Sotto Voce is delighted to announce THE CAVALLERIA DONOR MATCH CHALLENGE, a special initiative to support our most ambitious project to date.
At our Fall Gala, an Anonymous donor stepped forward with a generous pledge to match 1:1 any donations from individuals received before March 1st, 2026, up to $5,000. We graciously request your consideration of a contribution of any size to help us to reach this Challenge goal. The fully-realized Challenge Match will fund nearly one-fourth of our Cavalleria production budget!
We invite you to join us in singing in the spirit of the season at the Elmwood Village Holiday Tree Lighting, next Tuesday, December 2nd, from 6 to 7:15pm at Lafayette Presbyterian Church.
Jessie Downs, Beth White, and Helen Lowry will share special seasonal operatic numbers and Elmwood Village’s Music Director, Dave Granvillewill lead the crowd in singing a variety of holiday favorites.
Our team will also have information about a *special offer* for our upcoming production of CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA.
Stay tuned to our website, newsletter, and socials for
THIS COMING WEDNESDAY, October 22nd, 7-8:30pm join Sotto Voce at Randall Baptist Church of Williamsville NY for a special “Let’s Get Together” edition of Amherst’s “Let’s Do Lunch” series and enjoy a musical ‘sampler plate’ of Sotto Voce’s offerings. Vocalists Jessie Downs, Beth White, & Helen Lowry, accompanied by pianist Ivan Docenko, will share arias by Mozart, Debussy, Bizet, Beethoven, Mascagni, and a special ensemble finale by Richard Strauss. Our hosts will also provide desserts… all for just $10!!
Many thanks to all those who supported our Fabulous Fall 2025 Gala!
We are thrilled to share that we are now about one-third of the way towards our fundraising goal for CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA! Stay tuned to this page and our socials for updates along the road to this exciting mainstage March show.
Carmen Quintet“Martern aller arten”Guests enjoy the reception
Sotto Voce is thrilled to announce our Fall 2025 Gala – an evening of music, mini-movies, food, and fun – honoring 30 years of Opera-Lytes!
Join us on Saturday October 11th at 7pm at the UU Church of Buffalo for a playful program featuring music by Mozart, Bizet, J. Strauss, Beethoven, and Mascagni performed by Holly Bewlay, Jessie Downs, Beth White, Helen Majel Lowry, Jax Hassler, Daniel Barna, Ky Ver Hoef, and Tim Flynn, accompanied by Michael Serio on piano, and short films by Alex Huddleston.
Get your tickets now, or go the extra mile and consider a sponsorship level! All proceeds from this event will help Sotto Voce to fund our March 2026 production of CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA.
We can’t wait to kick off our 2025-26 season with you!
Thanks so much again to everyone who made Grit & Silk possible – our hard-working vocal artists, our amazing collaborators from the UB Department of Theater and Dance and Avanti!, visiting gaygeum player Ji Eun Kim, Calvary Episcopal Church, our donors, volunteers, and YOU! THE AUDIENCE! We are so glad that you enjoyed this special program and we hope to see you again soon for another night at the opera!
Stay tuned to our TICKETS page for information about our 2025-26 season events.
… his Light and Dark Angels, Jamie Gangemi + Ky Ver Hoef.
Meet Brian J. Alvarado, the FATHER
Grit & Silk FAQs
Is this an opera or a concert, and how long will it be?
Grit & Silk features Claude Debussy’s 30-minute opera L’enfant prodigue. The opera “proper” is preceded by a 30-minute Prelude, consisting of instrumental numbers played on the Korean zither called the gayageum and Debussy art songs. The whole evening is a continuous staged event that tells the story of the Prodigal Son. It is about an hour total.
Are tickets available at the door?
Yes! Buying tickets in advance helps us with our planning, but door sales are also welcome! We take cash and checks, and card purchases through Zeffy.
Should I eat beforehand?
You certainly can. There will also be a reception following the event, featuring a number of small plates inspired by Korean and French cuisine, cooked up by our marvelous Chef Nate, so leave room!
Will I be able to understand what they’re singing?
The vocal music will be sung in its original French, but we will project supertitles in English.
What if it’s really hot later this week? And what about parking?
Calvary Episcopal has AC! They also have a parking lot and are located in a residential area with ample street parking.
Tyler Huk as the Prodigal Son, Azaël (left) and Beth White as the Prodigal Mother, Lia (right)
Sotto Voce is thrilled to be wrapping up our second season with a unique two-night concert series, in collaboration with visiting Korean ensemble, Studio frische klänge.
