Fort Lee Resident Selected to Perform with Verismo Opera Chorus in I Pagliacci

            Fort Lee resident Marenda Perry has been selected to perform with the Verismo Opera Chorus as a villager in the company’s spring production of I Pagliacci on April 21 at 3:00 p.m. at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood. 

            “The NJ Association of Verismo Opera is delighted that Marenda Perry, a veteran vocalist who performed with The Metropolitan Opera and other leading opera houses throughout New York and Europe, will sing with the Verismo Opera Chorus and perform as a villager in our new production of I Pagliacci.  Ms. Perry previously sang in The Metropolitan Opera House’s production of I Pagliacci and has an extensive repertoire in opera, oratorio, concert and sacred music,” said Lucine Amara, Artistic Director of the NJ Association of Verismo Opera.

            Perry retired to Fort Lee three years ago and credited Verismo Opera with giving her the opportunity to continue performing her craft.  “Singing with the NJ Association of Verismo Opera has renewed the magic of the stage to my life and is allowing me to practice my love of music, opera and performance,” she said.          

            After a successful New York recital debut in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Perry performed as a soloist with the New York Oratorio Society, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the National Chorale Council.  She sang the roles of Serena and The Strawberry Woman in Porgy & Bess at Radio City Music Hall in New York City; Teatro Comunale Opera House in Florence, Italy; Theater Des Westerns in Berlin, Germany; and The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 

            While at The Metropolitan Opera House, she was selected to sing with the ensemble and performed in audience favorites, such as La Traviata, Cavalleria Rusticana, Carmen, I Pagliacci, and many more.  Later, she joined the acclaimed Grace Bumbry’s Sacred Music Ensemble and performed as a soprano soloist touring Austria.

            She appeared in the Broadway production of Desert Song and in the Tony award-winning cast of Raisin.  The New York Times said, “[Ms. Perry] is an attractive lyric soprano… she captures the audience with her delicately powerful finely tuned voice and ravishing top notes.”

            As a widow, she performed throughout the world with her daughter, Noelle, who performed in children’s roles alongside her mother.  Perry sang throughout the United States, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and even as far as Korea, Israel, Egypt and other parts of the Middle East and Africa.  

            A Philadelphia native, Perry was a scholarship graduate of Combs College of Music and also attended the Curtis Institute of Music both in Philadelphia.  Today, she is active in The First Reformed Church of the Palisades in Fort Lee.  

Audition for the Verismo Opera Chorus

            The opera company will hold its last auditions for the chorus on February 22 and 27 at 7:00 p.m. at 44 Armory St. in Englewood, New Jersey.  No prior stage experience is required.  An application may be downloaded from the organization’s web site.  For further information about auditioning for the Verismo Opera Chorus, call (201) 886-0561. 

            For more information about the NJ Association of Verismo Opera, visit the company’s web site, view and like the organization on Facebook, follow the company on Twitter @NJVerismoOpera or call (201) 886-0561.