Connecticut Virtuosi to present Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci in three-state performances this November

Photo of Mario de la Garza in Greve Academy's 2025 Summer Production of Pagliacci with Connecticut Virtuosi. Provided photo courtesy of Connecticut Virtuosi. — Photo of Mario de la Garza in Greve Academy’s 2025 Summer Production of Pagliacci with Connecticut Virtuosi. Provided photo courtesy of Connecticut Virtuosi.

Direct from its summer engagement at the Greve Music Festival in Italy, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra is proud to present its powerful production of Leoncavallo’s tragic opera Pagliacci. The production, presented in partnership with Greve Opera Academy, is stage directed by Rosemarie Danziger and conducted by The Virtuosi’s Music Director Adrian Sylveen.

Pagliacci will be performed at New London’s Garde Arts Center on Wednesday, November 26 at 7:30pm; Middletown’s Santo Fragilio Performing Arts Center on Friday, November 28 at 7:30pm; and Hartford’s First Presbyterian Church on Sunday, November 30 at 6pm. Tickets for all performances are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting TheVirtuosi.org.

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Pagliacci

Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (1892) is a gripping masterpiece that blends raw emotion, unforgettable music, and timeless drama. Life imitates art – and vice versa – when a traveling Commedia del’Arte troupe puts on a performance featuring love, betrayal, jealousy, and revenge. Simmering resentments lead to a bloody conclusion that blurs the line between performance and reality. The famous aria “Vesti la giubba,” where the lead character Canio sings of hiding heartbreak behind a painted smile, is one of the most iconic moments in operatic history.

Pagliacci is a perfect entry point for newcomers to opera and a thrilling favorite for seasoned fans with a story that asks: “what happens when the mask comes off?” Its compact structure—just two acts—makes for a fast-paced, emotionally intense evening. The music is lush and dramatic, with soaring melodies and gripping orchestration that heighten every twist of the plot. Whether you’re drawn by the music, the drama, or the spectacle, Pagliacci offers a cathartic, unforgettable experience that will leave you breathless.

The Artists

José Heredia (Canio)

A First Prize Winner of the 2014 NJ Association of Verismo Opera International Vocal Competition, and a finalist/encouragement award winner of the Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition in 2015 and 2017, Dominican tenor José Heredia has thrilled audiences with his voice of “Pavarottian shimmer.” After debuting as “Rodolfo” in Puccini’s La Bohème with the NJ Association of Verismo Opera in 2014, Heredia has sung leading and featured roles in Puccini’s Il Tabarro, Rigoletto, Carmen, La Taviata, Un ballo in maschera, L’elisir d’amore, Tosca, Leoncavallo’s version of La Bohème, Aida, Cavalleria Rusticana, Madama Butterfly, and Pagliacci. Mr. Heredia made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, performing the song cycle Four Short Stories at the Standard Hotel, Op.6 by Colombian pianist, composer and award winning film director Julian De La Chica. He has toured in Italy, Puerto Rico and South Korea, where he sang in more than 34 successful concerts, some broadcast live on television (NBC Korea). Mr. Heredia represented his Native Dominican Republic in the first Annual Festival Lirico del Caribe, a concert series hosted by the European Union that seeks to celebrate Caribbean talent in opera.

Emily Tate Daniel (Nedda)

Hailed for her “powerful, rich voice with great control”, Emily Tate Daniel is an American soprano on the rise in a wide variety of vocal repertoire. Emily’s 2024–2025 season began with two European concert debuts. In Mosset, France, Emily performed scenes from Tosca, Adriana Lecouvreur, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in concert; in the Netherlands, Emily performed a concert of arias at the Centrale Bibliotheek Den Haag (The Hague Central Library). Emily made her role debut as Nedda in Pagliacci with Greve Opera in July 2025. In the 2023–2024 season, Emily sang the title role in Luisa Miller with Verismo Opera, premiered Poe Songs by Marie Herrington with the Bay Area Arts’ Alliance, and joined the OperaWorks Engaged Artist Program. Emily is a recent graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she was the recipient of the Iphigenia Wise Ochs Scholarship and a Professional Development Grant. Emily has been a Fellow/Young Artist at programs such as Asheville Lyric Opera, the 3340 Recital Series Somatic Song Institute, Operafest Sewanee, Sewanee Winterfest, and CoOPERAtive.

Jonathan R. Green (Tonio)

Jonathan R Green (he/him) is an American Verdi Baritone originally from Chicago and now resides in Harlem NY. He is an alum of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studied with Richard Miller. Jonathan also attended Indiana University and the University of Kentucky and studied with Tim Noble and Dr Everett McCorvey. Jonathan has been a soloist with the National Choral (NYC) performing as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana. He has internationally performed at the Sempr Oper (Dresden), Deutsche Oper am Rein (Düsseldorf), Teatro Massimo Bellini (Catania), Teatro San Carlo (Napoli), and most recently Teatro Regio (Torino). His operatic credits include the title roles of Rigoletto, Falstaff, and Figaro (Mozart and Rossini), Scarpia (Tosca), Renato (Un Ballo in maschera), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Marcello (La Bohème), Crown (Porgy and Bess), and Germont (La Traviata).

