Lucine Amara, Artistic Director of Fort Lee Opera Company, Celebrates 90th Birthday

Jim Beckerman

 

How many complete operas did soprano Lucine Amara, in her Metropolitan days, have stored in her head — ready to sing at a moment's notice?
Might as well ask how many girls Mozart's Don Giovanni has in his little black book. "I couldn't tell you how many," says Amara, soprano emeritus at the Metropolitan Opera, and artistic director of New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera in Fort Lee.
Rather than enumerate them, as Mozart does in his famous "catalog aria," it might be easier just to name them.
"Well listen, I had to have 'Aida,' 'Tosca,' 'Forza,' " she says, thinking. "Also 'Trovatore,' 'Marriage of Figaro,' 'Così Fan Tutte,' 'Pagliacci,' 'Cavelleria Rusticana,' 'Butterfly'..."

The Vessel That Carries it On: Armenian Language Classes at Rutgers University

Lori Cinar

 

With the exception of a few universities in California, and a couple of others throughout the country, Rutgers University, located in New Brunswick, N.J., is unique in its Armenian Studies Department, which offers both Armenian language and history classes. For nearly 20 years, Dr. Asbed Vassilian has been teaching Rutgers students Armenian in a rigorous four-part course that spans two years. This past semester, a group of students, including myself, were enrolled in the final installment of his class, each with a different story and a unique incentive for studying the language.