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Too much craziness going on in the world, so perhaps readers will forgive me for taking a lighter tone this week. I came across the article below on Italian songs via a travel website (Select Italy Tours). The angle it took intrigued me: Top Ten Songs dedicated to specific cities or regions of Italy—Rome, Venice, Sardinia, etc. O Sole Mio is obviou...

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Al Di Meola turned 70 on July 22. The American was one of the co-inventors of jazz-rock and is one of the most influential and fastest guitarists in music history. Together with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola released the live acoustic album "Friday Night In San Francisco", which sold millions of copies. For the New Jersey-born Ital...

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In the upcoming months, Nutley native Joe Lodato is ready to take on the stage once again. Renowned for his vocal prowess and captivating stage presence, the Italian-American baritone is emerging as one of the foremost interpreters of the Verdi baritone repertoire. Lodato’s voice has been praised for its “stunningly beautiful timbre, Italianate sna...

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The widespread modern stereotype of the opera as elitist and stodgy stands in stark contrast to what audiences thought of it in mid-17th-century Venice. Back then, it was popular and breathtakingly new. “Taken together, it is one of the most magnificent diversions the wit of man can invent,” wrote the English diarist John Evelyn after seeing his fi...

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Fans who came from overseas for the Swift's two dates at San Siro numbered more than 18 thousand, 14% of the total audience. And the induced revenue from the concerts on Milan is 180 million euros. Taylor Swift is the most-listened-to artist in the world, and her origins on her mother's side are in Cilento, Campania. "We are Swifties in Italy." Fly...

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In the great tradition of the last 30+ years, Opera and Broadway favorites will once again come to the North Fork of Long Island through Opera & Broadway of the Hampton’s annual concert “Cristina Fontanelli and Her Fabulous Friends” taking place on Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at Duck Walk Vineyard North, 44535 Main Rd., Southold, NY 11971...

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The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), the City of Genoa and the Paganini Prize have signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding to promote the prestigious Paganini International Violin Competition in the United States, marking a significant step in the Prize's internationalization efforts. The partnership between the Paganini Pri...

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When I first thought of writing about Illuminata, my uncle had been a handful of ashes for more than a year. Cancer meandered north from his prostate and made lesions on his liver, then penetrated his beautiful brain. I imagined sending him this essay—I wanted to write it because I knew he would enjoy it. After all, we loved opera and we loved one...

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“Go Luca, go!” shouted someone in the crowd, encouraging the violinist Luca Ciarla to return to the stage for one final song. He obliged, walking back on as the audience clapped and cheered. The upbeat notes of the composition “Libertango” soon enveloped attendees lounging on the New Haven Green.  Ciarla took the Alexander Clark Stage on the New Ha...

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Art Park presents Puccini’s Greatest: A Gala Opera Concert on Sunday, July 14 at 2pm at the Artpark Mainstage Theater, 450 South 4th Street, Lewiston, NY. Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased online at https://www.artpark.net/event/100079/puccinis-greatest-a-gala-opera-concert, by phone at 716.754.4375, or in person at 450 South 4th Street, Le...

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