FORT MYERS, Fla. (September 22, 2010) – Shell Point Retirement Community welcomes Opera Naples to perform on Tuesday, October 19. Tickets are required to attend, and the performance begins at 7pm in the Church Auditorium on The Island at Shell Point.
“Shell Point always strives to offer a variety of performances and shows to our residents as well as guests from the outside community,” said Dawn Boren, Director of Resident Activities for Shell Point. “Opera Naples has gotten great reviews, and has quite a talented ensemble, and we are pleased to welcome them to the community to perform. This opportunity fits perfectly in the variety of stage offerings that occur year round in our concert and speaker series events.”
Opera Naples’ semi-staged Scenes from the Great Operas concert at Shell Point will feature selections from three of opera’s most cherished works: Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Verdi’s La Traviata and Bizet’s Carmen. The concert will be performed in costume with light scenery and piano accompaniment by Robin Shuford Frank. A cast of eight regional professionals will be joined by nationally recognized Tenor, Brian Cheney. Mr. Cheney is emerging as one of the most unique and thrilling American tenors of his generation. He has received national acclaim for his interpretation of operatic roles such as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Nemorino in L’Elisir D’Amore, Rodolfo in La Boheme, the Duke in Rigoletto, Don Jose in Carmen, Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress and Alfredo in La Traviata.
Soprano Steffanie Pearce will join Mr. Cheney and reprise her role of Violetta which she has performed over 200 times in the United States and abroad. Additional featured soloists include Baritone Christopher Holloway, an energetic, vibrant performer who acts with waltz-like precision and is able to sing and act with equal agility; Melissa Vitrella, a Lyric Mezzo-Soprano who recently moved from Orlando to become an “Artist in Residence” at Opera Naples and who will be featured as a soloist in main stage productions; professional vocalist Rebecca Richardson who has performed at venues from Seattle to New York and Paris to Amsterdam; and Soprano Anne Leonardi who is performing in her second season with Opera Naples and has appeared in regional performances of Carmen and La Traviata in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Tickets for this concert are currently on sale for $15 each, and the proceeds benefit the Rehabilitation Facility being added to the Larsen Pavilion Skilled Nursing. To purchase tickets, or receive additional information about this concert or other concert series, please call (239) 454-2067.
Shell Point Retirement Community is a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community located in Fort Myers just off Summerlin Road, two miles before the Sanibel causeway. Shell Point has received national accreditation from CARF-CCAC, and is a nationally recognized leader in the retirement industry. The community offers retirement living in a resort-style environment with an 18-hole championship golf course which is open to the public, as well as recreational/fitness facilities and deep water boating access for its residents. To learn more about Shell Point, visit us at www.shellpoint.org or call 1-800-780-1131.
