Southampton Salute To Summer: Cristina Fontanelli And Her Fabulous Friends
SOUTHAMPTON, NY – Opera & Broadway of the Hamptons returned to the East End bringing the great “chestnuts” of the Opera and Broadway favorites in their program “A SOUTHAMPTON SALUTE TO SUMMER: CRISTINA FONTANELLI AND HER FABULOUS FRIENDS” took place for the 4th year in a row in the magnificent Basilica of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the heart of the Village of Southampton, within walking distance of shops and restaurants.
Starring and hosted by the award-winning singer / PBS-TV / WLIW and CBS-TV host, Cristina Fontanelli performed (“The best work came from Soprano, Cristina Fontanelli.”- the New York Times; “Vocal genius“- NY Sun; “Cristina Fontanelli at Feinstein’s at the Regency is like seeing a cross between Maria Callas and Ethel Merman. She has no equal.” – Forbes Magazine); along with her guest tenor, Matthew Cerillo. Making a Lincoln Center solo debut at age 24, Matthew is one of opera’s most sought after young tenors. Russian pianist Alexander Chaplinskiy (from St.Petersburg) piano performances include a performance at Carnegie Hall as a winner in the Moscow Piano Competition. 13 year-old Faith Mullaly of the Montauk School sang from the broadway hit ‘Les Miserables’. Due to the quality of her outstanding voice young Faith has been invited to sing at the Bay Street Theatre, the Old Whaler’s Church, the Montauk Lighthouse for the restoration ribbon cutting ceremony (attended by Governor Kathy Hochul) and now, for the 2nd year in a row, Faith has been invited to Cristina Fontanelli and her world-class artist guest performers on-stage on August 17. Christina Tsaveras (21 year-old) who choreographs and trains local youth for the Southampton Youth Services, Inc. performed her dance number.
Soprano Cristina Fontanelli is a highly acclaimed singer and PBS-TV / WLIW host for Andrea Bocelli “Live From Central Park“; Il Volo and Michael Buble: Tour Stop; Cristina last appeared at Guild Hall with Opera of the Hamptons, in the title role of Madame Butterfly. Cristina recently won her 2nd Best Actress Award at the Venus International Film Festival in Las Vegas, NV for her role in SANTINO, a Russo Brothers Grantee film (DJ Higgins, Director/writer) through the National Italian American Foundation in Washington DC. She has appeared on CBS-TV, FOX, Discover, Bloomberg, and Sirius Satellite Radio and has sung throughout the United States, Europe, Far East, and the Middle East. Ms. Fontanelli has sung at the Clinton White House and for the Inauguration of President George W. Bush, with the Palm Beach, Cairo, NY, and New Jersey State Opera, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts from the Order Sons of Italy in America (previous honoree Luciano Pavarotti).
Opera & Broadway of the Hamptons is a 501 c-3 project produced by thecristinafontanellifoundation.org giving performance opportunities and scholarships to local children and providing tickets to underprivileged families and Veterans.
