For Immediate Release: November 18, 2022
Contact:
International Brazilian Opera Company hosts
IBOC DREAM: Cocktails and Operas
A repertoire showcase and benefit for dream makers.
New York City, NY – International Brazilian Opera Company will host a cocktail with opera, jazz, and performance art. The benefit will be on December 6th from 6-9 pm at the sponsoring venue, Luxuny Atelier (80 W 40th St PH, NYC). Since 2013, the NYC-based non-profit known for developing operas from diverse voices and communities has developed seven operas, supported sixty-four immigrant artists to work in the USA, presented in three countries, and has provided music education experiences for the young and old alike.
The intimate evening will bring together IBOC supporters and industry influencers to experience and amplify the organization’s work. Guests will experience sample arias and words from IBOC’s repertoire in development, Plastic Flowers, Tamandua, Yemanja, Race, Wild Flower, and Transeuntis Mundi. Meet the IBOC community, creators, and artists currently enrolled in the IBOC Extraordinary Artists program.
“We represent a philosophy of opera geared towards polycultural connection and the liberating power of the imagination,” says founding artistic director João MacDowell. “It is important that this work continues.”
“IBOC is a place for dream makers to create community through stories designed for a better world. What makes us unique is the heritage of our approach to creating repertoire, which is distinctly borderless and influenced by the tropicalistas and cannibalistic Brazilian art movements,” says Athena Azevedo, IBOC Executive Director. “Our process is bespoke, which is why we are so thrilled the event will be presented at Luxuny Atelier, a by-appointment-only shop where every object is 100% unique and tailored for guests. In the evening, we will also make a node to the historical love affair between Brazilian and Italian opera.”
Food and Beverage sponsors for the event include Paris Baguette, a bakery cafe geared towards putting the heart back into the community bakery, Abelha Organic Cachaça, and Happy Board.
“In the past 9 years, the work of our operational team has been entirely volunteered. Our dream is for the organization to become a self-sustaining cultural institute that will continue to be a platform for connection through diverse storytelling,” said IBOC Co-Founder and Executive Director Athena Azevedo. “Our hope for IBOC DREAM is that through showcasing the dynamic work from our community of artists, attendees will be inspired to amplify our impact and help us to reach our goal of a $330,000 annual operating budget.” – Athena Azevedo, IBOC Executive Director.
RSVP may be secured through a donation between $150 to $500 at www.iboc.nyc/rsvp. Questions, please get in touch with IBOC executive director Athena Azevedo. athena@brazilianopera.com or text (510) 846-8940.
PROGRAM:
6-7 pm
cocktails, food, and beverage, silent auction, including work from Candida Borges award-winning intermedia work Transeuntis Mundi.
7-8 pm
opera arias, songs, and libretto reading performance
Conducted by Maestra Priscila Santana:
Plastic Flowers by João MacDowell, select arias performed by countertenor Jordan Rutter.
Wardrobe by Raxann Chin, Makeup by A.Love,
Tamandua Suite #4 by João MacDowell, performed by mezzo-soprano Flavia Darcie, tenor Yunxuan Zhu, baritone Samuel Flores, soprano Veronica Mak, and the IBOC Ensemble.
C’est Yemanja by Hugo Sanbone and Constance Vellosi, mezzo-soprano Helena Beltrão and tenor Alexander Scott, trombone by Hugo Sanbone, choreography by Constance Vellosi, and accompanied by the IBOC Ensemble.
Select words from the librettos in progress, Race by Idris Goodwin and Ashley Cornelius, with dramaturgy by Frank Shines and Wild Flower by Nina Smart.
Travessia by Milton Nascimento, performed by Angolan tenor Nelson Ebo with the IBOC Ensemble
Quanto è Bella by Gaetano Donizetti, performed by tenor Yunxuan Zhu and the IBOC Jazz Band
IBOC Artist Development Program Showcase accompanied by the IBOC Jazz Band: vocalists Carol Rio, Davinia Pace, Helena Beltrão, Massimiliano Cims, Alexander Scott
8 – 9 pm
Live entertainment from the IBOC Jazz Band, cocktails, food and beverage, silent auction, including work from Candida Borges’ award-winning intermedia work Transeuntis Mundi.
IBOC Jazz Band led by bassist Marcelo Macagnan, guitarist Gabriel Gorski, percussionist Junior Karegato, percussionist Carol Rio, accordion Lucas Cypriano, trombone Hugo Sanbone
ABOUT IBOC: The International Brazilian Opera Company was founded out of a need for more diversity in the opera genre with the mission to develop new repertoire by combining the work of Brazilian and international artists and to provide a platform for new artists to emerge. Since its founding, IBOC has supported 64 immigrant artists to work in the USA, developed 7 operas, presented in 3 countries, and has provided music education experiences for the young and old alike.
ABOUT IBOC ARTISTIC DIRECTOR and CO-FOUNDER JOÃO MACDOWELL: The New York-based Brazilian composer has a career that spans from electronic music to bossa-nova to opera.
For his second year of residency at the Ingmar Bergman Estate in Fårö, the composer has been approved to start working on the music for “The Seventh Seal”. “In 2014, the National Theater Orchestra (OSTNCS – Brasilia) premiered his symphony No.1, conducted by Maestro Claudio Cohen. The composer was responsible for the soundtrack to the ESPN broadcast of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, licensed to 67 countries.
The documentary “Parece que Existo”, detailing aspects of the composer’s life and career, won Best Feature Film and Best Soundtrack awards at the Brasilia Film Festival (2012).
His second opera, Plastic Flowers (New York, 2012) has received two staged productions in Brazil (Vidigal, 2014 and Copacabana, 2015).
Tamanduá – his first opera (New York, 2008) was staged at Montclair (NJ- 2009) and New York (2014). It has received the Boston Metropolitan Opera Merit Award (BMO-2014).
VENUE SPONSOR:
LUXUNY ATELIER: An Italian cathedral hidden in the Manhattan sky, Luxury Atelier is unlike the generic commercial luxury experience. A one-stop-shop for exceptional pieces not elsewhere sold in NYC. Calling ourselves an atelier thanks to the endless customization options, from products to the shopping experience itself. Offering an exclusive encounter intended to intrigue all five senses. Fine jewelry, accessories, home design pieces, and fine art further indulge the refined gentlewoman next to our thriving, cultured gentleman.
Venue History: The event venue is inside Luxuny Atelier, in the penthouse of the Bryant Park Studios, constructed in 1898 by philanthropist and artist, most known for his portraiture, Abraham Archibald Anderson commissioned architect Charles A. Rich to build the Beaux Arts Studios. The building has been the residence and studio space for a distinguished list of legendary artists; such as J.C. Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell, Edward Steichen, Irving Penn, Bert Stern, Tony Vaccaro, Haskell Coffin, Kirk Seligmann, Leon Gordon, Thomas Bull, Fernand Leger, Jo Davidson Don Elliott, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, and Liz Claiborne. Learn more: https://www.luxuny.com/landmark-building
FOOD & BEVERAGE SPONSORS
PARIS BAGUETTE: Paris Baguette is your neighborhood bakery and cafe, built for connection and community, with the values of a good neighbor at heart.
HAPPY BOARD: Founded by entrepreneur and investor Ankit Agarwal and chef Nelson Cienfuegos,
HappyBoards is NYC’s first on demand cheese & charcuterie restaurant. HappyBoards, through
its multiple locations, services all of Manhattan and Brooklyn. HappyBoards is available through
HappyBoards.com and major marketplaces like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub and EZCater.
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