The NJ Association of Verismo Opera (NJAVO) has been a part of the New Jersey music scene since 1989. The opera company, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization in Fort Lee, New Jersey, provides performing opportunities for young musicians and artists and sponsors an annual vocal competition held in November with finals conducted in Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, which draws artists from all over the United States, Canada, and sometimes Europe. The company organizes opera workshops and offers affordable, highly professional operatic productions to the Bergen County, New Jersey community.

In January 1990, NJAVO featured the winners of its first vocal competition along with internationally renowned artists. In 1991, the organization began performing in Bergen County at the Fort Lee Historic Park. Two years later, Metropolitan Opera star Lucine Amara joined the association as Artistic Director and with a full orchestra, began performing at the Orrie de Nooyer Auditorium. Presently, Verismo Opera's home base is the Bergen PAC in Englewood, New Jersey.=

For more information about the NJ Association of Verismo Opera, go to

www.verismopera.org, visit Facebook at http://bit.ly/9JXTP8 or call (201) 886-0561.