Maestro Recchiuti describes "Love, Hate, Envy, Revenge" as a fun and dramatic night of the "greatest hits" of opera with highlights from individual works that are either emotional highpoints or the best part of the story. As Maestro Recchuiti says, "We're going to skip over the dull parts! It will be an evening of the stories behind the music and promises to make opera more interesting and entertaining to even the novice opera-goer." He continues, "Verdi and Puccini had highly turbulent and dramatic personal lives and I will tell their fascinating stories during the program." Maestro Recchiuti will be joined by soprano Claudia Waite, tenor Raul Melo, and baritone Peter Castaldi.

Michael Recchiuti, Artistic Director of the American Opera Theater, is active internationally as a conductor, and as a pianist and an accompanist. He has collaborated with stars of the international opera stage, Grammy® and Tony® Award winners, and major theater personalities. In Italy, he was the head of the musical staff and assistant conductor at Venice's Teatro la Fenice and was the Consulente Musicale at the Ente Lirico in Cagliari, Sardinia. He has appeared as accompanist to many of Europe's leading singers and his recording conducting the Orchestra di Camera de Padova e del Veneto in bel canto arias with tenor Chris Merritt was named "Best of the Year" by Opera News, Opera International, and CD Classical magazines.

He has served as conductor at performances by the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Orlando Opera, the DeCapo Opera in New York, and the National Lyric Opera. Maestro Recchiuti went to the Aspen Music Festival as Music Director of the Vocal Institute and was accepted into Italy's prestigious Accademia Chigiana in Siena. -- www.mccallumtheatre.com