Creative OPERAtions proudly presents Candlelight Classics, a special concert for the Seabrook Senior Living Community, taking place on Saturday, March 28 at 1:00 PM, at the theater at Seabrook Village in Tinton Falls, NJ. The performance will be followed by a conversation with the artists, offering audiences an opportunity to reflect on the music and learn more about the program.
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​This program celebrates the golden age of Italian opera with beloved works by Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, and Donizetti, highlighting the soaring melodies and rich storytelling that made these composers enduring favorites. The concert then traces opera’s influence across the Atlantic, exploring the
journey into American opera and Broadway, and showing how classical traditions shaped many of today’s most cherished musical theater classics.
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Through both performance and discussion, Candlelight Classics offers Seabrook residents an intimate musical experience and an engaging look at how opera evolved into the sound of the American stage — connecting timeless European masterpieces with familiar Broadway brilliance.
Our Performers
Rebecca Eng, piano
Rebecca Eng, pianist and teacher, studied at Wheaton Conservatory of Music (BM) and Eastman School of Music (MM) where she was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. After two decades of performing at Montclair State University as a collaborative pianist, she worked with The Opera Theatre of Montclair for seven years as the pianist and Assistant General Director. She now performs as a freelance accompanist in the New York metropolitan area and teaches piano privately. Rebecca also serves on the boards of the Music Educators Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Federation of Music Clubs.
Jonathan R. Green, baritone
American Verdi Baritone Jonathan R. Green is originally from the south side of Chicago and now resides in northern NJ. Jonathan is an alumnus of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studied with Richard Miller. Jonathan attended Indiana University and studied with Distinguished Professor of Voice Tim Noble. Jonathan continued his graduate studies at the University of Kentucky and studied with Dr. Everett McCorvey. Jonathan has been a soloist with the National Choral (NYC) performing as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana. He has internationally performed at the Semperoper (Dresden), Deutsche Oper am Rein (Düsseldorf), Teatro Massimo Bellini (Catania), Teatro di San Carlo (Napoli), and most recently Teatro Regio (Torino). His operatic credits include the title roles of Rigoletto, Falstaff, and Figaro (Mozart and Rossini), Scarpia (Tosca), Renato (Un Ballo in maschera), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Marcello (La Bohème), Crown (Porgy and Bess), Count di Luna (Il Trovatore), Germont (La Traviata) and Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor).
Corinne Schaefer, soprano
Soprano Corinne Schaefer is celebrated for her versatility and dynamic performances. She performed in the German production of The Phantom of the Opera at Stage Theater Neue Flora, Hamburg, where she played Carlotta 114 times. Her roles include The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Beth in the European premiere of Little Women in Brugge, Belgium, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Nanetta in Falstaff, Musetta in La Bohème, Clotilde in Norma, and Norina in Don Pasquale. As a concert soloist, Corinne has performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Polizeichor Hamburg, Bucks County Symphony, and others, with appearances across Germany, Austria, Italy, and the US.
Corinne holds a BM in Vocal Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and is an alumni of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Corinne’s awards include 1st prize in Haßloch Meisterkurs La Primavera, 2nd place in the National Opera Association Vocal Competition, and encouragement awards from the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation, Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, and the Opera at Florham Vocal Competition.
In 2022, she founded Creative OPERAtions, a New Jersey-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit bridging classical music genres and communities who do not have regular or easy access to the art forms.
Edward Washington II, tenor
American tenor Edward Washington II was born in England and raised in Saudi Arabia. He is celebrated for his compelling tenor voice, lightning-fast coloratura, and unwavering dedication to the art form.
Mr. Washington has performed with Detroit Opera, Opera Omaha, Florida Grand Opera, Lyric Opera, Opera Orlando, Annapolis Opera, the International Festival of the Voice, Syracuse Opera, New York City Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera—earning three Grammy nominations and two Grammy wins.
His concert career includes appearances with the United States Air Force Band, Alexandria Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Britain’s Got Talent finalist group Vox Ventura, New Philharmonic Chorus, and the American Spiritual Ensemble, among others. He has performed works by seven American composers, including numerous spirituals, art songs, one cantata, two song cycles, and two operas. Recently, he was featured as a soloist in Solange Knowles’ curated El Dorado Ballroom at Jones Hall in Houston, Texas.
A brother of Phi Mu Alpha and an accomplished clarinetist, Edward has conducted choirs, musical theater, and opera professionally. He also served as Music and Education Director of the nonprofit Negro Spiritual Scholarship Foundation. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University and his Master’s degree from Morgan State University, graduating with a 4.0 GPA.
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For more information please visit: www.edward2know.com
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