Mother's Day High Tea at the Opera

A Mother's Day celebration of all that is lovely, join Amore Opera and AFHLE, Hungarian House for a high-tea at the opera experience, a mélange of operatic music during yum cha accompanied by strudel and dim-sum.

We are excited to invite you to a special benefit concert and celebration that promises not only to honor the spirit of motherhood but also will help bring the much-anticipated "Faust" to the stage of Amore Opera later this year and help share the beauty of Hungarian culture by supporting the mission of Hungarian House. Securing your tickets is a gesture of love and appreciation, offering the mothers and mother-figures in your life an experience filled with enchanting musical performances, a lovely afternoon high-tea, and lasting fond memories.

PROGRAM (subject to change)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Bei Mannern, welche lieben fühlen,("The Magic Flute")

Vincenzo Bellini – "Mira, O Norma" from Norma,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – "O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn" from Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute")

Francesco Durante – Vergin tutt’amor,

Franz Schubert – Ellens dritter Gesang III, D. 839, Op. 52, No. 6 "Ave Maria",

Georges Bizet – Carmen, “Parle-moi de ma mère!”,

Camille Saint-Saëns – "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Samson et Dalila ("Samson and Delilah"), Op. 47,

Jenő Huszka — "Mi kell a férfiaknak?" from Lili bárónő ("Baroness Lili")

Pietro Mascagni – "Addio alla madre",

Antonín Dvořák – Songs My Mother Taught Me, B. 104, Op. 55, No. 4,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – "Soave sia il vento" from from Cosi fan tutte ("The School for Lovers"), K.

Giacomo Puccini — "E ben altro il mio sogno" from Il Tabarro

Arrigo Boito – “L’altra notte in fondo al mare”,

Stanislao Gastaldon – Musica proibita ("Forbidden Music"),

Jacques Offenbach – Veszekedő Duett (magyarul) (Les contes d'Hoffmann")

Giacomo Puccini – Suor Angelica, “Senza Mamma”,

Amore Opera Artists:

Gillian Watson, Yeawon Jun, Vee Visnov, Tomoko Nago, Nikhil Krishna, Charles Gray, Jihye Seo

Hungarian arias & duet performed by:

Ildikó Rozs & Tünde Csonka

High-Tea: A social gathering with tea and snacks, usually in the afternoon or early evening. Its origins date to 19th-century England, where the classic tea party was an elevated social experience, with special cakes and sandwiches.

Yum-cha: Literally translated as "drinking tea," is a traditional Cantonese dining experience with tea and a variety of dim sum (small portions, steamed, fried, boiled).

Strudel (Rétes): A popular Hungarian pastry made from paper-thin, hand-stretched dough with a variety of fillings, typically sweet (apple, cherry cheese, poppy seed) or savory (cabbage).

About Amore Opera (NYC)  https://www.amoreopera.org/

About Charles Gray, baritone

Originally from Southern California, baritone Charles Gray made his debut as Plagio with Amore Opera in 2011 in the American Premiere of Saverio Mercadante's I due Figaro. Other roles with Amore Opera include Morales in Carmen, Schaunard in La bohème, and Tom in Un ballo in maschera. He has also appeared with various local companies in roles such as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Don Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Lescaut in Manon Lescaut. Beyond opera, his focus extends to art song and sacred music. Charles' likeness is featured in the Amore Opera coloring book.

About Yaewon Jun, soprano

Soprano Yeawon Jun, born in Seoul, South Korea, is now based in New York City. She has performed roles such as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), the Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Mimì and Musetta (La bohème), Luigia (Viva la Mamma), Sophie (Werther), Cunegonde (Candide), Tytania (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and Nedda (Pagliacci). She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at Yonsei University under tenor Moolim Kang and completed a PDPL at Mannes School of Music under soprano Diana Soviero. Currently, she is pursuing a DMA in voice performance at Rutgers University with Professor Judith Nicosia.

About Nikhil Krishna, tenor

Tenor Nikhil Krishna teaches high school chemistry in the Bronx. He sometimes sings arias for his chemistry students when they perform particularly well on tests and also serves as the vocal coach for the annual school musical. Mr. Krishna has been performing operatic roles since 2023, first appearing as Detlef in The Student Prince with Regina Opera, and most recently as Pinkerton with Amore Opera in 2025. Nikhil studies with Scott Flaherty.

