Michael Amante
‘Prince of High C’s’ Michael Amante headlines
3rd annual Lincoln Park Italian festival
MIDLAND, Pa. – Luciano Pavarotti once tagged Michael Amante to fill in for him. Tony Bennett called him “the next Mario Lanza.” Franco Corelli, with whom Amante trained, called him “one of the greatest voices I’d ever heard.”
People will be able to judge for themselves when they hear the “Prince of High C’s,” Michael Amante, in concert at the third annual Una Bella Festa Italian festival at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Aug. 1.
Una Bella Festa, one beautiful evening of food and music, features an Italian buffet dinner followed by the Amante concert in Lincoln Park’s spacious 750-seat theater.
“This show sells out every year,” said Stephen Catanzarite, managing director of the center. “It is hugely enjoyed by those of us who can claim Italian heritage. Anyone who is Italian just for the evening will have a great time, too.”
Dinner is to be served at 5 p.m. in the Midland gymnasium, with the concert at 7 p.m. in the Lincoln Park main theater. Doors for the dinner will open at 4:30.
Tickets for dinner and the concert are $30.A limited number of VIP packages are available with a variety of amenities and an introduction to Amante. Tickets include reserved seas for the concert and assigned tables for the dinner. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Lincoln Park box office or by calling 724.643.9004.
With a combination of suave good looks, romantic charm and emotionally charged singing, Amante is equally at ease and powerfully persuasive in classical opera, pop rock, gospel, jazz and Broadway.
He has played Danny Zuko in “Grease,” Tony in “West Side Story,” and both Jesus and Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” In opera, Amante has sung leading roles of Rodolfo in Puccini’s “La Bohéme,” B.F. Pinkerton in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” and Turiddu in Mascagni’s “Cavaleria Rusticana.”
Affectionately known as the “People’s Tenor” for his versatility, he also has been crowned the “Prince of High C’s” for his remarkable ability to hit and sustain the high notes. Amante has a four-octave vocal range and can sing in English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Latin and Polish.
Amante received an Emmy nomination for a PBS television show, sang for the Mets and Gerald Ford, performed Italian operatic arias and popular Neapolitan songs for priests at the Vatican, and caused Regis Philbin to gush, “That’s the most beautiful singing I’ve heard in years!”
Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center is a regional cultural and entertainment asset, hosting concerts that range from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to pop and country, and producing plays, musicals and benefit shows of all types. The Center is host to the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, a 500-student public charter school providing a rich academic program and pre-professional training in music, dance, theater, writing, media arts and health sciences.