Release #271-98

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958, Jennifer Chait (212) 788-2971

MAYOR GIULIANI OPENS "IL TROVATORE" IN CENTRAL PARK AS PART OF MET OPERA IN THE PARK SERIES

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani tonight welcomed the 32nd season of MET OPERA IN THE PARKS at a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's "Il Trovatore" by the Metropolitan Opera Company on Central Park's Great Lawn. The Mayor was joined by Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern, Metropolitan Opera General Manager Joseph Volpe and Michael Moore, Senior Program Officer of the Lila Acheson and DeWitt Wallace Fund for Lincoln Center.

The concerts, which are free to the public, are taking place throughout the five boroughs and in New Jersey through July 3rd. In addition to "Il Trovatore", the Opera Company will also be giving performances of Gioachino Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia."

"New York City has one of the strongest popular opera traditions of any City in the United States - going back almost 250 years to 1750 - when the Nassau Street Theater began to present English Ballad Opera to eager New York customers," said Mayor Giuliani. "The Metropolitan Opera itself is celebrating its 115th year of bringing opera to New York and as long as programs like this one thrive in New York City, the comedy and tragedy of opera will continue to delight us for years to come.

"This is the 32nd year of MET IN THE PARKS, and as Mayor and as an opera lover, I enjoy it immensely," continued the Mayor. "MET IN THE PARKS is a wonderful opportunity to share the magic of opera with the entire City. Over the course of this summer, families in all five boroughs will get to enjoy a night out under the stars listening to some of the world's most beautiful music - music that they might not otherwise get a chance to hear in their daily lives. Through MET IN THE PARKS, a whole new generation is educated and made aware of the powerful legacy that the world of opera has to offer."

Tonight's performance was conducted by Marco Armiliato and featured June Anderson as Leonora, Larissa Diadkova as Azucena, Fabio Armiliato as Manrico, Haijing Fu as Count Di Luna and Paul Plishka as Ferrando.

The MET OPERA IN THE PARKS series in New York City is presented in association with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The series is sponsored by the Lila Acheson and DeWitt Wallace Fund for Lincoln Center. Addition funding was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Charitable Trust's Met Parks Concert Fund, The Recording Industries Music Performance Trust Funds, PepsiCo, the New York State Council on the Arts, The Barker Welfare Foundation and the Altman Foundation.

The remaining MET OPERA IN THE PARKS New York City schedule for Summer 1998 is as follows:

LOCATION	DATES	PERFORMANCES
(All performances begin at 8:00 PM)
Great Lawn, Central Park, Manhattan	June 16 June 23	"Il Trovatore" "Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Cunningham Park, Queens	June 17	"Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Miller Field, Staten Island	June 19	"Il Trovatore"
Waterloo Village, Stanhope, NJ	June 20	"Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Brookdale Park, Montclair, NJ	June 24 July 2	"Il Trovatore" "Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Buccleuch Park, New Brunswick, NJ	June 26	"Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Cooper River Park, Pennsauken, NJ	June 27	"Il Trovatore"
Marine Park, Brooklyn	June 29	"Il Barbiere di Siviglia"
Prospect Park, Brooklyn	June 30	"Il Trovatore"
Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx	July 3	"Il Trovatore"

For additional information on the MET OPERA IN THE PARKS call the Metropolitan Opera at (212) 362-6000. Information concerning the park series can also be found at the Metropolitan Opera's web site at www.metopera.org.