BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
ROOSEVELT — Mezzo-soprano Cheri Rose Katz will perform with Alan Mallach on piano as part of the Roosevelt Arts Project Evening of Song at 8 p.m. on March 20 at the Roosevelt Borough Hall.
"I think she is a wonderful singer and has a really rich voice and a great feeling for this style of music," said Mallach, who is one of the founders of the Roosevelt Arts Project, which started in the late 1980s.
The concert will focus on pieces by the opera composer Pietro Mascagni, an influential figure in Italian opera during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Mallach, who wrote a biography of Mascagni that charts the course of his life and career, will also provide commentary on the composer and his music.
His book, "Pietro Mascagni and His Operas," was published by Northeastern University Press and came out in June 2002.
The 30-year-old mezzo said she loves all of Mascagni’s music. She also loves Verdi and the opera "Carmen."
Katz said that throughout high school, she had a lot of encouragement and got a college scholarship.
"There was a local opera company called Opera International in the Trenton area," she said. "I sang with them and went to Italy with them.
"Dr. Sam Bellardo was the opera director of the company," she added. "He has been very helpful. In fact, I did the Roosevelt Arts Project concert last year with Sam."
Katz is recognized for possessing an extremely unique, rich and powerful voice.
In 2000, she received an Encouragement Grant from the Gerda Lissner Foundation. She has been a winner of or finalist in many other competitions, such as the Palm Beach Opera (finalist), Florida Grand Young Patroness (semifinalist), the National Society of Arts and Letters, New Jersey Winner, and the MacAllister Awards.
Her family still lives in Roosevelt where she grew up, but she has been traveling between New York and the world.
In May 2000, Katz performed the title role in Mascagni’s rarely performed "Zanetto," with Artistic Director Lucine Amara’s company, the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera.
She also performed the role of Maddalena in "Rigoletto" with the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera. She has worked with Colorado’s Central City Opera in Colorado, New York’s Sarasota Opera, Opera International, New York City’s Dicapo Opera and Opera of the Hamptons.
Katz debuted in June 1988 at the Teatro da Fontana in Italy, where she worked with celebrated soprano Antonietta Stella.
She performed excerpts from "Carmen," "Cavalleria Rusticana," "Adriana Lecouvreur" and "Don Carlo."
Katz holds a bachelor of music degree in vocal performance from the University of Miami School of Music. She currently studies voice in New York City with William Schuman.
Mallach began his piano studies in his early teens in Israel, where he studied theory and composition with the distinguished composer Paul Ben-Haim. He continued after his arrival in the United States with the late Michael Field and in his studies at Yale College.
As a pianist, Mallach has been active in both solo and ensemble performances. He has given programs at the New Jersey Museum Auditorium on Russian piano music and has performed a lot of contemporary music, including a local performance of George Antheil’s "Airplane Sonata and Piano Sonata No. 4."
Mallach is also a writer and commentator on opera, particularly on the Italian opera world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Roosevelt Borough Hall is located on Route 571. A $5 contribution is suggested for adults. For further information, contact Robin Gould at (609) 448-4616.