The first night of the series, entitled “Grit & Silk” will feature Claude Debussy’s 30-minute opera, L’enfant prodigue. While the opera is based on the Biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, this retelling of the story focuses on the emotions of the human characters, rather than on conveying a moral message. In fact, the opera focuses on the grief and radical love of the Mother in the Prodigal Family, who doesn’t even get a mention in the original story. Sotto Voce’s opera nouveau approach also incorporates Korean zither music, Debussy art songs, and dance into a Prelude that will bring the full performance closer to an hour in duration. The Prelude aims to tell the story of the Son’s journey into the world and demonstrate his struggle between Ego desires and a more relationship-oriented worldview.
Sotto Voce is thrilled to be featuring returning vocalists Beth White (Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, Second Lady in The Magic Flute) as the Mother, Tyler Huk (Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor, Tamino in The Magic Flute) as the Son, Jamie Gangemi (Second Spirit in The Magic Flute, The Monitor in Suor Angelica) as the Son’s Light Angel, and Ky ver Hoef (Priest in The Magic Flute, Bass Chorister in Lucia di Lammermoor) as his Dark Angel. We are also excited to introduce Brian J. Alvarado as the Father, and to be collaborating with the Avanti! chamber orchestra, as well as choreographer Kerry Ring and her dancers from the UB Department of Theatre and Dance.
As this special show runs for ONE NIGHT ONLY, you don’t want to miss out!
Still on the fence? Check out the behind-the-scenes previews below, and stay tuned here and to our socials for more insights as the event approaches.
If you are interested in contemporary music, consider checking out the second night in the series, featuring new chamber works by composers Su Lee (Busan, Korea) and Zane Merritt (Buffalo, NY). TICKETS HERE!
On Friday March 28th, 2025 at 7pm and Sunday March 30th, 2025 at 5pm, Sotto Voce unveiled what music critic Peter Hall referred to in his review as “Bel Canto Opera Brilliance” with our take on Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. We owe the success of this production to all our artists, board members, volunteers, donors, community partners, and audience members. It truly takes a village to put on a show like this and we were so thrilled with the positive reception to all our hard work.
“What voices! Bel canto promises us soaring, lyrical lines that convey deep emotion, all while we witness exceptional skill with intricate melodies and elaborate embellishments. It’s not just deep emotion and it’s not just technical dazzle. It’s both at the same time, which is a high-wire act. And boy did these people deliver.”
It was truly our pleasure to share this show and we can’t wait to share others with you soon! Stay tuned to our TICKETS page for information about our last show of the season – Debussy’s L’Enfant Prodigue– and our next season’s offering – our annual Fall Gala, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, and Beethoven’s Fidelio, as well as concerts and outreach events.
If you’d like to join our artistic team, stay tuned to our OPPORTUNITIES page for information about how to audition for us.
Under the visionary leadership of Stage Director Alex Huddleston and musical direction of master bel canto pedagogue and internationally acclaimed tenor Arturo Spinetti, Lucia will be presented in a bold new light, featuring athletic vocals in an immersive and imaginative staging, including an original narration provided by the character “Sir Walter Scott.”
The historical Walter Scott authored the novel “The Bride of Lammermoor” in 1819 – the source text that inspired the creation of the opera in 1835 – and his presence as a character in our production “raises the veil,” helping to drive the narrative of this real-life murder scandal that rocked 17th century Scotland.
The drama culminates in the famous “mad scene” – quoted in such popular culture references as the movie “The Fifth Element” – and features some of opera’s most intense and expressive vocals.
To read more about our production, check out Jan Jezioro’s March 2025
HELEN LOWRY as Carmen with Chorus Members Maria Jacobi, Beth White, Maria Parker, Jamie Gangemi, Tyler Huk, Paul Zanolli, and Phil Nicolai
Fourteen members of our troupe had a blast singing with the Amherst Symphony Orchestra for the family-friendly “Sing Me A Story” concert on Sunday February 16th at 3pm. Above and below you can check out some snapshots of the event. While we won’t be able to share a full recording of the show this time around, stay tuned for a special preview of Luciadi Lammermoor that came out of this mini production.
We are now only two weeks away from the start of production proper for this incredible show… Let the madness commence!
“The Marias” – Maria Jacobi (as Gretel) and Maria Parker (as Hansel) were hilarious in the opening scene from Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.
It was a pleasure to introduce the Buffalo area to baritone Stephen Walley and tenor Jax Hassler, our Enrico and Edgardo for Sotto Voce’s upcoming production of Lucia di Lammermoor.
Sotto Voce 