Cornetti featured performer
The Butler County Symphony Orchestra will welcome Marianne Cornetti as the featured performer for its upcoming Dec. 5 holiday concert.
The internationally renowned opera singer is a native of Cabot and a graduate of Knoch High School.
Cornetti is recognized internationally as one of the world's leading Verdi mezzo-sopranos. Following her training with the Pittsburgh Opera Center, her voice has taken her to some of opera's biggest stages, such as at Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Teatro Comunale in Florence.
She earned a degree in music and voice from Duquesne University in 1988, and subsequently continued studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the Manhattan School of Music and the Pittsburgh Opera Center. At the POC, she came under the guidance of Tito Capobianco, who gave her the first opportunity to perform in fully staged professional productions.
She received the Pittsburgh Opera's highest honor, the Renaissance Award, last May and was the cover story ("The Pittsburgh Diva") in the summer 2009 edition of Fanfare Magazine.
The mezzo-soprano travels and performs regularly in the United States and Europe.
Her performance at the holiday concert is her first with the symphony since 1993.
"Holidays with Marianne" will feature seasonal musical selections plus an audience singalong.
Reserved seat tickets bought in advance are $20 for adults and $5 for students and are available at the symphony office at 259 S. Main St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Adult tickets at the door will cost $22.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at Butler Intermediate High School, 551 Fairground Hill Road.
For more information, call 724-283-1402 or visit www.butlersymphony.org.
Cornetti is also scheduled to appear in "Auld Lang Syne," a classic New Year's Eve celebration in Pittsburgh this year.
This event will begin with a black tie optional dinner at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 followed by a concert featuring Cornetti and the resident artists of Pittsburgh Opera, all at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. They will be accompanied by all 65 members of the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra.
Tickets for the "Auld Lang Syne" evening are $300 per person; tickets for the concert and party are $125 per person; and tickets for the concert only are $75 per person. Call 412-281-0912 or visit www.pittsburghopera.org.
