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Valentine Serenade
February 11, 2024
Valentine Serenade Review
by Frank Strafaci
On Sunday, February 11th, Opera at Florham presented our Valentine Serenade concert at the Mansion on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University in Florham Park. The hall was filled to capacity. The singers were of top quality; and, all was enhanced by the beautiful piano playing of the Artistic Director, Mary Pinto.
Tenor Alec Carlson, brought depth, power and artistic drama to his performance. Grace Kahl, Soprano, captured the hearts of every attendee with her virtuosity of voice and dramatic enactment of each piece of music. The fact that they are a married couple, much in love, created a special magic for the Valentine’s Serenade. When Ms. Kahl opened the concert with “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini, the entire audience was embraced. The several standing ovations throughout the concert spoke volumes.
Gabriel Anker, violinist from The Rose Ensemble, played his violin at the intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni at the start of Act II of the Serenade. It was sensitive, artful and touching to all.
Mariana Karpatova, an accomplished Mezzo-Soprano and music professor, gave the audience a short synopsis for each Aria, as well as points of interesting information regarding each piece before it was performed. Joan Del Giudice, President, and Matilde Secci, Vice President, supported the entire production. Angela Valgenti, Opera at Florham's Secretary and board member welcomed all with grace, class, and unmistakable warmth.
Mary Pinto and Opera at Florham did it again! They delivered an afternoon of outstanding Operatic Arias and well loved selections from The Great American Songbook. No wonder Opera at Florham is filling the house!
I recommend that you buy tickets for the remainder of the season while they are still available. We hope to see you at our next performance, “Highlights from La Traviata” on April 21st! La Traviata and Opera at Florham - perfect together!
Valentine Serenade
ALEC CARLSON, TENOR
Tenor
American heldentenor Alec Carlson has been garnering attention and acclaim on the concert and Operatic stages for his “powerful voice.” In 2021, Alec made his house and role debut as Max (Der Freischütz) with Opera Wrocławska. He recently partnered with Opera for Peace in a concert of Bel Canto repertoire under the baton of Maestro Dmitry Korchak with the Winter Bashmet Festival in Sochi, Russia. In 2019, Alec was a member of Santa Fe Opera’s prestigious Apprentice Artist program covering the role of Frederic in the World Premiere of Poul Ruders’ The Thirteenth Child and was the recipient of the Richard Tucker Fund Award from Santa Fe Opera in 2019. Alec holds degrees from Luther College and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
GRACE KAHL
Soprano
New York City native Grace Kahl is an artist hailed for her “poised, gleaming soprano” (Opera Today) in a wide array of repertoire. Grace finished her tenure as Resident Artist with Utah Opera from 2018-2020, where notable performances included The Rose (The Little Prince), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), and Annina (La Traviata). Ms. Kahl has won awards and distinctions from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, National Opera Association Competition, Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition, and the International Czech and Slovak Competition. Ms. Kahl holds degrees from CUNY Queens College and a Masters of Music/Artist Diploma from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
GABRIEL ANKER
Violin
Violinist Gabriel Anker plays “with impressive weight and cohesion” (The Strad magazine) in genres from baroque to experimental. He has played across the globe, including with the Philharmonie de Paris, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, the Kaufman Center in NYC, and Walt Disney Hall in LA. He has advocated for accessible music education as a teaching artist with the Paterson Music Project, which serves underserved, tri-state area youth. He is currently adjunct faculty at Montclair State University, where he serves as first violinist of the Cali Graduate Quartet Residency.
MARY PINTO
Artistic Director & Piano Accompanist
Mary Pinto, an acclaimed accompanist and vocal coach, has worked with international opera singers and major American opera companies for the past 25 years. Ms. Pinto's career began as a rehearsal pianist for noted opera companies: Dallas Opera, Chicago's Lyric Opera, Omaha Opera, and others. In 2012, Ms. Pinto coached and was rehearsal pianist for Metropolitan Opera star and international soprano Deborah Voigt as she prepared for the three Brünhilde roles for the Met's production of Wagner's Ring Cycle which was featured in the documentary Wagner’s Dream: The Making of the Met's Ring Cycle and premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2022, Ms. Pinto was invited to be official accompanist for the Giulio Gari Competition and to accompany singers in the Gerda Lissner Song, Zarzuela and Aria Competition. She made her Carnegie Hall debut playing for the winners of the Gerda Lissner Winners Concert. In 2021, Ms. Pinto coached and directed scenes at the Summer Opera Festival of Morelia and coached at the Queens Summer Vocal Institute. In the fall of 2020, she performed at Black Opera’s tribute to Jessye Norman. She spends her summers on the coaching staff at Masterclass d' Ischia, Italy. She has worked with the NJ State Opera and Light Opera of NJ, and internationally with Opera Noire’s Ensemble in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Ms. Pinto is on the faculty of Montclair State University as a private coach, accompanist, and prepares students for opera productions. She serves as Artistic Director and accompanist for Opera at Florham while maintaining coaching studios in New Jersey and New York City.
Mary received her Bachelor’s degree in Music for piano performance from DePauw University and a Master’s in Music degree for piano and voice accompaniment from University of Illinois.