About this Event
“Neapolitan Ice Cream: The Musical” is an intimate four-person music and storytelling experience featuring soprano, accordion, classical guitar and organetto. World-famous Neapolitan songs and operatic arias — including “O Sole Mio,” “Santa Lucia,” “Core 'Ngrato,” and Puccini's “O Mio Babbino Caro” — are woven into live narration, where every song deepens the story and draws you further into Caterina's world. A full-colour printed program with selected lyrics with translations, and cultural notes is included, and the performance culminates with audiences sharing a scoop of Neapolitan ice cream.
From Naples to Scotland... Inspired by the true history of Italian immigrants diverted by deceit, journey through a heartwarming musical tale of love, legacy, resilience and reinvention and the bittersweet taste of dreams gone cold.
At the turn of the 20th century, 16-year-old Caterina sets out from the port of Naples to join her fiancé in Canada, but a betrayal at sea leaves her stranded on the rugged shores of Scotland. Armed with little more than a few belongings and a pouch of her Nonna's precious cocoa, she begins making ice cream — transforming her struggles into sweetness. But when a kind-hearted young fisherman offers her strawberries and something unexpected stirs, Caterina must decide: can she churn heartbreak into hope?
Presented in partnership with
Bios:
Reilly Bianchi-Nelson - Soprano
Canadian soprano Reilly Bianchi-Nelson has performed across North America and Europe with companies including Pacific Opera Victoria, Cincinnati Opera, Tapestry Opera and the Glimmerglass Festival, and has appeared at Jazz at Lincoln Center. A specialist in opera, contemporary repertoire and the music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, she was awarded second prize in the international Lotte Lenya Competition. Drawing on her own Italian heritage, Reilly has a particular affinity for Italian and Neapolitan song. In “Neapolitan Ice Cream: The Musical,” her performance was praised by the Caledon Citizen: “If you closed your eyes and fell into the mid-afternoon soaring tones of Bianchi-Nelson, it was easy to imagine yourself at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.”
Dr. Michael Bridge - Accordion
Dr. Michael Bridge is an internationally acclaimed Canadian accordionist known for expanding the possibilities of both acoustic and digital accordion. Described by CBC Music as a “wizard of the accordion,” he has performed internationally, including at The Metropolitan Opera, and appears in more than 90 concerts annually as a soloist and chamber musician. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in accordion performance from the University of Toronto and received the 2024 Canada Council Virginia Parker Prize, one of Canada’s leading honours for young classical musicians.
Tonino Chiodo – Classical Guitar & Mandolin
Tonino Chiodo is an Italian-Canadian classical guitarist and mandolinist with a distinguished career as a performer, recording artist and session musician. Born in Calabria, Italy, he immigrated to Canada in 1970 and studied classical guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Known for his expressive musicianship and stylistic versatility, Tonino has performed extensively throughout Canada and North America and has appeared on CHIN Radio, CHIN Television and Citytv. His career highlights include performing for the Queen Mother during a royal visit to Canada and participating in a 2001 tribute concert honouring Gordon Lightfoot, for which he arranged three of Lightfoot’s songs. As a recording artist, Tonino has released two solo albums, “A Tribute to Sartano” and “The Spanish Steps,” and has performed as a session musician on multiple JUNO Award–winning recordings.
Loredana Cunti - Creator, Librettist & Producer
Loredana Cunti is an award-winning author, producer and cultural storyteller with more than 30 years of experience in international film, television and children’s entertainment. As Head of Children’s Programming for Universal Studios and other entertainment companies, she worked across cultures and communities around the world, shaping stories for international, intergenerational audiences. Deeply informed by her own Italian immigrant family experience, Loredana began her multicultural media career at CHIN Radio/TV International, and her work often explores identity, curiosity, resilience and reinvention. She has produced internationally acclaimed children’s programming and written several picture and junior non-fiction books, earning a Junior Library Guild Gold Award, a 2025 World Cookbook Award and multiple Canadian Forest of Reading nominations. She is the creator and librettist of “Neapolitan Ice Cream: The Musical,” inspired by the immigrant stories of her Italian-Canadian heritage and the songs her Nonna sang.
Event venue & nearby stays
Joseph D. Carrier Art Gallery, 901 Lawrence Avenue West, Toronto, Canada
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