About Tomoko Nago, mezzo-soprano

Tomoko Nago is thrilled to join the Mother’s Day concert with Amore Opera. Her recent credits include Suzuki, Mercedes, Dritte Dame, and ensemble in Mikado with NY/NJ opera companies. A semifinalist in the 2020 Mary Truman Vocal Competition, she frequently performs with the Art Song Preservation Society. She holds a master's degree from Brooklyn College, where she won the 2023 Conservatory Opera Award. Tomoko looks forward to her lecture recital at PMTA conference to present a Japanese song cycle this summer.

About Jihye Seo, soprano

South Korean soprano Jihye Seo is based in NYC. In 2022 she made her New York debut as Diana in Francesco Cavalli's La Calisto. She has also been heard in the role of Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), as Amore (L'incoronazione di Poppea), and as Lydia (Girl from Ipanema). Jihye has performed extensively throughout the US at such venues as WQXR NY Classical Music Radio station's Young Artists Showcase, the German Consulate UN Plaza and the Seoul Arts Center. For the 2025 season, she will make her debut with Teatro Nuovo at New York City Center. Ms. Seo graduated from Seoul National University and Mannes School of Music and studied voice with Arthur Levy.

About Vee Visnov, soprano

Vee Visnov, soprano, is based in New York City and holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance from the Crane School of Music (2016). Their credits include Oberto in Alcina at Chicago Summer Opera; Servillia in La clemenza di Tito and Elettra in Idomeneo at Singthrough Central; Chorus in La Bohème and Don Giovanni at Amore Opera; and Erste Knabe in Die Zauberflöte at the Trentino Music Festival. Vee won second prize at the 2024 Charleston International Music Competition and was a 2023 finalist in the Music International Grand Prix. They also perform with TRANScend NYC and the Opera Collective and have served as makeup designer for many operas, including this production.

About Gillian Watson, soprano

Gillian Watson is an operatic soprano who is currently living in New York, NY. She has performed all over the world from Germany and Austria to here in the United States. Some of her roles include Joan of Arc in the Philadelphia premiere of Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans with the Russian Opera Workshop, Donna Anna with Lyric Opera Studio of Weimar, and the Mother in Hansel & Gretel with the San Francisco Conservatory Opera Theater. She holds both a BM and an MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

About Ildiko Rozs, mezzo-soprano

"Ildikó Rozs is an opera singer, Bartók - Pásztory Ditta Prize-winning performer, and private voice teacher. Born in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, she began her musical studies at the age of 13 and later continued her training at the Bartók Béla Conservatory in Budapest. While still a student, she became a member of the Hungarian State Opera House, where she worked with distinguished conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Lamberto Gardelli, and Pier-Giorgio Morandi, Adam Medveczky.

In 1988, she was awarded the Bartók–Pásztory Ditta Prize by the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. She performed with the Hungarian State Opera Chorus for 16 years, during which she also appeared regularly as a soloist in opera and operetta excerpts, as well as in oratorio and sacred repertoire. She took part in more than 30 opera productions and numerous concert performances.

Her concert appearances have taken her across Europe, Japan, and the United States, including a U.S. tour with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble. In 2003, she earned her master’s degree in Princeton, New Jersey. Her repertoire includes opera, operetta, film music, and sacred music. She is currently based in Princeton, where she is dedicated to teaching and inspiring the next generation of singers while remaining active in select concert appearances.

About Csonka Tünde, voice

Tunde Csonka is a former member of the Győr National Theater, but also played in the Madách Theater and the Vígszínház in Budapest. She sang in the Children's Choir of the Hungarian State Opera House and graduated from Thebe International Theater Academy in 1996. In 2004, she received the Hungarian Radio's eMeRTon award for her leading role in the musical Miss Saigon. A versatile artist who played important operetta, musical and prose roles in Hungary, and regularly performs in American concerts, including performances of Les Miserables, West Side Story, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, Hyppolit, a lakáj, Hello Dolly!, Hair, The Verona Boys, and Somewhere in Europe. In 2003, she founded the Nem-ÁRT! Skills development school in Budapest, which she led for 12 years.

This is a joint non-profit fundraiser event for Amore Opera and AFHLE, Hungarian House. “AFHLE, Hungarian House is a 501(c)3, 509(a)2 non-profit public charity organization. The portion of your ticket that exceeds $45/person (FMV) is a donation that is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.”

Learn more about Amore Opera here: www.amoreopera.org