GGO's Summer Twilight Arias is Sat August 24 3pm

Marin’s Golden Gate Opera Announces 

“Summer Twilight Arias” - Sat. Aug. 24, 3-6 pm 

(Sausalito, Calif.)—Marin County’s Golden Gate Opera will present "Summer Twilight Arias" on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 24th from 3-6 pm, at a private home in Greenbrae.  The end-of-summer event is a benefit for GGO's Educational Outreach Program for K-12 Schools.

Guests will arrive at 3 pm to mingle with opera fans and friends, enjoy spectacular views of Marin County, and savor hors d’oeuvres, as well as wines contributed by Robert Mondavi Vineyards.

 At 4 pm, guests will enjoy live and in-person performances of many favorite arias and duets from Rigoletto, Turandot, La Traviata, La Bohème and more. Musical selections will include love duets from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La Bohème, and the “Brindisi” from La Traviata.

 Performing will be Tenor Benjamin Bongers, joined by Russian soprano Olga Chernisheva and San Francisco’s Jacqueline Goldgorin.  Piano accompanist is Maestro Robert Ashens, well known in Tiburon for his opera nights at Servino’s Ristorante.

 Special guest is Shan Yee Poon, artistic director of Shan-Yee Poon Ballet School and trainer of the children ballet dancers for this year’s production of Golden Gate Opera’s fairy-tale opera, Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck.

 “Many will remember Ms. Poon’s adorable and talented dancers as the guardian angels, witch’s helpers and forest sprites in our very first production of Hansel & Gretel in 2010,” says Roberta Wain Becker, executive director of Golden Gate Opera.

 “With the 2014 -2015 school season coming upon us, this event is one of our most important fund-raisers, as it GGO's Educational Outreach Program that brings opera to children of all ages in Marin schools,” says Wain Becker.

 “Summer Twilight Arias” tickets can be purchased ONLINE for Aug. 24, 3-6pm at summertwilight.eventbrite.com  For more information, call 415-339-9546 or visit http://www.goldengateopera.org. Seating is limited.

 Tickets are tax-deductible: Donor: $45. Supporter: $75; VIP Contributor: $100 includes private meet and greet with special guests).

 Reservations or donations by check, mail to: Golden Gate Opera 475 Gate 5 Rd., Ste. 204, Sausalito, CA 94965-1443.

 About Golden Gate Opera

 Golden Gate Opera was established in 1996 with a mission to enrich the community’s experience by providing access to a myriad of fine arts found in live, professional opera, and to inspire people of all ages, cultures and economic backgrounds to appreciate the arts and learning through high-quality performances and educational programs.   Golden Gate Opera’s first production was Hansel and Gretel at the Randall Museum in San Francisco in 1997.  Golden Gate opera was granted tax-exempt status in 1997.

Golden Gate Opera continues providing opera for the entire community, through paid, sponsored, and free performances, providing access to the operatic art form for people of all ages.  More than 100,000 children also have received arts enrichment through Golden Gate Opera’s In-School Opera Assemblies or attending full performances in the theater with class groups.  For more information, visit us at www.goldengateopera.org or call (415) 339-9546.

Golden Gate Opera and its continual Educational Outreach Program for K-12 schools are dependent on tax-deductible donations from the community.  GGO’s Not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) Tax Exempt I.D. Number is #94-3221096.

About the Artists

 Tenor Benjamin Bongers is performing in The Flying Dutchman through Aug. 13 with Utah Festival Opera and returns to California in time to perform at GGO’s “Summer Twilight Arias.

 Bongers’ voice has been described as "Bright and free... a real powerhouse of sound!" (San Francisco Chronicle); “a free powerful tenor voice!" (Los Angeles Times).  He is engaged to sing some of the most demanding tenor repertoire around the world, including Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Max in Der Freischütz, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca,  Canio in I Pagliacci, Sam Polk in Susannah and Don Josè in Carmen. He has sung over 40 roles with more than 25 companies in the United States, including the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Utah Opera, Opera Delaware, Anchorage Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Opera/Columbus.

 Bongers has had engagements in a myriad of concerts around the world, including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Wagner's Parsifal, and the Verdi Requiem, in which he made his San Francisco Davies Hall debut in 2010. He became the first opera singer to sing a program with the The San Francisco Ballet, and appeared with Alaska Dance Theater this past spring. He has performed Don José in Carmen, Turiddu/Canio in Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, Macduff in Macbeth, Eric in Der Fliegender Holländer, and Max in Der Freischütz. His voice has also been captured by on CD performing the role of Mr. Butler with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in The Devil & Daniel Webster (available on the Newport Classics label).

Jaqueline Goldgorin, soprano, had the distinct honor of being an opera fellow at University of Arkansas under the tutelage of Sarah Caldwell, and then on to Italy to study Italian through the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.  In 2012, she premiered the leading role of Mary Todd Lincoln in GGO’s Lincoln and Booth.  Goldgorin has performed with Gateway Classical Orchestra, Chelsea Opera, Opera of the Hamptons, Opera on the Hudson, Connecticut Grand Opera, and New York Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble. Her roles include Cio-cio San (Madama Butterfly), Angelica (Suor Angelica), Mimi (La Bohème), Marguerite (Faust), Micaëla (Carmen,) and Musetta (La Bohème). In concert, she has performed the Mozart Requiem internationally as soloist in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil with Pacific Chorale.

 Recent projects include soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem and the title role in Madama Butterfly with Gateway Classical Orchestra, Musetta in La Bohème with Opera of the Hamptons, and the title role in Suor Angelica with Queens Opera Assn. She made her San Francisco debut singing the role of Paula in a concert of highlights from Hector Armienta’s opera Rio de Mujeres. In recent seasons, she performed in Dido and Aeneas with West Bay Opera and Gianni Schicchi with Verismo Opera. In 2012, after her success as Mary Todd Lincoln in GGO’s Lincoln and Booth, GGO engaged her in 2012 as The Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel and reprises that role in GGO’s 2013 production as well.  

Russian born soprano Olga Chernisheva’s career highlights include performances across the United States in every leading soprano Puccini and Verdi role in the past five years, from Aida, to Mimi, to Madama Butterfly, to the title role in Turandot and Liu in Turandot as well.  Her career began the with the Bolshoi Opera in its Young Artist Program, and engagements followed with Russia’s Saratov Opera Theatre, Sweden’s Malmo Opera Theatre and in theatres in Italy and Japan.

In the United States, some of her performances have been with San Francisco Opera Merola Program as Musetta, Hawaii Opera as Mimi and Witchita Grand Opera as Aida. With Golden Gate Opera, she performed title roles of Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica in 2006, and is a favorite at GGO special events. In school shows, Chernisheva has performed Micaela in GGO’s “Carmen for Schools”, and created a school show about Mozart. She also represented GGO at the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium for the Memorial Service for Supervisor Charles McGlashan, singing “Ave Maria.”  

 ###