Teatro Grattacielo Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Gala Concert

Teatro Grattacielo proudly announces its 30th anniversary gala concert, celebrating our history and part of our mission: the rare Italian Verismo era. This milestone event does not only celebrate thirty years of enthralling performances and cultural revitalization, breathing new life into lesser-known operatic treasures, but also embodies Teatro Grattacielo’s commitment to fostering diversity, supporting emerging artists, building into the future and excellence in the arts. The event will showcase the exceptional talents of renowned Mexican conductor and pianist Abdiel Vázquez. He will accompany guests soprano Celeste Morales, tenor Jeremy Brauner, mezzosoprano Hana Yiu, and Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy’s young artists soprano Victoria McGrath, soprano Tiernan Chase, and bass-baritone Henry Hyunsoon Kim, who will perform the works of celebrated composers Puccini, Boito, Samaras, Leoncavallo, Wolf-Ferrari, Mascagni, bringing together esteemed guests and patron of the arts.

The free event will be held on Friday, June 21st, at the Columbus Citizen Foundation, located at 8 E 69th St, New York, NY 10021. Attendance is by invitation only due to limited venue capacity. For all our other followers, we will be broadcasting live on our Facebook page starting at 6:30 pm EST. To connect with us, visit our page: https://www.facebook.com/teatrograttacieloNYC

ABOUT TEATRO GRATTACIELO’S LAST THREE DECADES

Successful productions of rare and forgotten operatic gems such as Mascagni’s Guglielmo Ratcliff, Montemezzi’s L’Amore dei Tre Re, Giordano’s La Cena Delle Beffe, and Spontini’s historic Italian version of La Vestale are some highlights of Teatro Grattacielo’s past years, to name a few. The company's dedication to excellence and musical authenticity has earned recognition from audiences, critics, and artists alike. Under new leadership since 2020, Teatro Grattacielo has expanded both its repertoire and boundaries gaining international acclaim and creating collaborations with prominent arts organizations, implemented the robust educational programs Creative Tableaux, and experimented with innovative performance techniques.

ABDIEL VÁZQUEZ

Abdiel Vázquez, New York-based conductor and pianist from Mexico, is renowned for his versatility in classical music. He is a Steinway Artist, founder of the Philharmonic Orchestra La Súper in Monterrey, and the Vincerò Academy, which mentors young singers globally. Vázquez has performed at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colón, and Palacio de Bellas Artes, and collaborated with top opera singers. Notably, he conducts and plays piano concertos simultaneously. His albums "Love & Death" and "In the Silent Night" received international acclaim. Vázquez made his conducting debut in 2009 and continues to lead significant performances worldwide.

CELESTE MORALES

Hailed as a “robust soprano with pinpoint dynamic control” (San Francisco Chronicle), Mexican- American soprano Celeste Morales is a recent winner of the Dietrich Memorial Award at the Opera Index Vocal Competition and recently competed at the prestigious Tenor Vinas Competition in Barcelona, Spain. Last year, she performed on the Winspear Opera House stage at the Dallas Opera Competition and won Second Place in the Soprano Art Song Category at the George Shirley Competition. She recently made her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut in “Tchaikovsky’s Spectacular” under the baton of George Stelluto. This year, she makes her debut with Opera Ithaca in Britten’s Turn of The Screw as Mrs. Grose and reprises the role of La Malinche in El Conquistador by composer Nathan Felix in her native hometown of San Antonio, Texas. As an avid recitalist and art song curator, she returns this summer as a Vocal Fellow with the Ravinia Steans Music Institute.

JEREMY BRAUNER

Jeremy Brauner is a 2022 grant recipient of the Wagner Society of New York and the Olga Forrai Foundation, as well as a 2018 Regional finalist for the Met Opera National Council Auditions. In 2016 he made his debut as Alfredo (La traviata). Since then, he has performed such roles as Cavaradossi (Tosca), Ricardo (Un ballo in maschera), Calaf (Turandot), B.F. Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Loris (Fedora), and Manrico (Il trovatore). In 2021, he joined New Amsterdam Opera, and performed the role of Arrigo (I vespri Sicilliani) and was described by OperaWire as “a voice of unbridled power, with a spine-tingling squillo”. In 2022, Jeremy performed the role of Giorgio in the world premiere of "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis", produced by New York City Opera, The Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) with Boheme Opera of NJ and Rodolfo (La bohème) with Opera Modesto. He then joined Opera North in their 40th season as Alfredo (La traviata). In 2023, he performed the role of Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) with Boheme Opera of NJ and made his debut as Canio (Pagliacci) with Opera Tampa, as well as Turridu (Cavalleria Rusticana) with Mid-Atlantic Orchestra. In 2023 he made is Carnegie Hall debut performing Vivaldi’s Magnificat with Mid-America productions.

For more information, please visit http://www.grattacielo.org.

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