Date: May 13, 2009

The Bronx Opera Company Presents Mozart's Ultimate Flight of Fantasy: "The Magic Flute"

May 15 and 16, 2009, at Hofstra University's John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Hempstead, NY … Travel with The Bronx Opera on a journey to other worlds and realities in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. This timeless and highly-recognized classic tells the story of Prince Tamino’s quest to save Princess Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, from the vile Sarastro and his macabre slave Monostatos. Tamino is assisted by the comedic Papageno, the bird catcher, and by a great weapon given to him by the Three Spirits… a Magic Flute.

The Bronx Opera Company will perform The Magic Flute at Hofstra University’s John Cranford Adams Playhouse at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 15, and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 16. The opera will be fully-staged, performed in English, accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra.

This Bronx Opera Company production sports an international cast of artists including Jorge Ocasio and Alfonsina Molinari direct from San Juan, Puerto Rico; Leslie Tay from Singapore; Shirin Eskandani from Iran; Maxim Pakhomov, a piano virtuoso from Vladivostok, Russia, who just this year became an American citizen. The score - updated and translated into English - is enhanced by the Bronx Children’s Choir, Highbridge Voices, and an array of diverse talents from around the country and the globe.

Get the Flute for a Song
Don’t let the magic - or culture - slip away because of the economy. The Hofstra University performances are inviting its audience to take advantage of special ticket prices to this amazing production! Tickets are $30, $25 for senior citizens (over 65), $10 for Hofstra and non-Hofstra students with current student ID. Children under 12 get in FREE with one full-price paid adult ticket. Hofstra faculty and staff may pay $20 (two-ticket maximum) upon presentation of a current HofstraCard. For tickets or more information call the Hofstra Box Office at (516) 463-6644, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

About The Bronx Opera Company
What began with a small concert on the stage of Vladeck Hall in the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx has grown into an acclaimed and respected opera and musical theater company - the only one of its kind in the Bronx - presenting operatic works sung in English. Under the direction of Michael Spierman as artistic director, The Bronx Opera has brought art and culture to a myriad of audiences in the Bronx and the tri-state area. While always having a series of performances in its home base of the Bronx, The Bronx Opera presents works as close as Manhattan and Long Island, and as far off as upstate New York. Educating the next generation has always been in the forefront of each season. The Bronx Opera's in-depth public school program brings students to the opera and brings opera to the students with a series of school visits and special performances.

About Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 145 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students’ interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations.
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