NYC Opera to support Opera! Pike! Park!

The weekend of August 24 and 25 will be back-to back opera. It’s like an opera double header, which is especially exciting in a town which, prior to five years ago, never even had one opera.

The concept all started when Michael Capasso, the general director for the New York City Opera, was passing the Milford Theater about seven months ago and was looking at the posters outside the theater. Capasso has had a weekend house in Shohola for 17 years, but had never really paid any attention to what used to be a fairly run-down theater. Suddenly, this newly refurbished theater caught his attention, and he got hold of Beth O’Neil, artistic director of the theater. Capasso immediately fell in love with the theater and immediately wanted to be part of the arts community.

One does not have to tell O’Neil twice, “When Michael Capasso reached out to me about partnering on doing shows, my first thought was how to involve Opera! Pike! Park! (OPP) in any creative endeavor that we would have going forward and the result of that is this first benefit the NYC opera is holding on behalf of OPP.” The fundraiser will donate 50% of ticket sales to OPP.

Javier Morales, founder and artistic director of OPP said, “We are excited about our fifth year and have a terrific program planned. We are also pleased that NYC Opera and the Milford Theater have teamed up to support our work. I am especially grateful to the folks who have provided financial support to enable us to keep our concert in the park free to everyone.”

The NYC Opera

The NYC Opera was founded in 1943 and its mission was to inspire audiences with innovative and compelling opera, nurture the work of promising American artists, and build new audiences through affordable ticket prices, extensive outreach, and education programs. The opera went bankrupt in 2013 and Michael Capasso bought it in 2015. Capasso loves opera and has made it his mission to bring young people to opera to help keep the genre alive. To that end, Capasso has found a new partner with Beth O’Neil. In addition to the August 24 fundraiser, the NYC Opera will perform an all Puccini concert at the theater on September 28 and a holiday show on December 7.

The August 24 fundraiser at the theater will include a variety of familiar arias, duets and songs, including pieces from “Rigoletto,” “Tosca,” “Madame Butterfly,” “Carmen,” and “The Magic Flute.”

There will be two artists: soprano Inna Dukach and tenor Greg Turay, accompanied by pianist Dimitriy Glivinskiy.

O’Neil thinks the theater has really reached an inflection point in its ability to bring in top quality talent. “Three years ago, I couldn’t have imagined a production company like the NYC Opera walking through our doors and seeing themselves doing a world-class performance here in Milford. They believe in our ability to produce and that is a testament to the shows we’ve already produced. We’ve had huge talent at the theater, and we are getting more and more recognition for the quality of work we are doing.”

Part of O’Neil’s strategy is developing long-term relationships with various types of organizations like Angel Berlane Mulcahy’s group who will be producing more musicals with the theater, and Stagecraft, the performing arts camp which has taken up residency at the theater, and now this new partnership with the NYC Opera. “It’s been a huge goal of mine to continue those relationships. In order to to grow the theater, we have to grow our community and that’s the way we do it.”

Bill Rosado happily agrees. He said, “It’s an honor to bring to Milford such great talent, and to be so well received. Our little town deserves our best effort. At Milford Hospitality, we are proud to be part of this great event.”