The Dimenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan, New York at the Baryshnikov Arts, was the site of the inaugural Wine & Opera Festival 2025 held on Sunday, July 20, 2025. This unique Festival combined a selection of excellent wines to pair with exceptional selections from opera sung by the renowned opera singers and Founders of the Festival, Crystallia Spileou and Michael Karl. It was a perfect way to spend a Summer Sunday afternoon in New York City. Bravo!
Crystallia Spileou & Michael Karl
On Sunday, July 20, 2025, we had the pleasure of attending the inaugural Wine & Opera Festival and experiencing its unique concept. Founded by Crystallia Spileou and Michael Karl, the Wine & Opera Festival combines two passions, wine, and opera. When one thinks about it, the two entities, wine and opera, are actually quite similar, in that they both offer a wide range of styles, characters, and nuances. Wine can be light and sparkling like champagne, or dramatic and bold like a Super Tuscan, and the same can be true for the wide variety of opera styles (Bel Canto, Folk Opera, Opéra Comique, Operetta, Grand Opera, and others). Combining wine and opera music in a Festival setting is a wonderful concept, and in the skillful hands (and voices) of Crystallia and Michael, it was a very memorable afternoon.
About The Founders
Crystallia Spileou grew up on the Greek island of Crete, where her father was a distributor of wine, which inspired her passion for wine. She went on to become an actress and studied classical singing in Greece and later furthered her studies in the United States. Since then, she has combined her two passions – wine and opera, working with many prestigious wine houses, and has performed with many renowned opera companies in the United States and in Europe.
Crystallia Spileou
Like the diverse range of wine, Crystallia has a wide vocal range that provides her with the opportunity to take on such iconic operatic roles as Musetta and Mimi in La Bohème composed by Giacomo Puccini in 1895, Lucia in Lucia di Lamermoor composed by Gaetano Donizetti in 1835, Nedda in I Pagliacci composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo and first performed in Milan in 1892, Violetta in La Traviata composed by Guiseppe Verdi in 1853, and many others. Her voice is crystalline and stunning, and when she takes the stage, she mesmerizes the audience with her voice and acting presence to change chameleon-like into each of the characters she portrays.
Crystallia Spileou
Michael Karl began his professional career after competing as a semi-finalist in the Young Division of the Chester Ludgin Memorial International Verdi Baritone Competition in New York. Since then, he has performed throughout the United States and internationally, in multiple Guiseppe Verdi operas including the role of Rigoletto in Rigoletto composed in 1851, Macbeth in the opera Macbeth composed in 1847, Ford in the opera Falstaff composed in 1893, Germont in La Traviata, Marcello in La Bohème, Silvio in I Pagliacci, and many more.
Michael Karl
Other roles included Otello in Verdi’s opera, Otello, composed in 1887, Carvaradossi in Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca composed in 1899, Don Carlos in the opera Don Carlos composed by Guiseppe Verdi in 1867. While Michael began his career as a Verdi Baritone, he has expanded his vocal range to become a Dramatic Tenor.
Michael Karl & Crystallia Spileou
The Opera Performances
There were many wonderful “pairings” of wine and opera selections throughout the afternoon that ranged from light and flirty, to romantic, and deeply dramatic love tragedies. A few of the many exceptional opera highlights included I Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo composed 1892, Guiseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) composed in 1859, Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly composed in 1904, the Verdi Opera Don Carlos, where Élisabeth, a French Princess, is intended to marry Spain’s King Phillippe, and instead falls in love with his son, Don Carlos, and must choose between love and duty.
Crystallia and Michael introduced each of the opera selections by providing a bit of background on the operas and also spoke about the characters, making it a very enjoyable and educational experience for all attendees at the Festival, whether they were new to opera or were experienced opera buffs.
The Wines
Irina Terdiman, Wine Educator and Winemake
As this was a Wine & Opera Festival, there were interesting wines to “pair” with each of the opera selections. Wine Educator and winemaker, Irina Terdiman, introduced the wines and provided interesting notes about each of them.
White Wines
Estelado Brut Rosé, UVA Pais Sparkling Wine, Familia Torres, Chile
12% Alcohol, Michael Torres – Pioneer in Chile since 1979. Interesting to note about this wine is that it is made from 100% pais grape varietal, which was the first to arrive in Chile in the 16th century.
https://www.migueltorres.cl/
Côté Océan IGP Atlantique, Sauvignon Blanc, 2023, France
12.5% Alcohol
Imported by Winedom LLC, Lewes, DE
La Segreta Grillo 2023, Planeta, Sicilia DOC, Sicily
13% Alcohol, Made from 100% Grillo grape variety.
https://www.palmbay.com/wines/planeta/planeta-la-segreta-grillo-sicilia-doc/
Imported by Taub Family Selections, West Palm Beach, FL
Orange Party, 2023, Spain
Made from 100% organic Verdil grapes. Interesting to note about this wine is that it gets its natural orange color from the orange skinned Verdil grape from the Seville region that was on the brink of extinction. They achieve the orange color by letting whole white grapes sit with their skins to create a natural orange hue. Imported by Winedom LLC, Lewes, DE
Red Wines
Castello Di Verrazzano Chianti Classico 2021, DOCG, Vendemmia, Italy
14% Alcohol. Winemaking since 1170. Certified organic
https://www.verrazzano.com/en/vino-docg-chianti-classico/
Imported by Taub Family Selections
Château D’Aliénor by La Gaffelière, Bordeaux Supérieur 2019, France
Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Domaines Côte Malet Roquefort since 1795.
14% Alcohol. Made with 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc
https://www.domaines-maletroquefort.com/en
Imported by Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
Pianist, Irina Terdiman, Michael Karl, Crystallia Spileou
The inaugural Wine & Opera Festival was a perfect Sunday afternoon in New York learning more about, as well as enjoying and appreciating opera and wine, and discussing them with other like-minded patrons. We look forward to attending future Wine & Opera Festival events.
Until next time, keep enjoying and supporting the arts! Cheers!
Pianist, Crystallia Spileou, Michael Karl, Debra C. Argen
For more information about future Wine & Opera Festival events please visit the website: www.wineandoperafestival.com.
Wine & Opera Festival
Email: info@wineandoperafestival.com
Website: www.wineandoperafestival.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Wine-and-Opera-Festival/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/wineandoperafestival.com @wineandoperafestival
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WineandOperaFestival
The Dimenna Cener for Classical Music
Baryshnikov Arts
450 West 37th Street (near 10th Avenue)
New York, New York 10018
United States
Telephone: +1-212-594-6100
Website: www.dimennacenter.org
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