Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra Hosts 2nd Concert Of The Season

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — The Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra will feature four rising stars in the opera world for its next performance on Friday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m.

The concert, titled “A Night at the Opera,” will present an evening of audience favorites from Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Puccini’s “La Bohème,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and Bizet’s “Carmen,” according to a release from the orchestra.

The RSO kicked off its season last month with the debut of newly appointed Artistic Director Kyunghun Kim, who led the orchestra conducting well-known pieces from classic film scores.

For the RSO’s coming concert at Ridgewood’s West Side Presbyterian Church, Kim hopes the audience will enjoy a different musical genre: “We are performing four operas from four different periods, with four different singers. I want the audience to enjoy the richness and depth this performance will offer.”

With many orchestral groups returning to near-normal concert schedules, and with New York’s Metropolitan Opera House in full swing, Kim wants patrons to know that the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra is back as well.

“These are beautiful selections,” Kim said, “and it will be thrilling to hear the singers’ voices with the orchestra’s talented musicians.”

For this performance, RSO’s Artistic Adviser Edmund Moderacki will narrate the music, presenting story lines for selected songs from the four operas.

Among the arias to be sung are Mozart’s “Madamina,” from Don Giovanni, an opera that blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements. Works from Puccini’s La Bohème, a timeless romance considered to be an “opera verismo” about real times and real people, will be performed, including the aria “Si Chiamano Mimi.”

Bizet’s Carmen, including the entrance aria “Habanera” for mezzo-soprano, is an “opera comique,” a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue. And from Verdi’s romantic and tragic masterpiece La Traviata, the aria “Di Provenza il Mar” for baritone will be performed, along with other pieces.

Soprano Angela Candela is known for her versatility and mastery of the French and Italian repertoire, while mezzo-soprano Cloe SanAntonio is recognized for her “true mezzo timbre.” Alexei Kuznietsov possesses a ringing tenor and powerful presence, while Michael Gracco is praised for his soaring baritone of impressive lyricism.

Gracco, who last performed at the Sarasota Opera in Florida before the pandemic, says he is excited to get back to live performances. “It brings me so much joy to hear music again like this,” he said.

To buy tickets, a season subscription or gift certificates, or to make a charitable donation, please visit https://www.ridgewoodsymphony.org/

To ensure everyone’s health and safety, all audience members, musicians and staff must show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 before admittance to any concert. Masks are required for all attendees.