich. The MSMA maintains Sembrich’s former teaching studio as a museum displaying Sembrich’s personal effects that reflect on her daily life of teaching and her career. The MSMA also carries on the fine tradition of music through a summer concert series presenting renowned international musicians in concert at the studio.

Media Sponsor for the museum’s 2008 season is The Lake George Mirror. “The 2008 Year of Sembrich Summer Series” is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program and Warren County, administered locally by the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council, the New York Council for the Humanities, the Warren County Occupancy Tax and the Town of Bolton.

The museum is open daily June 15th through September 15. Hours are 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Admission is by donation.

To purchase tickets for upcoming concerts, please call the museum office at (518) 644-2431. For more information about the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association, the Opera Museum or for a calendar of the MSMA's 2008 summer program please go to www.operamuseum.org or contact the MSMA at (518) 644-2431 (office) or (518) 644-9839 (museum).