Palm Beach Potpourri starring Award-winning Singer/PBS-TV Host Cristina Fontanelli and Her Fabulous Friends

Experience Vocal Genius with Palm Beach Favorite Cristina Fontanelli and Special Guests: From Opera to Broadway

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, February 28, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- West Palm Beach, FL February 27, 2024--Get ready to be transported on a vocal journey through the world's most-loved opera arias and duets, as well as the best of Broadway tunes, with the renowned "Vocal Genius" (NY Sun) Cristina Fontanelli³. This one-of-a-kind performance will also feature special guests including Art Shamsky as emcee, Maestro Gregory Buchalter accompanist, tenor Lievens Castillo, and the talented children from Rhythms Dance Studio in Lake Worth, FL. The concert is presented under the auspices of the 501 c-3 The Cristina Fontanelli Foundation, Inc. a 501 c-3 charity that provides family-friendly performance opportunities for youth.
This concert-event will take place on Saturday, March 9, 2024, 3:00 PM – 5:15 PM EST at the DeSantis Family Chapel at Palm Beach Atlantic University, 300 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. Tickets are being sold on-line: https://PalmBeachPotpourri.eventbrite.com or by calling (212) 967-1926. Free parking available on campus on a first-come, first-served basis and in nearby parking garages.
Direct from New York, award-winning singer/PBS-TV/Award-winning actor, Cristina Fontanelli www.cristinafontanelli.com, returns to her musical roots in Palm Beach just steps away from the Kravis Center where she starred in title roles with the Palm Beach Opera. Ms. Fontanelli is also fondly remembered in South Florida for her appearances at the Breakers Hotel for Il Circolo, the Italian Society of the Palm Beaches; concerts at FAU and a special gala performance at the Coconut Grove Playhouse with Jerry Herman in attendance for the concert version of his musical “Milk & Honey”.
The concert's emcee, Art Shamsky, NYC Miracle Met World Series Champion will welcome the audience to begin the musical program. Mr. Shamsky is much in demand for speaking engagements all over the country, is a lover of the arts and supporter of many charitable causes. Maestro Gregory Buchalter formerly with the Metropolitan Opera and now a South Florida resident, will accompany on the piano. Maestro Buchalter has accompanied Cristina Fontanelli on world tours and regularly conducts for the Florida Grand Opera. Tenor Lievens Castillo, a South Florida resident, will display his powerful and beautiful tenor voice. The youth of Rhythms Dance Studio of Lake Worth will dance. Mother and daughter (7 years old) Melissa and Leia O’Hare will dance a ‘Mommy and me’ routine together. This concert is produced under the auspices of The Cristina Fontanelli Foundation, Inc. which has given hundreds of youth and young singers performance opportunities in major theaters including Carnegie Hall.
Audiences will delight in the repertoire of Ms. Fontanelli and her invited artists which will include Italy’s best-loved Neapolitan songs such as Torna a surriento and O Sole Mio; great opera arias such as “Un bel di” from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Nessun dorma (Turandot); plus the greatest Broadway hits from West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Phantom of the Opera and more.
Ms. Fontanelli, In addition to her past appearances in South Florida and at the Kravis Center in leading roles for the Palm Beach Opera (Nedda I Pagliacci; the Merry Widow; Musetta in La Boheme), has become an international personality through her recordings and appearances on-stage, radio and TV. Her appearances include PBS-TV hosting for Andrea Bocelli’s historic concert in Central Park; the first PBS-TVTV interview of Il Volo; Michael Buble TV specials and more. She has sung operatic title roles internationally with the Hong Kong and Cairo Opera’s and has been featured soloist with the Boston Pops and the St. Louis Symphony performing in major concert halls throughout the U.S. and the world, including the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Academy of Music, Boston Symphony Hall and Guild Hall in East Hampton. She has appeared on CBS Weekend NY, has won Best Actress in the Cutting Room International Film Festival and the Venus International Film Festival (Las Vegas, July 2019) for her role in SANTINO, a NIAF/Russo Brothers Production grantee. She is a regular at NYC’s top Broadway supper club 54 Below and Feinsteins at the Regency Hotel. She has appeared with Tony Bennett, Joel Grey and other luminaries. TV appearances also include co-hosting on CBS-TV and starring opposite Kevin James in a CBS special. She has been named one of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts most notable alumni (along with Robert Redford, Danny DeVito and Anne Hathaway); has performed at the White House as part of President Clinton’s holiday celebration, and Ms. Fontanelli opened the 2005 Stars and Stripes Inaugural Ball for President George W. Bush. Her awards include the “Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts” from the Order Sons of Italy in America (previous honoree Luciano Pavarotti). Cristina has been an on-air radio guest on WOR radio with Joe Piscopo, and on Bloomberg and Sirius Satellite Radio. She is included in the book “The Life and Times of Mickey Rooney” (Simon and Schuster 2015) for singing “Happy Birthday” at Mickey’s 90th birthday party (Donald Trump, Regis Philbin, Tony Bennett in attendance). She was signed by platinum-record winning producer, Sandy Linzer, to record Cristina Fontanelli Sings Great Italian Favorites. Cristina produces and stars in “Christmas in Italy^®” (23rd year, DEC 2023) giving more than 120 youth/children singing and dancing performance opportunities. The show also raises funds for children’s causes such as St. Jude’s thru The Cristina Fontanelli Foundation. Cristina is currently producing the PBS-TV special of “Christmas in Italy^®. Cristina appears annually with Opera & Broadway of the Hamptons and has opened the ceremonies at the Hampton Classic Horseshow and will sing the National Anthem in Aiken, South Carolina on March 23, 2024 to open the famed Steeplechase horse races. She sings and entertains in 9 languages.
This concert is presented under the auspices of the 501 c-3 The Cristina Fontanelli Foundation, Inc. www.thecristinafontanellifoundation.org whose mission statement includes providing young people family-friendly performance opportunities while preserving the great songs of Italy and the world and raising awareness of the scientifically-proven healing benefits of this classical music and the arts.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/cristinafontanelli/ More info: 212-967-1926; info@cristinafontanelli.com

Tia McDonnell
The Cristina Fontanelli Foundation Inc.
+1 212-967-1926
info@cristinafontanelli.com
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WATCH NOW: Cristina Fontanelli singing "Vissi d'Arte" (Tosca) at Feinsteins at the Regency NYC at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beRVBAyNiUQ

¹ http://wwwthecristinafontanellifoundation.org
² https://PalmBeachPotpourri.eventbrite.com
³ http://www.cristinafontanelli.com