‘Belle Nuit: A Night of Three Voices’ will be performed in West Hartford on Saturday, May 10.

Submitted

The Amelia Classical Music Series in West Hartford is proud to present “BELLE NUIT: A Night of Three Voices” on Saturday, May 10, featuring three world-class opera singers – Zhanna Alkhazova, Ta’u Pupu’a, and Kirstin Chambers – accompanied by pianist Blake Hansen.

The concert, to be held at Flagg Road United Church, West Hartford, will offer a veritable vocal feast, including highlights from beloved operas by Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner, as well as popular selections from musical theater. It will begin at 6 p.m. at 134 Flagg Road in West Hartford.

Zhanna Alkhazova. Courtesy photo

Zhanna Alkhazova, a Russian-born soprano now based in the West Hartford area, has sung internationally, won innumerable vocal awards, and graced this country’s most illustrious stages, including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. “A veritable force of nature, like a hurricane,” is what music website Voce di Meche called her voice. Her lengthy list of operatic credits includes the title roles in Tosca, Turandot, Aida, Manon Lescaut, and Iolanta, as well as Leonora in Il Trovatore, Micaela in Carmen, and Nedda in I Pagliacci. She has sung with Opera New Jersey, Opera Connecticut, Boston Lyric Opera, the Sarasota Opera, Commonwealth Opera, Long Island Opera, and many others. Internationally, she has appeared in Italy, Ireland, Germany, Russia, and Canada.

Ta’u Pupu’a. Courtesy photo

Tenor Ta’u Pupu’a, who emigrated at age 5 from the Polynesian Kingdom of Tonga, is a true phenomenon in the opera world. Standing 6-foot-5, he was once a formidable college defensive end, drafted onto the NFL’s Cleveland Browns by Coach Bill Belichick … until an injury curtailed his football career. Obliged to pursue a brand-new path, he followed his dream to become an opera singer. He enrolled at the Juilliard Opera Center, where he was mentored by world-renowned diva Kiri Te Kanawa. From there, he went on to make an even greater name for himself onstage, tackling top operatic roles from Don Jose in Carmen and Prince Calaf in Turandot to the Duke in Rigoletto and Caravadossi in Tosca. He has since appeared almost everywhere from here to Hong Kong and has graced the world’s most prominent stages, including Avery Fisher Hall, Tanglewood, the Kennedy Center, and La Scala in Milan.

Kirsten Chambers. Courtesy photo

Celebrated soprano Kirstin Chambers may be best known for assuming the incomparably demanding title role in Salome, which she has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Opera Hong Kong, Florida Grand Opera, and San Diego Opera. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2016 as Maria in Strauss’s Friedenstag with the American Symphony Orchestra. At the Metropolitan Opera, she has covered countless leading and supporting roles, including Isolde in Tristan unde Isolde, Marie in Wozzeck, and Helmwige in Die Walkure. Internationally, she debuted as Elsa in Lohengrin at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, a role she later reprised at the Hong Kong Arts Festival and Opéra de Rennes in France.

The Amelia Classical Music Series was founded by Alkhazova last year in an effort to use her international musical connections to bring world-renowned musicians here to West Hartford. Saturday’s concert will run about 90 minutes, including a short intermission. Tickets cost $40 general admission. Parking is FREE. To purchase, please click this link: https://www.tixtree.com/e/belle-nuit-a-night-of-three-voices-f03b5fced1e9

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