Manalapan Tenor to Perform in "Tosca" for the Verismo Opera

The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera (Verismo Opera) has announced that Philip Alongi, of Manalapan, will play painter Cavaradoss in the company's upcoming production of Giacomo Puccini's grand opera, "Tosca".

"Tosca" kicks off the 2011-2012 opera season at BergenPAC at 30 Van Brunt St. in Englewood on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 3 p.m. Canadian soprano Evelyn La Quaif will perform alongside Alongi as fiery Flora Tosca and Charles Schneider will play Scarpia.

Lucine Amara is the Artistic Director of the opera; Amara is one of the Metropolitan Opera's finest performers of "Tosca", a story of a love triangle set in Rome, Italy.

"Singers from Canada, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania appear in full costume and perform on traditional staging," a press release issued by Verismo Opera said. "Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the nonprofit company presents Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa’s libretto in four acts based upon Victorien Sardou’s drama, 'La Tosca'."

Alongi has appeared in over a dozen operas, especially as Cavaradossi in "Tosca" and as Luigi in "Il Tabarra" with the Lyric Orchestra. Alongi has also performed as Alfredo in "La Traviata" with Pineda Lyric Opera Company and Canio in "Pagliacci" with the Center City Opera Theater of Philadelphia.

The Manalapan resident graduated from Mason Gross School fo Arts at Rutgers University, where he performed as Sam in "Street Scene" at Rutgers Opera and as "Absolom" in the Yiddish operetta "Shulamith" with the Klezmer Company Orchestra. His professional debut with the New Jersey State Opera was as Ruiz in "Il Trovatore".

Alongi has also sung at the funeral mass of the television journalist Tim Russert and at the memorial service at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He has also sung live on the TODAY show at NBC studios in New York twice.

Tickets may be purchased by calling the BergenPAC box office at (201) 227-1030. A special 25 percent discount on $55, $45, and $35 tickets is available ONLY from October 6-October 8 using the code TOSCA3. For special rates for group sales, call (201) 224-2809.