Washington, DC (ACCENT PUBLIC RELATIONS) -
Soprano Cristina Fontanelli will grace audiences with her beautiful voice and presence in two upcoming events. The first one will be at the Italian
Embassy in Washington, DC in occasion of the annual meeting of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
She will then be featured on April 9, 2006 at Tampa's Festa Italiana.
Along with a distinctive classical repertoire, Broadway, and Italian-American songs, she will perform favorites such as Parlami d'amore Mariu, Oy Mari, Time to Say Goodbye (Con te partiro`), Torna a Sorriento, and 'O Sole Mio.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, of Italian heritage, Ms. Fontanelli is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has also attended the Juilliard School in New York.
In the world of classical music, Ms. Fontanelli has appeared with opera companies throughout the United States and abroad, including the Palm Beach Opera, the New York Grand Opera, the Cairo Opera, the Teatro Nacional, Santa Domingo and the Sha Tin Auditorium in Hong Kong. She has toured the Middle East extensively as an "Ambassador of Opera". Her operatic repertoire includes such heroines as Mimi, Musetta, Violetta and the title role of "Madame Butterfly". She has also toured as a solo concert artist in major concert halls throughout Japan, Korea, Italy and the United States.
Many major publications, including The New York Times, have praised Ms. Fontanelli's singing as having "technical ease" and "flaunting bravura."
Mario Fratti, the Tony Award-winning playwright, defined Cristina as "-Elegant and vivacious - a young Callas". Cristina is a well-known personality through her recordings, her singing appearances on American and Italian radio, TV, opera, in concerts, and her recent acting debut on network television where she is gathering rave reviews for her performances. On January 20, 2005 Cristina Fontanelli was invited to open the ceremonies at the Stars and Stripes Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C. where she sang the 'Star Spangled Banner' and 'God Bless America' to an audience of over 6,000 invited guests and dignitaries. This following her 2004 'Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts' from the Order Sons of Italy in America (previous honoree: Luciano Pavarotti).
For additional information about Cristina Fontanelli, please visit her website at www.cristinafontanelli.com , where it will also be possible to purchase her CD, Great Italian Favorites.
