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Ring in the New Year 2020 with a Musical Trip to Bella Italia with Dayton Opera and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

DAYTON, OH (December 5, 2019) – On Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at 8 pm in the Mead Theatre of the Schuster Center, the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) will present New Year’s Eve: Bella Italia! This concert is a Special Event of the DPAA 2019-2020 Titans Season, when artists of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance –vocalists from Dayton Opera and the musicians of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra – combine their talents for an artistic celebration second to none. Dayton Philharmonic Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman and Dayton Opera Artistic Director Thomas Bankston together ring in the New Year 2020!

The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance welcomes to the stage two outstanding vocalists for this special performance. Dayton Opera is pleased to welcome back soprano Chloé Olivia Moore and tenor Benjamin Werley to the Schuster Center stage. Ms. Moore’s recent appearances with Dayton Opera include the role of Leila in the 2015 production of The Pearl Fishers, Nedda in the 2016 production of I Pagliacci, and Liu in the stunning 2018 production of Turandot. Mr. Werley just recently made his Dayton opera debut as Narraboth in last season’s May production of Salome.

The DPAA’s New Year’s Eve celebration will be a feast for the senses as they take Dayton on a trip to Bella Italia – the beautiful country of Italy! The program opens with the delightful and instantly recognizable first movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, fittingly named “Italian.” Mr. Werley then joins to sing the deeply moving aria “Vesti la Giubba” from Leoncavallo’s heartbreaking opera I Pagliacci, which Dayton Opera presented just a few years ago. There is certainly no shortage of emotional Italian operas, and Ms. Moore takes the stage to sing perhaps one of Puccini’s most beautiful arias: “Ch’il bel sogno” from his dreamy opera La Rondine.

Next, it’s the lyrical Sinfonia No. 52 from one of the most beloved Baroque composers, Antonio Vivaldi. Mr. Werley and Ms. Moore then take the stage together to sing Verdi’s seductive duet “Teco io sto…O qual soave brivido” from his politically controversial and once-censored opera Un Ballo in Maschera. The first half of the program closes with the fourth movement of Resphighi’s Pines of Rome. A tone poem that depicts pine trees in four locations around Rome, Pines of Rome’s fourth movement is a glorious nod to the past victories of the Roman army on a military road leading triumphantly into the city.

The second half of the program opens with the light and airy “Dance of the Hours” from Ponchielli’s 1835 opera La Gioconda. Most will quickly recognize the tune that was woven into a 1963 musical letter back home from one less-than-enthusiastic summer camper. Ms. Moore then graces the stage once again in this half of the program to sing another of Verdi’s exquisite works: “Merce, diletto amiche” from his grand opera I Vespri Siciliani.

Then, audiences will surely tap their feet, hum along, or even sing the words if they know them to Luigi Denza’s festive “Funiculi-Funicula.” Mr. Werley takes the stage next for the final time this evening for Tosti’s dizzying and vibrant “Marechiare.” Finally, it’s a trip to Italian cinema at its very finest for Nino Rota’s Suite from La Dolce Vita, the magnificent 1960 film by Federico Fellini. The sweet life, indeed!

The evening closes with the beautiful Blue Danube Waltz from Johann Strauss II, Radetzky’s March from Johann Strauss I, and the traditional and nostalgic “Auld Lang Syne” as we say goodbye to 2019 and welcome 2020!

The night would not be complete without a sneak peek of what is to come from the DPAA as an announcement is made from the stage regarding the upcoming 2020-2021 season.

The Schuster Center New Year’s Eve traditions that revelers have come to love and anticipate will again be part of the evening’s festivities: delicious food-by-the-bite available for purchase in the Wintergarden beforehand, a complimentary flute of champagne at intermission, and a colorful climactic balloon drop. All of these have made this evening in the Mead Theatre the essential place to be on New Year’s Eve in Dayton.

This New Year’s Eve concert is an excellent option for those looking for an end-of-year tradition that favors the 8 pm to 10:30 pm time slot and sets the tone for whatever else concert-goers may want to do that night before the ball drops. Seats should be reserved early, as New Year’s Eve with the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance nearly sells out every year!

Tickets for New Year’s Eve: Bella Italia! begin at $20 and are available at Ticket Center Stage (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org. Senior, teacher and military discounts are available at the box office. For more information or to order subscriptions, including flexible subscription types that include performances by Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.

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About the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance was formed in July 2012 as the result of a groundbreaking and innovative merger between the Dayton Ballet, the Dayton Opera, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they are the largest performing arts organization in the community, offering a tremendous variety of performance and education programs and setting a new standard for artistic excellence. Dayton Performing Arts Alliance performances are made possible in part by Montgomery County and Culture Works, the single largest source of community funds for the arts and culture in the Miami Valley. The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance also receives partial funding from the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency created to foster and encourage the development of the arts and to preserve Ohio’s cultural heritage. Funding from the Ohio Arts Council is an investment of state tax dollars that promotes economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohio residents. In 2013, The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance was thrilled to be one of five performing arts organizations in the country selected to receive a three-year “Music Alive” grant from New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance is the proud recipient of a 2017-2018 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.