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The Pacific Chamber Orchestra is embracing the season with a summer pops concert series featuring film and theater singer Franc D’Ambrosio this weekend in Livermore and Lafayette.
Centered around the vocal stylings of D’Ambrosio, known for his role in “The Godfather Part III” and long run in “The Phantom of the Opera”, the performances will also include the full local orchestra, PCO’s 50-voice chorus and East Bay soprano Elizabeth Hunter Ashley.
“Franc D’Ambrosio is a dream to work with in presenting an unmatched program of Broadway from the early follies, to the wondrous classics, modern and contemporary hits of today showcasing Franc’s amazing vocal range and ability to render authenticity and swagger to each stylistic period,” PCO musical director Lawrence Kohl told Embarcadero Media Foundation.
“Franc weaves it all together with charming personal stories,” Kohl said. “We have added additional spices to the program by including the PCO Chorus and soprano Elizabeth Hunter Ashley. The audiences are in for an incredible treat that will leave them beaming with the joy that only Broadway can bring.”
The headliner D’Ambrosio rose to international prominence after his performance as the godfather’s opera singer son Anthony Corleone in the final installment of the famed Francis Ford Coppola trilogy in 1990.
He would go on to play the titular Phantom in more than 2,100 shows (many of which were in San Francisco), had a tour as the lead Tony in Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana” musical and was knighted by order of the president of the Republic of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, in 2020, according to his online biography.
The PCO concerts this weekend will see D’Ambrosio sing a selection including “The Music of the Night” and the duet “All I Ask of You” with Ashley (both from “Phantom”), “You’ll Be Back” from “Hamilton” and a rock medley of “Piano Man” and “Great Balls of Fire”. The PCO chorus will join in for renditions of Broadway hits including “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha” and “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables”, according to PCO officials.
The shows are set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday (June 29) at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church in Lafayette and Sunday (June 30) at 3 p.m. at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore. For more information, go to PacificChamberOrchestra.org.