The Manhattan Center Inaugurates a Renewed Commitment to Opera and Cultural Entertainment After 80 Years

The Manhattan Center Inaugurates a Renewed Commitment to Opera and Cultural Entertainment After 80 Years

Presenting Opera Noire of New York, Saturday, December 22, 2007 at The Hammerstein

NEW YORK, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Manhattan Center's (www.mcstudios.com) first opera production in over 80 years will commence in high style with a Grand Inaugural Concert Gala at the legendary Hammerstein on December 22, 2007, featuring the glorious voices of Opera Noire of New York.

Opera Noire is a performance company founded by three African-American opera enthusiasts, Robert Mack, Kenneth Overton and Barron Coleman. The member-based creative organization emerged as a networking resource for professional opera singers of African descent. As a major contributor to the world's cultural and intellectual community, Opera Noire members entertain audiences the from New York City's Metropolitan Opera to Milan's La Scala. On December 22, 2007 Opera Noire will grace the Hammerstein stage in an absolutely exhilarating concert performance of selections from celebrated composers such as Strauss, Mozart, Puccini, Gershwin, Verdi and Bizet. This sprawling format creates a musical sampler to excite both enthusiasts and initiates to operatic and symphonic traditions.

The 100-year old Manhattan Center, which was first built as the Manhattan Opera House by Oscar Hammerstein I in 1906, was constructed with the bold intention to compete with New York's established Metropolitan Opera. By offering more affordable ticket prices, The Manhattan Opera House quickly became an alternative venue for many great operas and celebrated singers to make their debut. However, in 1911 a 10-year non-compete agreement established between The Metropolitan Opera and the Manhattan Opera House changed Oscar Hammerstein's direction and gave birth to one of New York City's most successful alternative events and entertainment companies.

The Manhattan Center returns to Hammerstein's original mission with a bold new initiative designed to give the multicultural New York community an additional venue to experience creative and culturally enriched performance, as well as give talented artists of all-ethnicities a world-class stage upon which to perform.

Opera enthusiasts know that the combination of music and drama evokes a deep human connection that can be shared by people of all ethnicities. However, in spite of the fact that an opera performance can engage audiences from different cultural backgrounds and perspectives, cultural diversity on stage remains largely underrepresented.

It is for this reason that The Manhattan Center is honored to dedicate this milestone inaugural event to celebrating African-American classical musicians and present an awe-inspiring concert and gala.

"The ways in which African-American musicians express themselves musically provide us with one of the most significant insights into their experience," says DeVasha Lloyd, Executive Project Director for The Manhattan Center. "For many, jazz, gospel, hip-hop and R&B are among the genres that automatically come to mind when referencing African-American contributions to music. However, African-American's have also impacted the classical music world, imbuing it with a beauty that has transformed the once monochromatic art form into a brilliant mosaic."

Tickets for the Opera Noire Concert and Gala are available at Ticketmaster.com by searching "Hammerstein". In addition, gifts of sponsorship are greatly appreciated and can provide vital operating support for Opera Noire of New York and The Manhattan Center's full range of activities.

About The Manhattan Center:

The Manhattan Center is home to one of NYC's legendary venues, The Hammerstein. It is also home to three state-of-the-art television studios, a complete High-Definition post-production facility, satellite broadcast capabilities, a Grand Ballroom, two world-class recording studios and an orchestral scoring stage which have provided services to a premier client base that includes Warner Brothers, Revolution Studios, Discovery Channel, Island/Def Jam, Dreamworks, Atlantic Records, Harpo Productions, Telepictures, USA Network, NBC/Universal and Capitol Records. For more information, please visit www.mcstudios.com.

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Source: The Manhattan Center

CONTACT: Kevin Fetterplace for The Manhattan Center, +001-646-359-3961,
Kevin@Mojoworking.com

Web site:

http://www.mcstudios.com/
http://ticketmaster.com/

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