A Latin-American and Iberian Music Concert for Mezzo-Soprano and Guitar
October 10, 2024
Madison Ave Baptist Church | 129 Madison Ave New York, NY 10016
7:00 PM
Tickets: $35
Con fuoco refers to the initial marking in Manuel de Falla’s song Polo from Seven Spanish Popular Songs, which translates to “with fire”. This program features a careful selection of iconic songs from Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, mixed in with a few lesser-known gems, that will light up our audience.
This concert celebrates Hispanic and Latin American heritage, and a passion for crossing over between classical and popular culture. Latin American and Iberian music lend themselves particularly well to this bending of styles, and our mission is to explore this intersection, while adding our own flavor to it.
With this performance, weaim to create a unique environment where passion, storytelling and music stop time, allowing us to share this moment with our audience, in the comfort and warmth of this single flame in time.
This program is presented in collaboration with City Lyric Opera and Madison Avenue Baptist Church (MABC)
Eugenia Forteza, mezzo-soprano - Eugenia Forteza is an opera singer, mezzo-soprano, actress, influencer, producer and writer. She was born in Paris, grew up in Buenos Aires and now lives in New York. Eugenia recently made her debut at Carnegie Hall, lending her voice to the Ana Gelovani Foundation, in its inaugural gala concert in New York. Last season, Eugenia made a major international debut in the title role of the Singapore premiere of Britten's “The Rape of Lucretia”, directed by Stefanos Rassios for The Opera People and featuring Wayfarer Sinfonietta, directed by Boon Hua Lien. Eugenia was awarded Best Video in the 2021 International Latin Singing Competition organized by Vocalis Consort and Fundación Cultural Armonía. He was also a finalist for Best Singer, Best Performance and Audience Favorite in this contest. She was in the cast of the 2020 award-winning opera film Fedora produced by Teatro Grattacielo. Eugenia was a winner at the Concorso Internazionale di Canto Lirico Katia Ricciarelli 2017, where she received the Opera Role award. Eugenia was also a finalist in the 2018 Vienna Summer Music Festival Vocal Competition, a semi-finalist in the 2018 Mary Trueman Vocal Art Song Competition, and a semi-finalist in the 2018 and 2022 Premiere Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition.
Eugenia holds a Master of Music from the Opera Institute at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance, Summa Cum Laude, from the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia., PA. She has also trained at T. Schreiber Studio, UCB, New England Conservatory, International Vocal Arts Institute, Institut Canadien d'Art Vocal, Julio Bocca Foundation, Beethoven Conservatory and at the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
She is founder, presenter and senior editor of 360° of Opera, editor of Classical Singer magazine and ambassador of the Barcelona Song Festival, The Musical Athlete, member of the board of directors of the Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra and vice president. -President of the Board of Frisson Films.
Federico Diaz, guitar - Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Federico Díaz is a New York City-based musician with a multifaceted career as a performing artist, arranger, and composer. With a special focus on tango, Argentine folklore, and chamber music, Federico has collaborated with renowned artists such as Philippe Quint, Lionel Cottet, Daniel Binelli, Juan Falú, Paquito D’Rivera, Leo Genovese, Marcelo Woloski, Pedro Rossi, Bruno Cavallaro, among others, as he moves with versatility through the realms of classical and popular music. Celebrated for expanding the guitar repertoire, Federico has premiered works written for him by many composers, including Frederic Hand, Diego Schissi, Miguel Barreilles, Agustín Castilla Ávila, Andrea Casarrubios, and Matías Tozzola. As an arranger, he has worked with singer Juana Luna in a variety of projects, including a recent collaboration with the New York Philharmonic for the Bandwagon Series. Federico's performances regularly take him to renowned festivals and concert halls across North America, Latin America, and Europe, such as Lincoln Center (New York), Irvine Barclay Theatre (Los Angeles), Teatro Solis (Montevideo), Festival Guitarras del Mundo (Argentina), Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), and Solitâr (Salzburg). As a soloist, he has performed with a number of orchestras, including the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot, Magdeburgische Philharmonie, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Allentown Symphony Orchestra, among others. In addition to his live performances, Federico is also a sought-after studio musician, recording in a wide variety of projects for labels such as Sony Classical and Epsa Music, and collaborating with artists such as Nora Buschmann, Sol Liebeskind, Pablo Lanouguere, Juana Luna, Solange Merdinian, Emilio Teubal, Rodrigo Aranjuelo, Emiliano Messiez, and Pablo Woiz, among others. Federico studied at prestigious institutions, including the National University of Cuyo, University Mozarteum Salzburg, Manhattan School of Music, and the Graduate Center CUNY, where he completed his highly selective Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance Classical Guitar in 2021. His former mentors include Eliot Fisk, Ricardo Gallén, David Starobin, and Frederic Hand. His upcoming projects include the release of his first chamber music album as a leader in the fall of 2024, featuring chamber music works by the American composer Frederic Hand featuring a variety of musicians and the Argentina Guitar Duo.
