UNICO's 49th Annual Brian Piccolo Award
Unico chapters around the country are proud to be associated with perpetuating the name of Brian Piccolo. His personal battle has been an inspiration to countless people determined in achieving their goal. The Plainfields’ Chapter of UNICO National is pleased to announce we are accepting applications for the 49th Annual Brian Piccolo Award. UNICO...
Il Cinema Ritrovato ON TOUR
The fourth Mid-Atlantic edition of the restored film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour (Re-discovered Cinema on Tour) takes place from March 6 through March 10, 2024 across the DMV area, and it will culminate again with screenings at the National Gallery of Art. This year's collaborations extended to the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington,...
ITALIAN HERITAGE NIGHT: WIZARDS vs UTAH JAZZ at Capital One Arena
The Italian Heritage Night was a success! ICS ticket holders enjoyed exclusive pre- and post-game experiences during the Wizards vs Jazz basketball game at the Capital One Arena on January 25th. Children attending with their parents and/or grandparents not only relished the game but also had the unique opportunity to stand close to the players duri...
Full Stage Opera "Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti"
NJFO Fully Staged Opera Production "Lucia Di Lammermoor" by Donizetti . Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 7:00 PM. Renaissance Church, 639 Mountain Ave, Springfield, NJ, 07081. More info here. Brigadoon meets Macbeth in New Jersey Festival Orchestra's February 17th production of Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti's spellbinding tale of marriage, madness a...
Tommy DeVito Wins the "Bud Light Celebration of the Year" Award at NFL Honors
New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito captured the hearts of the NFL with his story that included his living at home with his parents, his enjoyment of his mother's chicken cutlets, and, of course, his Cinderella-like rise to fame in the NFL as the Giants' third-string quarterback who led the team to three straight wins mid-year that resulted in...
Geno Auriemma is in his 39th season at UConn and near 1,200 wins. He ponders the end of his career
The frame reserved for Geno Auriemma’s photo is empty — it rests atop two display cases of autographed UConn basketballs to the right of a collection of Joel Embiid memorabilia — inside a suburban Philadelphia sandwich shop. Auriemma’s late mother, Marsiella — an Italian immigrant once praised by President Barack Obama at a White House visit — had...
Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’ will be performed at Stockton PAC, Feb. 9
The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera is set to present a full-scale, traditional Italian production of Rossini’s “Il Barbiere Di Siviglia” (“The Barber of Seville”) on the main stage of Stockton University’s Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9. The show — a part of the PAC’s Dinner & Show Series — is considered the finest comic o...
Andrea Bocelli’s postponed Baltimore show rescheduled for February
Italian vocalist Andrea Bocelli will perform at CFG Bank Arena on Feb. 20, after having to postpone his show due to health concerns earlier this month, the venue said Tuesday. Originally, the renowned tenor was supposed to perform in Baltimore on Dec. 10. The new February show will be part of Bocelli’s Valentines tour. “Bocelli is incredibly humble...
Expert to Discuss Evolution of Roman Coinage
For the first AMHS program of the new year, members will be treated to an informative and entertaining talk, “Show Me the Money!” on January 28, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. The speaker, Michael Markowitz, is an expert on Roman coins. He will tell us all about the evolution of Roman coinage from lumps of metal in 300 B.C. to gold Imperial coins in 476 A.D. ...
Bill Ronayne’s books, lectures and museum dedicated to the Lanza legacy
Bill Ronayne was just 7 when he became a fan of Mario Lanza, the tenor who was born in South Philadelphia in 1921 and made the cover of Time in 1951, when he starred in “The Great Caruso.” That fandom continues – even more so – today, with Ronayne semiretired and devoted to Lanza as president of the Mario Lanza Institute and Museum in Philadelphia,...
Italian American stereotypes rise alongside Tommy DeVito's popularity
Tommy DeVito has become an Italian American icon in the New Jersey area, but not all the attention has been positive. Social media has been flooded with Goodfellas and Sopranos references that enforce negative stereotypes — and it has angered some Italians. Ralph Contini, the national president of UNICO, an Italian American service organization, ha...
A D.C. Premiere by Washington Concert Opera: Rossini’s ‘Ermione’
The first event in Washington Concert Opera’s 37th season, on Dec. 2, was the D.C. premiere of Gioachino Rossini’s “Ermione,” an opera that “immediately sank into oblivion” in 1819, according to WCO co-founder Peter Russell. Why did it fail? Musically, Rossini “might have just pushed the envelope a little too far” for the Naples audience, suggested...