Opera at Florham Prepares for All-Star 35th Anniversary Gala

On Sunday, October 15, 2017, Opera at Florham will celebrate its 35th Anniversary with an all-star gala at Lenfell Hall, The Mansion at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. Starting with a concert and concluding with a reception and special dinner, the event will be hosted by PBS/WQXR commentator Midge Woolsey and honor two New Jersey residents – James Morris, Bass-Baritone Met Opera Star, and Susan Quittmeyer, Mezzo-Soprano and Rutgers Opera Institute faculty. The program begins at 2:00 p.m., and tickets are still available.

“At Opera at Florham, we believe Opera is for everyone,” says Joan Del Giudice, president of Opera at Florham. “Opera’s powerful music, characters, and acting engage the senses, emotions, and intellect, telling timeless stories of fantasy, life, love, tragedy, and hope. We must ensure it remains accessible – that’s why we provide low-cost, high-quality events for the community.”

The concert will include operatic favorites performed by distinguished singers, soprano Maria Natale, tenor Fanyong Du, and baritone Ricardo Rivera, led by pianist Mary Pinto. The repertoire, carefully chosen for the occasion, will consist of arias and ensembles from La Bohème, I Puritani, Faust, Eugene Onegin, Simon Boccanegra and Le Nozze di Figaro, all Operas the two honorees have sung throughout their careers.

Lenfell Hall (located in Hennessy Hall) was the drawing room of the Vanderbilt-Twombly family’s gilded-age estate when they lived in the 100-room mansion. The venue is handicap accessible and free van shuttle service from parking lots will be available to attendees.

Legendary American Bass-Baritone James Morris is world famous for his performances in opera, concert, recital, and recording. With a repertoire including works by Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, Offenbach, Stravinsky, Mussorgsky, Mozart, Gounod and Britten, Mr. Morris has performed in virtually every international opera house and has appeared with the major orchestras of Europe and the United States. Considered one of the greatest interpreters of the role of Wotan in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, Mr. Morris has appeared in this role at the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera and many others. He is also considered the world’s leading interpreter of the title role in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer and has appeared as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in the major houses of the United States and Europe.

American Mezzo-Soprano Susan Quittmeyer has performed in America, Europe, Japan and more. She has performed in operas, with orchestras and at recitals, and she has appeared regularly with the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera companies. Quittmeyer also sang with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Opera Theater, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Canadian Opera Company, Opéra de Montréal, San Diego Opera, Portland Opera, Dallas Opera, Denver Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Miami Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. She has performed with numerous symphonies including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Arena di Verona Symphony, and the Oakland Symphony. Quittmeyer can be heard on recordings of Verdi’s Falstaff with Sir Colin Davis conducting, on the BMG label, and Wagner’s Das Rheingold with Bernard Haitink conducting, from EMI.

Midge Woolsey will serve as hostess for the event and ceremony. For more than 30 years, she enjoyed a remarkable career as a broadcaster for the nation’s flagship PBS station, Thirteen/WNET in New York, and the city’s premier classical radio station, WQXR. She worked on-air with some of the most talented and fascinating people in the world and had a solid track record in her behind-the-scenes work life as a production executive, administrator, and writer. Midge recently retired as a broadcaster and is now actively involved in development work for the concert series at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. She is a longtime member of the Advisory Boards of the Martina Arroyo Foundation, Opera Index and the Interschool Orchestras of New York.

Tickets for this event are $50 and may be reserved by telephone (973) 443-8620 or online at www.OperaAtFlorham.org. Funding has been made possible in part by the Morris Arts Council thru the New Jersey State Council of The Arts Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

About Opera at Florham

Founded in 1982 as an extension of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Music Department, Opera at Florham began by providing recitals in Lenfell Hall and two annual operas at the campus theatre, Dreyfuss. Performers included professional artists, musicians, and students. In 1995, Opera at Florham became a separate, incorporated 501(c)(3) non profit charitable organization. Since then, it has graced the community with world-class, affordable performances by professionally trained operatic vocalists in a variety of settings: Opera recitals, called “Musicales;” fully staged Operas with orchestra; semi-staged Operas in concert; an annual Vocal Competition; and outreach programs.

Opera at Florham presents professional vocalists in recital, concert, and competition from Opera to American Songbook. Its Musicale Series is the only long running Opera recital series in the state of New Jersey. Each Musicale features three accomplished vocalists from across the United States. Artists perform classics and rarities of Opera and American Songbook enhanced by stories, history, and facts about the music. In addition, Opera at Florham presents its Annual Opera at Florham Vocal Competition, honoring Violetta DuPont, in which the best young talents in Opera compete for large cash prizes in front of a panel of renowned judges and a live audience. Competition winners regularly go on to achieve decorated international careers. The highlight of the organization are staged Operas, special events that showcase the best of what Opera has to offer: drama, passion, musical excellence, and story. To learn more about Opera at Florham, visit www.OperaAtFlorham.org.