A Valentine’s Event

Sunday | February 11, 2024

Don't miss Opera Orlando's annual Valentine's event at the home of Audrey & John Ruggieri with lunch served at 1 p.m. and musical program at 2 p.m. (desserts to follow). This year's concert features internationally renowned tenor Matthew White, soprano NaYoung Ban and pianist Maria Pikoula along with Opera Orlando’s own Gabriel Preisser and violinist Andreas Volmer presenting selections from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

WE ARE CURRENTLY SOLD OUT FOR THIS EVENT.

To be added to our wait list please email info@operaorlando.org.

 This event is completely and graciously underwritten by Audrey and John Ruggieri. 100% of your ticket price goes as a contribution to Opera Orlando. Many thanks to Audrey and John!

South Korean Soprano Nayoung Ban is a young and dedicated operatic soprano with a sizeable and remarkably warm Bel Canto voice. She has been praised for vocal color, stage personality, and musicality beyond her years. Recently Ms.Ban performed as Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Tebaldo/Celestial Voice (Don Carlo) with Maryland Lyric Opera where she made her début as the Title role in Lucia di Lammermoor and she also made her Pacific Symphony Orchestra début as Soprano Soloist in Symphony No.9 by Beethoven. Future seasons engagements include her house début as Musetta in La Bohème with Hawaii Opera Theater.

​She performed Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Musetta (La Bohème) with Opera Ithaca, Rosina(Il barbiere di Siviglia by G.Paisiello) and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) with Mannes Opera where she also appeared as Euridice (Orfeo di Euridice), Vixen (The Cunning Little Vixen), Giulietta in (I Capuleti e Montecchi) and Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) with Mannes Opera Scene Performance. Ms.Ban participated in Maryland Lyric Opera’s Young Artist Institude and appeared as Gilda (Rigoletto), Musetta (La bohème), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Blonde (Die Entführung) in their Concerts.

Soprano Nayoung Ban has her Professional Studies in Mannes College of Music, holds her Master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music and ChungAng University in Korea where she also has her Bachelor's Degree.

Pianist Maria Pikoula has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician and in a wide variety of settings in Europe, North America and Russia. She gave her official solo debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall sponsored by Artists International Presentations and has been featured soloist with the Liepaja Symphony Amber Sound Orchestra, the oldest orchestra in the Baltic States. Other venues include the Kennedy Center and the beautiful Sala dos Espelhos at Lisbon’s historic Palaçio Foz. She has also been featured artist at the Hellenic Consulate in New York, the Hellenic Embassy of the United Nations, and gave a special gala performance for Greece's Ambassador to the United States.

Maria Pikoula is the featured pianist in Orchid Classics’ newly released album From Sappho’s Lyre, featuring four major works by composer Constantine Caravassilis. Based on sapphic poetry and themes, From Sappho’s Lyre uses 2600-year-old poetry by Sappho, as well as recent translations and original verses by American classicist, author, and poet Jeffrey M. Duban, alongside Pulitzer Prize winner Sara Teasdale’s historical poem Sappho in its entirety. Recording sessions for the project included venues in Baltimore, Toronto and New York and culminated with the recording of the album’s title work - a multimedia, scenic cantata for two solo voices, chamber orchestra and choir, pre-recorded audio, and narrator - at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. During this multi-year process, Maria collaborated with an array of award-winning musicians including cellist Sophie Shao, oboist Katherine Needleman, mezzo soprano Carla Jablonski, soprano Jenni Klauder, flautist Anna Urrey, violinist Abi Králik, baritone Brian Mummert and clarinetist Noémi Sallai, among others.

Maria’s debut solo album, Variations & Inspirations (2016), features works by Mozart, Brahms, Schubert-Liszt, Jacques Hétu and Constantine Caravassilis. She also recorded for the ANTARA project in London, UK and her performances have been broadcast on radio stations in North America and Europe.

Maria’s academic distinctions include the W.O. Forsyth Memorial Award, the Manhattan School of Music Merit Scholarship, as well as the Eleni Gatzoyiannis, John Silber and Richmond Awards. In 2001 Maria was inducted to the Golden Key International Honour Society. She has been honored as a recipient of several accolades and awards in national and international competitions. These include the Artists International Presentations Special Prize, the Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Award, First Prize at the GWUC National Music Competition in Chicago, the Hellenic American Women's Music Award, and First Prize and Gold Medal at the Greek National Competition.

Maria holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from Boston University, where she studied with Anthony di Bonaventura on full scholarship. She received her Master's Degree in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York under Arkady Aronov and her Bachelor's Degree with Honors from the University of Toronto under Boris Lysenko. She taught at Boston University, and she is currently on the faculty at Valencia College.   

Grammy Award winning baritone, Gabriel Preisser originally hails from Apopka, FL. He has been critically acclaimed by the NY Times and Opera News and has performed over 50 leading roles from Harold Hill to Don Giovanni with companies such as Opera San Antonio, Opera Naples, Opera Tampa, Minnesota Orchestra, Utah Opera, and the Colorado Symphony.  He is known for having created the role of Lt Gordon in the Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night which he has performed with Opera Philadelphia, Detroit Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Minnesota Opera - the latter was broadcast nationally on PBS in 2013.  He currently lives in Winter Garden, FL with his loving wife and kids.