New and Noteworthy

Presented in collaboration with the Alexander & Buono Foundation.

Three plays of Shakespeare, Othello, Falstaff, and Macbeth, inspired works by Verdi, who considered the last of these the greatest opera of the twenty-seven he composed.

Bellini in turn used Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as the inspiration for his famous bel canto opera, I Capuletti e i Montecchi.

Operas like these went on to capture the imagination of Franz Liszt, who wrote transcriptions based on these and other works, thus demonstrating not only his generosity as a fellow composer, but a desire to help spread the melodies of great music throughout the world.

Please join us on Friday, June 6, 2025 at 6:30 PM for “The Power of Inspiration,” a concert featuring pianist Nana Miyoshi, soprano Celeste Siciliano, and bass Philip Phillips that will explore the ways in which these composers used their skills to create masterpieces that remain as exciting and relevant as they did when they were first written. The evening will include performances of Liszt’s Rigoletto Fantasy and Reminiscences of Norma, as well as arias from Verdi’s Macbeth and Bellini’s famous Casta diva.