MILAN, Italy, June 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renowned Italian conductor Alvise Casellati brings his fresh, modern world tour 'Opera Italiana is in the Air' to the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park on June 26 at 7.00 pm. The free concert, entitled 'Peace on Earth: The Art of Nature', transforms the experience of opera by making its beauty accessible and enjoyable for all. 'Opera Italiana is in the Air' takes concerts out of the world's most elegant concert halls into the open air. Casellati collaborates with top industry professionals and young musicians and composers (performing in casual clothing), bringing them together to create high-quality outdoor concerts that are modern, diverse, informal, fun and free of charge.

This year, the event features a piece by 11-year-old Isaac Thomas, a student at the Juilliard School. His piece, 'All Around Earth', was selected by Maestro Casellati as the winner. “Nature is the ultimate masterpiece, and it is the duty of every individual to take daily steps to respect and preserve it. To praise nature, we present a programme that highlights how the best composers have celebrated nature through their music, including 11-year-old composer and Juilliard student Isaac Thomas, a talent well beyond his years,” says Casellati. Isaac Thomas, violinist and pianist, is honoured to take part in the performance of 'Opera Italiana is in the Air': “I am thrilled that 'All Around Earth' will be performed outdoors in this beautiful city, where the great energy of the audience will play a key role in making this concert a success,” he says.

The musicians who will perform in Central Park include members of the Metropolitan Opera, Juilliard students, celebrated sopranos such as Angela Meade, Valentina Gargano and Mariam Suleiman, and rising stars from the Young Artist Program of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Members of The Rising Voices Choir from the Department of Music Therapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital will perform the US National Anthem with the orchestra. The concert will also be streamed for patients in the hospital and through Opera Italiana's YouTube channel. “Opera has been popular for 425 years, but over the past 75 years it has gradually been perceived as music for the elite. It is not. It is as relevant to audiences today as it always has been, and we want to bring it to a wider and younger audience, who will see it and fall in love with it as so many others have done,” Casellati explains. 

Besides this performance in New York City, the 'Opera Italiana is in the Air' Summer 2023 concert tour has already made a stop in Rome with family-friendly events. In September, the tour will conclude with a performance on the National Mall in Washington, DC. In previous years, Casellati toured Washington, New York, Miami, Rome, Naples, and Milan to showcase Italian opera, a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2022. 'Opera Italiana is in the Air' is produced under the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in New York and the Italian Cultural Institute of New York.

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