Concert to fill Dell with arias
By Casey Gillis on May. 17, 2007
The Dante Alighieri Society of Virginia and Opera on the James have partnered up again to present the third annual Opera on the Lawn.
Scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday at The Dell at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, the concert will feature the works of composers Verdi, Mozart, Donizetti, Gershwin and Cilea, performed by sopranos Marcia Thom, Nora Moore and Kristina Martin-Baker; tenors Doug Thom and Ron Shoultz; and baritone Josh Bell.
The Rev. Robert Marshall, assistant rector at St. John’s Church, will act as master of ceremonies.
A reception, featuring hors d’oeuvres and local wines, will follow the concert.
“How can you go wrong with opera, hors d’oeuvres and wine?” says Tracie DeLuca, one of the event’s organizers. “And it’s in the Dell. … To sit in that setting and listen to all these wonderful opera arias … promises to be something special.”
DeLuca joined the Dante Alighieri Society a few months ago, when she and her family moved to Lynchburg.
“The first thing we did was see if there was a Dante Alighieri Society we could be a part of,” she says. “We’re big opera junkies.”
And she says her whole family is looking forward to their first time at this event.
“Opera on the Lawn, for us personally, combines two of our favorite things: Italy and all things Italian, and opera.”
The event acts as a fundraiser for both organizations.
Opera on the James is an organization of Central Virginia music lovers who want to promote opera, educate others about it and support local opera singers and musicians.
It was formed in 2005 after a group of Lynchburg residents began meeting monthly to discuss how opera could be more actively promoted in the area.
Since its inception, the group has put on full-scale productions like “Pagliacci,” “Cosi Fan Tutte” and “The Tragedy of Carmen,” as well as a tribute concert to Marian Anderson, a prominent black opera singer, in February.
The Dante Alighieri Society was first formed in Italy in 1889.
Named after Dante Alighieri, a pre-Renaissance poet from Florence and author of “The Divine Comedy,” its purpose was to promote Italian culture and language around the world.
The Society came to Virginia in 2001, and throughout the year, members sponsor and promote social and cultural events involving Italian language and culture.
Some of these events include Italian film screenings, dinners and restaurant outings, wine tastings, Italian conversation meetings and instruction in the language.
“(The Dante Alighieri Society) pairs so well with Opera on the James,” DeLuca says. “… That relationship is there. It’s a perfect marriage between the two organizations.”
If You’re Going
WHAT: Third annual Opera on the Lawn
WHEN: 5 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: The Dell at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College
TICKETS: $50 per person. Tickets available at Tom Jones Drugs.
INFO: (434) 847-0032 or (434) 384-7768
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