New York City Opera General Director to Address Mount Graduates
4/18/2016
Riverdale, N.Y. – Michael Capasso, General Director of the New York City Opera, will deliver the address to graduates at the University of Mount Saint Vincent’s 104th Commencement. The ceremony will take place at the College on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 10:00 a.m., on the River Lawn.
Mr. Capasso, an American opera impresario, will be conferred an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. Additionally, the members of the Board of Trustees of the New York City Opera will be recognized for their service and leadership, including Roy Niederhoffer, Chairman of the Board and Jeffrey Laikind, President of the Board.
Michael Capasso has produced, directed, and toured opera and musical theater productions globally for more than three decades. Having studied voice at the Mannes College of Music, he began his career producing and directing, and in 1981 he founded New York’s Dicapo Opera Theatre, along with Diane Martindale. In 1995, Mr. Capasso designed a permanent home and performance space for the company, repurposing the lower level of the St. Jean Baptiste Catholic Church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, transforming the space into a 204-seat theater. During his 30 years of leadership, the company presented diverse programming to the New York public, and in cooperation with the Armel Festival, premiered three productions of contemporary American operas in Europe.
In addition to his work with the Dicapo Opera Theatre, Mr. Capasso has directed operas at l’Opéra de Montréal; Mallorca Opera in Spain; Toledo Opera; Connecticut Opera; New Jersey State Opera; Opera Carolina; and Orlando Opera, among others. He founded the National Lyric Opera in 1991, a touring company that has brought fully-staged operas to communities in the Northeastern United States. His writing credits include a staged adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol; Opera Senza Rancor, a satire on the world of opera; Puccini’s Passion, a biographical play with music on the life and career of Giacomo Puccini; a new book and libretto for La Périchole; English libretti for Die Fledermaus and The Daughter of the Regiment; and a concert and lecture series for the New York Historical Society.
He has received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award, the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, the Leonardo da Vinci Award from the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York, and has been named Man of the Year by the Italian Welfare League.
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in Manhattan. The company has been active from 1943 to 2013, and again since 2016 when it was revived. New York City Opera was famously dubbed “The People’s Opera” by New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia at its founding in 1943. Now, more than 70 years later, City Opera continues to renew its historic mission to inspire audiences with innovative and theatrically compelling opera, nurture the work of promising American artists, and build new audiences through affordable ticket prices and extensive outreach and education programs.
For more information about the University of Mount Saint Vincent’s upcoming Commencement ceremony, please visit: mountsaintvincent.edu/commencement.
For more about Mr. Capasso, see the New York City Opera’s site.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational and career opportunities of New York City, the College equips students with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary for lives of achievement, professional accomplishment and leadership in the 21st century.