An Evening of Culture: Celebrating Opera Carolina

Wednesday, April 26th

6:30pm - 9:30pm

Founders Hall

Charlotte, NC

CCI-NC was pleased to honor Opera Carolina and Mo. James Meena for their collaboration with Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Teatro del Giglio, and New York City Opera in their production of Puccini's "La Fanciulla del West" (The Girl of the West).

The Opera made its debut in Charlotte before continuing to New York and then several cities in Italy. The sets were designed and made by Opera Carolina, costumes were created by the award-winning Venetian atelier, Stefano Nicolao, and the production was designed and directed by the esteemed Italian director Ivan Stefanutti.

In addition, Opera Carolina hosted the sixth Marcello Giordani International Voice Competition. The semi-finals were held the day of our reception, and the finalist and judges attended after they were done competing for the day.

During the reception, which was held at beautiful Founders Hall, guests were able to enjoy catering by Aria, who also donated wine for the evening, as well as performances from a few of the Italian singers, Gianluca Bocchino and Giovanni Guagliardo. It was an enticing experience that led many to purchase tickets for upcoming shows at Opera Carolina. And as a special bonus, Attendees were entered to win tickets to the following Saturday performance of "La Fanciulla del West", and here are our happy winners!

We were also honored to have the Honorable Jennifer Roberts, Charlotte's Mayor, stop by. She spoke to the importance of having a strong international community in Charlotte.

CCI-NC is working hard to ensure the Italian community is always a part of the conversation and that the people in Charlotte know how large the Italian presence is here and across the state. As a lover of the opera, and all things Italian, Mayor Robert's speech was a perfect culmination to the event.

1/18