The Sembrich Presents New York City Opera Impresario for an Exploration of Operatic Traditions Both Past and Present

The Sembrich continues its 2022 summer festival with “Reimagining The Classics: Breaking Operatic Traditions” a studio talk and performance, on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 2:00 PM. The afternoon will feature Michael Capasso, American Opera impresario and General Director of New York City Opera, sharing his insights on favorite works by Verdi and Puccini and exploring a variety of productions and performance practices from the past 150 years.  The talk will be illuminated by several popular arias from the repertoire performed by soprano Kristin Sampson with pianist Michael Clement.

man and woman in costumes on stage

“We are thrilled to bring this incredible event to The Sembrich for a special afternoon of music and operatic exploration,” says Executive Director Suzanna M. Bernd. “The Sembrich is excited to delve into traditions from Marcella Sembrich’s time to present day during our first studio talk of the 2022 summer festival.”

Michael Capasso is the General Director of the New York City Opera. He has produced, directed, and toured opera and musical theater productions in the United States and abroad for over 30 years. In June of 2014, along with philanthropist Roy Niederhoffer, he led the successful effort to bring the New York City Opera out of bankruptcy, laying the artistic, administrative, and fiscal groundwork for the company’s upcoming seasons.

He began his career producing and directing while still in his late teens and early twenties. In 1981, he, along with Diane Martindale, founded New York’s Dicapo Opera Theatre. Over the 30 years of his leadership, Dicapo Opera Theater presented a diverse programming to the New York public, and, in co-operation with the Armel Festival, premiered three productions of contemporary American operas in Europe. Capasso’s film on the life and career of Enrico Caruso, which he wrote and produced, aired on the A&E Network’s Biography series in 1998.

Praised by the New York Times for her “bright, sizable and expressive voice,” Mexican-born, American soprano Kristin Sampson is a versatile performer. Her 2020-2022 engagements included a debut with Opera Grand Rapids as Liù in Turandot, a role debut as Marguerite in Faust with the Washington Opera Society, and summer concert performances with New York City Opera. Ms. Sampson’s musical theater credits include Luisa in The Fantasticks, Maria in West Side Story, Anne in A Little Night Music, Nellie in South Pacific and Lady Larkin in Once Upon a Mattress.  As an active recitalist, Ms. Sampson has appeared throughout the United States and was most recently a featured soloist with Rice University’s Shepherd Singers and Houston Masterwork Chorale.  Additionally, Kristin Sampson can be heard on recorded music by composers Ismi Kuremoto and Trent Hanna.

Tickets for the performance are $35 and can be purchased at TheSembrich.org/festival. Members of The Sembrich may attend the program free of charge.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Governor's Office and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council.

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