Eliam Ramos (Silvio)

Eliam Ramos has a rich full lyric bass-baritone voice. He began his training and graduated from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. He made his professional debut in 2011 in Don Giovanni with Teatro de la Ópera de Puerto Rico. Since then his artistic engagements have included performances in Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Fauré Requiem, and a Gala of Zarzuela for the Puerto Rico Symphonic Orchestra. Other notable performances include the Mozart Requiem with the Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as roles in the zarzuela Luisa Fernanda, the zarzuela El Barberillo de Lavapies, and the operetta Cofresí by Rafael Hernández. As part of the Opera Workshop of the Conservatory in Puerto Rico, he performed in Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten, Der Kaiser von Atlantis by Victor Ullman, and Die Zauberflöte by Mozart. In 2013 he made his way to New York City, and with the Brooklyn College Opera Workshop, performed in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims and Rigoletto. Ramos’ international performances include the title role in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale in Spain, Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Israel and the title role of Hans Werner Henze’s El Cimarrón in Mexico.

Mario De La Garza (Beppe)

Known for his expressive, agile singing, Mario De La Garza is a young up and coming tenor from Brownsville, Texas. He is currently a senior at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he studies with Dr. Shayna Isaacs. Roles at UTRGV include Camille in The Merry Widow and Jack in Into the Woods. Mario completed additional studies at Texas State University, where he was seen as Alfred in Die Fledermaus. In the summer of 2024, Mario attended La Musica Lirica, where his roles included Giuseppe in La Traviata and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro. In the summer of 2025, Mario attended Greve Opera Academy, Mario was the tenor soloist in the Mozart Coronation Mass and performed Beppe in Pagliacci, a role he is excited to return to with the Connecticut Virtuosi.

Rosemarie Danziger (Director)

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Rosemarie Danziger studied at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem and the Hartt College of Music in Connecticut. She earned her degree in Theater from Cornell University and worked as a playwright at the Tåstrup Theater in Denmark while continuing to perform in concerts and operas. She collaborated with major Danish orchestras, including the Sjællands Symphony, Danish Radio Symphony, and Aarhus Symphony. In 1989, she moved to Canada, performing with the Orchestra London, McGill Orchestra, and Edmonton Symphony. Since settling there, she has toured extensively across Europe, appearing in cities such as Mannheim, Freiburg, Hamburg, Graz, Basel, Budapest, and Gdańsk. She has sung under renowned conductors like Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Walter Weller, Donald Runnicles, Jun Märkl, Nir Kabaretti, and Leon Botstein. Her repertoire spans operatic roles by Mozart, Richard Strauss, Verdi, and Puccini, as well as classic operettas by Johann Strauss, Emmerich Kálmán, and Franz Lehár. In 2014, Danziger co-founded the non-profit Vienna-Tel Aviv Vocal Connection (VTAVC) with Maestro David Aronson and Sylvia Greenberg. VTAVC supports emerging professional singers by producing fully staged operas with leading Israeli orchestras. Since 2023, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro Julian Rachlin, has been VTAVC’s exclusive partner. Her recent directing and production work includes Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Pergolesi’s La serva padrona, Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and The Impresario. She has worked with orchestras such as the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Haifa Symphony, and Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva. Danziger also teaches acting techniques and mentors professional singers.

Adrian Sylveen (Music Director)

Award-winning musician, Adrian Sylveen enjoys a performing career in the United States and Europe. He is a founder and artistic director of the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra (USA) and the Greve Opera Academy and Chamber Music Festival (Italy). He also appears frequently with Teatro Lirico D’Europa (USA) and Camerata Gdynia (Poland). Mr. Sylveen has conducted approximately 35 operatic titles and has an extensive orchestral and oratorio repertoire. He has conducted and performed concerts in the United States, Poland, Italy, Israel, Cuba, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the former Soviet Union. Between 2004-2024, Mr. Sylveen was a co-founder, artistic director, and the principal conductor of the Connecticut Lyric Opera. He worked with such ensembles as Israeli Chamber Orchestra, Olsztyn Philharmonic, Elbląg Chamber Orchestra, Classical Orchestra of Piła (Poland), Associazione Il Contrappunto (Italy), Holguín Symphony Orchestra (Cuba), Orchestra da Camera di Greve-In-Chianti (Italy), Central Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra, the New Britain Chorale, Coro di teatro Garibaldi, Chór Akademii Staszica (Piła, Poland), among others. A winner of many prizes in Europe and the United States, he received the American Council for Polish Culture Primus Inter Pares Award from the President of the Republic of Poland and received permanent US residence for “Extraordinary Abilities in the Arts”. Mr. Sylveen holds Master of Music and Artist Diploma degrees from the Yale University School of Music; he is also a graduate of the Paderewski Music Academy in Poznan, Poland (diploma with distinction). During the school years, he participated in several international Festivals in Weimar, Łancut, Żagań, and others. A dedicated music educator and community activist, Sylveen is on the faculty of the Virtuosi Music Academy and Summer Music Festival, Greve Opera Academy, and works with a community “Moniuszko” Choir.

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Connecticut Virtuosi to present Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci in three-state performances this November