NJ Association of Verismo Opera to Hold Auditions for Chorus

(Fort Lee, New Jersey; January 16, 2012) – If you have a desire to sing your heart out, the NJ Association of Verismo Opera (Verismo Opera) in Fort Lee wants you.  Verismo Opera’s Artistic Director and Metropolitan Opera star Lucine Amara announces auditions for the Verismo Opera Chorus will be held from January 18 through March 28. 

During this season, A Year of Love, Tragedy, and Suicide, singers will appear in the company’s productions of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore on April 22 and Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly in the fall at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) in Englewood, New Jersey and other venues.

“If you love music and have a good musical ear, we encourage you to audition for the chorus.  Male choristers, who are tenors, baritones, and basses, are especially needed,” says Amara.

Auditions for the chorus will be held on Wednesdays, January 18, February 1, February 15, February 29, March 14 and March 28 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at 44 Armory Street in Englewood, New Jersey.   Applicants should bring one or two songs to perform.  An accompanist will be provided.

Sight-reading ability is definitely a plus, but not necessary.  No prior stage experience is required.  An application may be downloaded at http://www.njavo.org/chorus.html.  For information or to schedule an appointment to audition for the chorus, call (201) 886-0561. 

Under Chorus Director Mara Waldman, singers will explore grand opera through active performances.  Directed by General Manager/Stage Director Evelyn La Quaif, the operas will be fully staged and performed in costume accompanied by an orchestra under internationally renowned Principal Conductor/Music Director Anthony Morss in a number of performing arts centers.

About NJ Association of Verismo Opera

The NJ Association of Verismo Opera (Verismo Opera) has been a part of the New Jersey music scene since 1989.  The opera company, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization based in Fort Lee New Jersey, is the only professional opera company in Bergen County and northern New Jersey.  The organization provides performing opportunities for young musicians and artists and sponsors an annual vocal competition held in November with finals generally held at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, drawing artists from all over the United States, Canada, and Europe.  The company also organizes opera workshops and offers affordable, highly professional operatic productions in the Bergen County, New Jersey community.

The company is recognized for providing up and coming performing artists with the training to attain a successful operatic career.  Several singers, notably Richard Hobson, Frank Poretta, Emmanuel di Villarosa, James Valenti and Irina Rindzuner of the Metropolitan Opera, started their road to success by performing in Verismo Opera productions.

For more information about the NJ Association of Verismo Opera, visit is web site, www.njavo.org, view it on Facebook at http://bit.ly/9JXTP8, or call (201) 886-0561.