Steve De Maio hosts Opera Night at Columbus Citizens Foundation
The “opera nights” at the elegant Columbus Citizens Foundation at 8 E. 69th Street in Manhattan combining opera and food are an opera lover’s dream. It was a pleasure to be greeted by Board of Governors member Anthony Correra and his wife Maria.
On Friday, June 13, our host Steve De Maio, President of the Gerda Lissner Foundation, had four promising young singers perform for the first part of the program. They were accompanied by gifted virtuoso pianists Mary Pinto and Mikhail Hallak. Each singer was interviewed briefly by De Maio and sang an encore.
Elise Brancheau, soprano sang Michaela’s air “Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante” from Carmen with soaring highs and the purity and innocence her character called for. Brancheau’s voluminous power and Sambucca like warmth were an irresistible combination. Her encore offering was a haunting “What good would the moon be” from Street Scene by Kurt Weil. Every word made its mark evoking memories of the great soprano Eleanor Steber.