Photo by Paul de Hueck, courtesy of The Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc.

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A TRIBUTE TO LENNY
Saturday, April 3  2:00 & 8:00PM
Bob Car Performing Arts Centre

Andrew Lane, conductor
Angela Mortellaro, soprano
Fernando Varela, tenor

Principal Pops Conductor Andrew Lane conducts this fabulous program of  Leonard Bernstein’s all-time greatest hits  which include West Side Story, Candide, On the Town, Mass and On the Waterfront.

Leonard Bernstein (April 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist.  He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim. He was probably best known to the public as the longtime music director of the New York Philharmonic, for conducting concerts by many of the world’s leading orchestras, and for writing the music for West Side Story, Candide, Wonderful Town and  On the Town. Bernstein was the first classical music conductor to make numerous television appearances between 1954 and 1989.  He had a formidable piano technique and as a composer also wrote symphonies and other concert music. According to The New York Times, he was “one of the most prodigally talented and successful musicians in American history.”

Soprano Angela Mortellaro, who holds degrees in music performance from Rice University and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, is a versatile performer, well versed in both operatic and concert repertoire. Her operatic roles include Sandrina (La finta giardiniera), Diana (La Calisto), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) with Rice University’s Opera Theater at the Shepherd School of Music. She has also been a participant in some of the leading opera festivals and programs including Opera Festival di Roma, where she performed the role of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the Aspen Music Festival, where she performed the role of Zerbinetta in excerpts from Ariadne auf Naxos, as well as Nanetta in excerpts from Falstaff.  CLICK HERE to read more.

It is hard to believe that the strong tenor voice of Fernando Varela was weaned on the music of Michael Jackson; but, as a little boy of three growing up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Fernando entertained his family and friends with endless versions of Jackson’s songs. When he was eight years old, Fernando and his parents, Julio and Margarita, relocated to Central Florida and while he loved music, he neither trained as a singer nor aspired to be one until he was well into his teenage years.

While in his senior year at Bishop Moore High School in Orlando, Fernando became inspired to sing and he was accepted into the Central Florida Lyric Opera (CFLO). Within five short years, he was transformed from an aspiring young singer into an exciting, dynamic performer.

During his stint with the CFLO, Fernando performed in over 16 fully staged operas and hundreds of concerts from coast to coast. From the roles he has played, his favorite is still Lt. Pinkerton in a production of Madame Butterfly, directed by Metropolitan Opera legend Licia Albanese. In fact, Fernando studied privately with Madame Albanese in Orlando, as well as at her home in New York. He obviously impressed her as he was invited to compete in the prestigious Licia Albanse/Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition where, despite the fact that he was one of the youngest competitors, he received Study Grants from the Foundation both in 2001 and 2002. Madame Albanese has said of Fernando, “At 20 years old, he is better than Pavarotti (at that age).”  CLICK HERE to read more.

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“I have heard very few voices like this!”

Maestro Chiaramello – conductor and arranger for the Late Luciano Pavarotti.

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Watch & Listen on YouTube as Fernando Varela sings live in concert.

Watch & Listen on YouTube as  Fernando Varela sings Nessun Dorma