Opera Italiana Is in the Air Returns to Central Park with a Sunset Serenade for All New Yorker
Opera Italiana Is in the Air will return to Central Park on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, for a free public concert at the Naumburg Bandshell from 5:30–7:00 PM. Hosted by journalist Patrick Riley, the program will be led by Maestro Alvise Casellati, Artistic Director of the Palermo Opera House, whose mission is to make opera accessible to all and reconnect it with broad public audiences.
“Opera speaks one language — it is the bridge between people,” said Maestro Casellati. “As we sit on 400 years of musical history, our role is to use music as a vehicle for connection and inspiration. This performance is our contribution to the people of New York City — to give life to music in Central Park that can stay with them long after the final note.”
This year’s performance features internationally acclaimed artists soprano Leah Hawkins and tenor Murat Karahan, together with an orchestra of musicians from the Juilliard School of Music, the MET Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and Manhattan School of Music.
A highlight of the evening will be the world premiere of a symphonic composition by 17-year-old Luke Soneral, winner of Opera Italiana’s 2025 national composition competition. Soneral, a member of Juilliard’s Pre-College program, was chosen from dozens of anonymous submissions.
“Everything that goes into the music I compose calls to me. I want my music to carry a voice that matters, to share a perspective and a universal truth,” said Soneral.
Casellati added: “Without young composers, there is no future for classical music. Luke’s work is not only technically strong, it is moving — evocative of nature in a way that will resonate deeply in Central Park’s setting.”
The program will also include selections from opera greats including Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Leoncavallo, and Mascagni.
ABOUT OPERA ITALIANA IS IN THE AIR
Founded in Central Park in 2017 through a collaboration between Daniele Bodini and Maestro Alvise Casellati, Opera Italiana Is in the Air brings high-quality, informal, open-air opera performances to the public free of charge. Its mission is to revive opera’s popular roots as “music for everyone,” and to inspire new audiences by placing the art form back in the heart of public life.
The New York event in Central Park continues a legacy of open-air opera, aiming to rekindle the once-popular art form, which was embraced as “pop music” for everyone for 400 years. However, in the last 50 years, Opera has been misperceived as music for the elite because of the cost associated with attending the theater. Opera Italiana Is in the Air aims to reverse that perception by bringing opera to people.
Event: Opera Italiana Is in the Air: Sunset Serenade in Central Park
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 • 5:30–7:00 PM
Location: Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, New York City
Website: www.operaitalianaisintheair.
