Opera Italiana is in the Air, the annual free, outdoor concert presenting some of the top stars in Italian opera and bringing the art form to diverse, new and younger audiences, is returning to Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park on Monday, July 1 at 7 pm, the concert's president and music director, Alvise Casellati, announced today. Thousands are expected to attend the stirring 90-minute performance, which will give people the opportunity to experience and enjoy Italian opera firsthand in a casual, family-friendly open-air environment.

The enchanted evening of Italian opera under the setting sun in Central Park will feature a selection of the most beloved overtures and arias by Rossini, Verdi and Puccini. Featured performers will include renowned tenor Antonio Poli and acclaimed soprano Maria Mudryak, who will sing for the first time together, and in New York. Additionally, 11-year-old composer and singer Paloma Dineli Chesky of the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers Program will perform.

Maestro Alvise Casellati will conduct the Opera Italiana Symphony Orchestra, which will be comprised of members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and other outstanding New York musicians, along with top students from the Juilliard School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music and others. Dani Bedoni is head of artistic development.

We are honored and excited to bring Opera Italiana is in the Air to Central Park and New Yorkers for the third year running. It's a one of a kind performance featuring a superb lineup of master musicians and world class Italian opera with the aim of sharing a unique and magical part of Italian culture with the city", says Alvise Casellati. "Our mission is to make opera accessible to everyone, especially young people, in a fun and relaxed environment. I hope the enchanting arias and beautiful voices will give the audience an unforgettable experience and make them fall in love with Italian opera."

Antonio Poli is one of the most highly esteemed and sought after tenors of his generation. He began the 2018/2019 season singing for the first time at in Verdi's Requiem, under conductor Juraj Valcucha, first at the Konzerthaus in Berlin and then at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. A highlight of his 2019 engagements is his debut in La Clemenza di Tito at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, under conductor Federico Maria Sardelli.

In just a short time, Italian naturalized Kazakh soprano Maria Mudryak, 25, has become one of the most sought after lyric coloraturas of her generation, having already celebrated successes in roles such as Violetta in La Traviata, Mim in La Boh me and Li in Turandot at some of the most prestigious international opera stages.

Composer and singer Paloma Dineli Chesky, at age 11, is already one of New York's most engaging artists. An American-Brazilian whose maternal grandmother is Italian, Chesky recently was a guest artist at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and this past April she sang at Lincoln Center's David Ge en Hall for the world premiere of her original piece, Rising, with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Jaap van Zweden. Chesky, who attends the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, will kick o the concert with a performance of Rising.

Opera Italiana is in the Air is made possible through the generous support of its event sponsors including Intesa Sanpaolo, The Alexander Bodini Foundation, Bel Real estate Group, Brooks Brothers, ENI, FIAC, Air Italy, San Benedetto Water, Bracco Diagnostics, Inc., Mela Holding Group, Medinvest, Urbani Truffes, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, 'O Magazine, Santa Margherita Wines, The Edoardo & Antonella Salvati Foundation with the support of the Consulate General of Italy in New York and the Cultural Institute of New York.

For more information about Opera Italiana is in the Air, please visit www.operaitalianaisintheair.com and follow on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.

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