“Music is the unbreakable bridge that unites all nations without frontiers of time and space” – Maximo Marcuso
International tenor sensation MAXIMO MARCUSO makes his Coachella Valley Repertory debut this Thursday, July 20 in CVRep’s 2023 Summer Cabaret Series. It will be a rare experience to hear Marcuso’s glorious voice in an intimate venue. Marcuso is the new bridge to the next generation of music lovers who are discovering classical music and opera. Both his passion and compassion are evident and will make for warm heartfelt evening of music.
Stage and Cinema‘s Jason Mannino had an opportunity to ask Mr. Marcuso a few questions about his upcoming concert.
Jason Mannino: When did you hear the call to become an opera singer?
Maximo Marcuso: When I was 15 years old.
JM: What inspires you about being an operatic tenor?
MM: I have the ability and the opportunity to entertain audiences from diverse cultures and experiences and I get to move audience’s hearts and souls in a memorable and powerful way.
JM: I came across some footage of you offering your gift in an outdoor concert for Belmont Village Senior Living early in the pandemic. Tell me about that. Did you give multiple concerts during that time?
MM: Yes, not just at Belmont Village but also for a few Assisted Living Homes which house seniors with dementia and special needs. I call it “Times of Joy and Tears.” That is what it was! During the pandemic seniors were alone and isolated from their families and society. I serenaded them from the gardens to their balconies and windows. For the first time, I experienced singing with a mask during a show but that didn’t stop the singing and dancing. They were all a pure blessing to me.
JM: I know you recently performed in Giza, Egypt. That sounds amazing! What was that like for you?
MM: A lot of sand and camels! Ha, just joking…
Seriously, imagine the big stage and the epic background of the pyramids. I felt like I was singing to the future from the ancient worlds, which was an experience of a lifetime. I performed classical crossover songs and the opera aria “Nessun Dorma.” But with the location, I really wanted to sing Verdi’s aria “Celeste Aida” so I could be Radames, the young Egyptian warrior who wishes to be chosen as a commander of the Egyptian army!
JM: What would you like the audience to know about your show before they see it?
MM: It’s a repertoire of operatic arias, classical crossovers, Broadway standards and contemporary favorites. I will be singing songs that have special meaning to me, and will also be in conversation with the viewers, to whom I am immensely grateful for coming to my concert. It’s a celebration of love and passion — the essence of the human spirit. I also want them to know that this concert won’t just be about me, but also about CVRep and its production team and their creativity, and their mission to keep the arts alive in the Coachella Valley. Aided by their light, I will pour my very heart into every note I sing.
Maximo Marcuso — Tenor of the Americas
Coachella Valley Repertory’s Summer Cabaret Series
CVRep Playhouse, 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City
Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 7
for tickets ($45), call 760.296.2966×115 or visit CVREP
Twitter & Instagram @CVREP Facebook
for more info, visit Mario Marcuso
Maximo Marcuso thrills audiences with his beautiful and diverse repertoire of operatic arias, classical crossovers, Broadway standards and contemporary favorites. He has performed throughout the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Taj Mahal Atlantic City and Las Vegas, Mexico, Central and South America, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Rome. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Ensemble, Santa Monica, and Nevada symphonies, Pasadena Symphony and Pops Orchestra, the Golden State Pops Orchestra, Hollywood Ensemble Opera, and, for several years, with the Crystal Cathedral Hour of Power Philharmonic in Southern California. For 3 consecutive years Maximo became the official USA National Anthem singer for the 4th of July AmericaFest at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium. Truly, Marcuso has performed so far from his first triumphs in the Western Hemisphere that he has become the Tenor of the World’
Marcuso grew up in Guatemala City in a family of classical musicians and singers. His first teacher was his mother, a renowned soprano, and he made his first solo appearance at the city’s National Palace with a Symphony Orchestra singing “Ave Maria” at the age of 8. He continued his musical studies at the National Cultural Center and the prestigious Maria Callas School of Opera. By the age of 18 he was touring.
Relocating to the United States, Marcuso became a popular entertainer in Miami, singing opera arias, crossover songs, pop dance, rumba flamenca, and Latin jazz. California beckoned, and he moved to Los Angeles, where he continued vocal coaching with the renowned conductor, Frank Paul Fetta, music director of the Culver City Symphony and Redlands Bowl Summer Festival, and with Brent McMunn, conductor-music director of USC Thornton Opera. He now collaborates with conductor and vocal coach Marya Basaraba.
