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Read about the music and artists. Listen to excerpts and other music conducted by Maestro Meetze.
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CAST:Divas of a Certain Age Diva One……………………….Sheri Greenawald Diva Two…………………………..Ashley Putnam Pianist…………………………..Thomas Pasatieri Conductor……………………………..Jay MeetzeLa Divina Madame Altina………………..Sheri Greenawald Cecily, her maid………………….Ashley Putnam Matthew, her Manager…………..Ryan Kinsella The Young Conductor……………Eric MargioreSignor Deluso Célie…………………………………….Alissa Rose Gorgibus, her father………..Bryan Glenn Davis Rosine, their maid…………………..Laurie Seely Léon, in love with Célie…………..Luke Grooms The Town Magistrate…………..Walter Du Melle Signor Deluso…………………Jordan Shanahan Clara, his wife……………….Leslie Anne Friend |
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Thomas Pasatieri, born in Brooklyn in 1945, entered The Juilliard School at age sixteen and eventually became the school’s first recipient of a doctoral degree. He composed 19 operas and hundreds of songs that have been performed and recorded by Frederica von Stade, among others. In Los Angeles, he formed his film music production company, Topaz Productions. His film orchestrations can be heard in Finding Nemo, Road to Perdition, American Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Pretty Woman, The Shawshank Redemption, Fried Green Tomatoes, Legends of the Fall, and Scent of a Woman, among many others.
THE MUSIC
Thomas Pasatieri Divas includes three charming vocal works by American composer Thomas Pasatieri, featuring the Opera Company of Brooklyn’s cast and chamber orchestra, conducted by Jay Meetze. It is in Albany Records’ American Opera Series, with producer John Ostendorf.
DIVAS OF A CERTAIN AGE features divas of a “certain age” and the devoted, long-suffering people who adore them. It is a fanciful, brief scena for two “mature” sopranos and piano. Composed for the occasion of Matthew Epstein’s 50th birthday, and sung at a gala at Carnegie Hall in his honor, it was originally sung by Sheri Greenawald and OCB’s Artistic Trustee, Frederica von Stade. It is sung here by celebrated America sopranos Ashley Putnam and Sheri Greenawald, accompanied by Mr. Pasatieri.
LA DIVINA is a comic chamber opera for four singers and instruments, words and lyrics by Thomas Pasatieri, depicting the farewell performance of the great diva also “of a certain age” Adelina Altina (recorded here with much fanfare by Ms. Greenawald), with Ms. Putnam as her faithful attendant Cecily, written in 1965 and revised in 2005 for the Opera Company of Brooklyn. Ryan Kinsella, baritone, sings the role of Matthew, the diva’s agent and Eric Margiore, tenor, plays the young conductor.
SIGNOR DELUSO is an amusing comedy of errors for seven vocal soloists, strings, winds and piano, music and text created by the composer in 1974 and based on Moliere’s Sganarelle. The chamber opera features talented young artists from the OCB roster including: Alissa Rose, Bryan Glenn Davis, Laurie Seely, Luke Grooms, Walter Du Melle, Jordan Shanahan and Leslie Ann Friend.
