Mrs. Rossini Meets Madame Malibran

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

RESERVATION REQUIRED

Brief video sample from our film Discovering Mrs. Rossini. https://vimeo.com/938893155/7299e07c6a?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Hailed by OPERA NEWS as “delightful”, Ashley Galvani Bell performed as a soloist in the United States, Italy, Spain, France, Denmark and Russia. This season included her debut in DENMARK with Operaen i Midten as the title role in KLARA, her debut as Leonora in Il Trovatore with Boheme Opera New Jersey, her debut as Micaela in Carmen with Bay Street Theatre, her debut with Opera Hispanica & National Sawdust under the direction of Broadway choreographer Richard Stafford & her signature role of Cio Cio San, which she has performed throughout the US, in both New Jersey and California. 2024 included singing with New York City Opera in both a 100 year Puccini Anniversary concert and a dance production of Klara directed by acclaimed Broadway choreographer Richard Sta!ord, returning to ABAO Bilbao covering both Mimi and Musetta in La Bohème, singing the title role in Pedro Hal!ter's Penelope's Dream at the Ateneo de Madrid & in Logroño, singing Cio Cio San at Bay Street Theatre and Mimi at McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California, and joining Teatro de la Maestranza for La Bella Susona. Highlights of 2o22- 2023 included her debut with ABAO Bilbao Opera as Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte where ProOpera highlighted her "superabundance of talent", her debut with Teatro Perez Galdos in Gran Canaria, Spain as the title role of Klara, singing Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly with both Bohème Opera New Jersey and Daytona Beach Symphony Society, her debut in Milan, Italy as soprano soloist in Exultate Jubilate with Orchestra UNIMI, Violetta in La Traviata, the title role in the world premiere of Penelope's Dream as well as Soprano soloist in Zemlinsky's Lyrische Symphonie all with Spain's festival Musica en Villafranca, and her successful debut with Seville's Teatro de la Maestranza as Violetta in La Traviata. Other notable performances have included her Carnegie Hall debut as soprano soloist in Hadyn’s “Nelson” Mass and Schubert’s Mass in C with MidAmerica Productions. Ashley is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University, a winner of Yale’s Browne Irish Performing Arts Award and speaks five languages fluently.

Mezzo Soprano Anna Tonna has been described as "mezzo heroine who knows how to sing Rossini" by the Rossini Gessellschaft and as "showing off her warm, secure mezzo-soprano to maximum advantage" by the New York Magazine; accolades such as these explain her constant demand as a recitalist and opera singer in both Europe and the Americas. The combination of a highly developed coloratura with a full, balanced, flexible lower register have guaranteed her acclaim as a lyric mezzo, both in familiar roles Rosina, Carmen, Dorabella, as well as in more rare repertoire by Paisiello, Vivaldi, Mascagni, Zandonai and Giordano.She has appeared with Casals Festival of Puerto Rico, Festival Iberoamericano de las Artes in Puerto Rico, Música de Cámara of New York, El Festival de Segovia, Joy in Singing, Elysium Between Two Continents and the Nassau Music Festival among others. Of note amongst the countless recital of songs are appearances at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the St. Anton Palace in Valletta (Malta), the Palacio Nacional de Ájuda in Lisbon, Teatro 1793 at Villa Adlrovandi Mazzacorati in Italy, the Atheneums of Madrid and Barcelona and at the ElbPhilharmonie in Hamburg. Her recital of “Songs of post Civil War Spain '' at the Fundación Juan March of Madrid was broadcast on Radio Television Española and hailed as “a tour de force” by the Spanish newspaper ABC. Ms. Tonna’s artistry has been recognized by the Liederkranz Foundation, The Gerda Lissner Foundation, National Opera Association, Opera at Florham/Violeta Dupont Vocal Competition, and a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research in and perform Spanish Art Song in Spain, where she has established a thriving career. Commercial recordings include The songs of Julio Gómez (VERSO) and España alla Rossini (iTinerant Classics), The Unknown Pauline Viardot (Cezanne Productions); and both A Trip to Granada and Emma Chacón: Songs for Voice and Piano with Klassic Cat Label.

Born in Russia, but growing up in Mexico Alla Milchtein discovered her love for the collaborative arts at an early age. Since then, Ms. Milchtein has enjoyed an international career as a collaborative pianist to emerging stars in the music world and maintains an active performing career with vocal and instrumental partners, as well as chamber ensembles. At present, Alla Milchtein is a staff pianist at the Mannes College The New School for Music, one of the country’s preeminent classical conservatories, where she works for the College and Prep divisions. Past positions include being a part of the accompanying staff at the Rotterdam Conservatory (The Netherlands), the Rudolf Steiner College (The Netherlands), Scuola di Musica di Fiesole (Italy), and the Jalisco State Choir (Mexico). Ms. Milchtein has performed at festivals throughout Europe, Mexico and the United States, including The Cervantino International Music Festival in Guanajuato (Mexico), Festival de Mazatlán (Mexico), “Kamermuziek Festival tussen Maas & Waal” (The Netherlands), “Het Rusische Muziek” (The Netherlands), Beverly Hills Chamber Music Festival (United States), Lucca Music Festival 2008 (Italy), Aspen Music Festival (United States), and the Glimmerglass Festival (United States). Alla Milchtein served as a staff pianist at numerous competitions, including Mannes Concerto Competition (New York, USA), International Voice Competition (Sinaloa, Mexico), Postacchini International Violin Competition (Fermo, Italy), Vriendenkrans Concours of Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), and others.

As a coach, Ms. Milchtein has previously worked for the Glimmerglass Opera (Cooperstown, USA): Lost in the Stars, Aida; Mannes Opera (New York, USA): Don Giovanni, Lucia di Lammermoor; Aspen Opera (Aspen, USA): A Midsummer Night’s Dream; New Opera NYC ( New York, USA): Iolanta; Jalisco State Opera (Guadalajara, Mexico): Lex Contes D’Hoffman, Carmen, Hamlet, Armida; Rotterdamse Opera Productions (Rotterdam, The Netherlands): Oberto, Aroldo; “Blue Bottle”Opera Company (Amsterdam, The Netherlands): Don Giovanni; Vocedidone Opera Studio (The Hague, The Netherlands): Le Nozze di Figaro, Hansel and Gretel; and the “Pepita Embil”Zarzuela Company (Guadalajara, Jalisco): Los Gavilanes, Agua, Azucarillos y Aguardiente, El Niño Judio, Luisa Fernanda, El Barbero de Lavapies.

J.A. Diaz (Director)

Winnner of 20 international awards in 2021 including Best Documentary and Best Director for his biopic "Rival Queens" J.A. Diaz was the director of the world premiere of the opera "Klara" in Spain and in the United States and of the world premiere of "Penelope's Dream". He also produced and organized the world premiere of the chamber version of Beethoven's 9th Symphony by Pedro Halffter. Since 2011, Mr. Diaz has worked as stage director for Divaria Productions in New York. He is CEO of Sergei Producciones Liricas. He also organizes the festival "Semana Lirica de Logroño", which just had its 4th year. His work has been recognized by renowned ciritcs such as Opera Wire who called his adaptation of La Voix Humaine, "a magnificant adaptation of an operatic masterpiece" and by Scherzo for his film Rival Queens, which was hailed as a "documentary that will entertain and delight lovers of both opera and history.

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King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square South, New York, United States

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