"Adventures in Opera" series continues with a rare expected visit from the grandson of the great conductor from Parma, one of the last surviving people to have had significant contact with him.
For the past five years, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò of New York University has presented a series called Adventures in Italian Opera that deepens the understanding of this glorious art form born in Florence in 1597 by having it explained by many of its great practitioners. Organized and conducted by Fred Plotkin, the noted opera and Italy expert, this series has included conversations with important artists, including Fabio Armiliato, Marco Armiliato, Lawrence Brownlee, Daniela Dessì, Joyce DiDonato, Mignon Dunn, Barbara Frittoli, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Marcello Giordani, Catherine Malfitano, Angela Meade, Gianandrea Noseda, Luca Pisaroni, Violeta Urmana, and Dolora Zajick. Last season, a feature was added to this series in which colleagues gathered to Remember Renata Tebaldi.
This year the artist to be remembered is Arturo Toscanini -- on Monday, December 5, 2011, from 6:30-to-8:00-p.m. Walfredo Toscanini, grandson of the conductor from Parma and one of the last surviving people to have had significant and intimate contact with him, is expected to make a rare appearance. Also present will be Harvey Sachs, Toscanini's biographer. Rare films, including those of Toscanini in private, will be shown.
We would appreciate it if you could include this event in your cultural listings. If members of the media wish to attend this event, please contact casa.italiana@nyu.edu and a seat will be reserved for you. For specific questions about the content of this or any other event in the Adventures in Italian Opera series, media should contact Fred Plotkin at fredelicious(at)earthlink.net.