French opera star and actor David Serero has become a New York audience favorite by bringing creative and eclectic Off-Broadway productions with World Premiere adaptations such as Cyrano de Bergerac (Featuring Jazz Standards), Don Giovanni (Presented in a Theater and Opera adaptation), Othello (Adapted in a Jewish Moroccan style), The Merchant of Venice (Adapted in a Sephardic style), as well as bringing to life forgotten stage works such as The Yiddish King Lear by Jacob Gordin (one of the most important Yiddish plays of all time) or lesser performed classics such as The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe. Often referred as the « King of Off-Broadway,» David Serero has brought his own signature on his adaptations of Classics.
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most preferred historical character by Serero. « This is an opportunity for me to bring to life one of the greatest screenplay ever written by one of the most important film director of all time: Stanley Kubrick (for whom we have just celebrated his 90th birthday anniversary). The story and dialogues are very rich and so unique to Kubrick’s writing. The addition of the Narrator embarks the audience to the historical journey of Napoleon. The historical facts and character studies tell us that Kubrick spent years of researches » said Serero, who will also feature songs from the Napoleonic era on his adaptation.
NAPOLEON by Stanley Kubrick (The Greatest Movie Never Made) will be presented for the first time on a staged version adapted by David Serero starring as Napoleon. On August 20th and 23rd at 8pm, the wish of legendary film director Stanley Kubrick will finally become reality during this stage adaptation of his most documented and largest film project: Napoleon. David Serero is adapting the screenplay, written in 1969, by Stanley Kubrick for the first time on the stage. This film project is often qualified as the Greatest Movie Never Made. The staged-reading performances, in authentic costumes, will take place at the unique decor of the Orensanz Foundation located in the Lower East Side on 172 Norfolk Street, New York NY 10002.
The cast of Napoleon by Stanley Kubrick includes David Serero (Napoleon), Ron Barba (Narrator), Melissa Mars (Josephine), Bart Philly (Tsar Alexander), David Mohr (Barras, Talleyrand), Mickey Abbate (Joseph Bonaparte), Joe Naimoli (Hippolyte Charles, Rostopchin), Kyle Primack (Junot, Kutusov) and Jojo Cottle (Marie-Louise).
About NAPOLEON BONAPARTE (1769-1821), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military during the French Revolution (1789-1799). After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. Shrewd, ambitious and a skilled military strategist, Napoleon successfully waged war against various coalitions of European nations and expanded his empire. However, after a disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon abdicated the throne two years later and was exiled to the island of Elba. In 1815, he briefly returned to power in his Hundred Days campaign. After a crushing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, he abdicated once again and was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died at 51.
About STANLEY KUBRICK (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most influential directors in cinematic history. His films, which are mostly adaptations of novels or short stories, cover a wide range of genres, and are noted for their realism, dark humor, unique cinematography, extensive set designs, and evocative use of music. Among his masterpieces: “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Shining.”
About DAVID SERERO – Napoleon and Adaptor/Director
Actor and baritone, David Serero, has received international recognition and critical acclaim from all over the world. At 37 years old, he has already performed more than 1,500 concerts and performances throughout the world and played in over 100 films and recorded 20 albums. He entered the prestigious WHO’S WHO AMERICA for demonstrating outstanding achievements in the entertainment world and for the betterment of contemporary society. David Serero is a member of the RECORDING ACADEMY – GRAMMYs.
He has given concerts in Paris at the PARIS OPERA GARNIER, OLYMPIA, EIFFEL TOWER; in New York at the LINCOLN CENTER, CARNEGIE HALL, TIMES SQUARE; in London at the ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC, WEMBLEY STADIUM; and in Moscow at the TCHAIKOVSKY HALL; in Amsterdam at the CONCERTGEBOUW, the BUDAPEST OPERA conducted by PLACIDO DOMINGO and more. He made his sold out WEST END debuts at the Dominion Theatre. He has sung more than 30 lead roles in Opera, Operetta and Musical Theater. In 2012, David Serero performed Don Quixote from MAN OF LA MANCHA in Paris and the title role from the revival of Duke Ellington’s only musical: BEGGAR’S HOLIDAY and also starred in the cast album recording. In 2013, David performed with JERMAINE JACKSON in YOU ARE NOT ALONE, a musical written, directed and produced by David Serero. He has also produced and arranged I WISH YOU LOVE an album of Jazz standards for Jermaine Jackson. In December 2013, David shared the cover of Theatre & Performances with Barbra Streisand in London, and made his BROADWAY solo debut at the Snapple Theatre in New York and released his first studio album ALL I CARE ABOUT IS LOVE. In 2014, he released The Broadway Baritone featuring Broadway classics and toured in the UK with a performance on WEST END. During the summer 2014, he recorded the entire love letters’s correspondence of NAPOLEON to Josephine and released his new studio album THE CROONER BARITONE, The FRANK SINATRA Classics for the 100th anniversary of Sinatra. In 2015 and 2016, he played Off Broadway the lead roles of SHYLOCK (MERCHANT OF VENICE) and OTHELLO’s title role with both critical acclaim. In 2015, he performed two open air concerts on TIMES SQUARE (New York) for BEST OF FRANCE with the presence of the French President Mr Francois Hollande. He released SEPHARDI, an album of Sephardic music in Ladino language and records the title role of RICHARD III in French. In 2016, he releases ALL MY LOVE IS FOR YOU, a Pop Rock album, entirely composed, performed, arranged and produced by himself. He also played NABUCCO (Nabucco) in New York; and the title roles of DON GIOVANNI and RIGOLETTO at the CARNEGIE HALL. In 2017, David entered the prestigious WHO’S WHO AMERICA for demonstrating outstanding achievements in the entertainment world and for the betterment of contemporary society. In the summer 2017, he releases BARITONE OPERA ARIAS, singing opera classics such as Toreador (Carmen) and from operas Tosca, Nozze di Figaro, Fanciulla del West and Barbiere di Siviglia. In 2018, David Serero becomes a member of the Recording Academy – GRAMMYs and a voting member for the Grammy’s.
On the 2017/2018 season in New York, David Serero starred as CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Rostand), DON GIOVANNI (Mozart), BARABAS (Marlowe’s Jew of Malta), and KING LEAR (Jacob Gordin’s The YIDDISH KING LEAR).
For the 2018/19 season in New York, David will star as Napoleon’s title role from Napoleon by Stanley Kubrick, Eugene Onegin’s title role, Hermann (Queen of Spades, World Premiere adaptation), Nabucco’s title role, Romeo (Romeo and Juliet, World Premiere adaptation), Figaro (Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro) and Stanley (Streetcar Named Desire, World Premiere adaptation featuring Jazz standards).
In American Television, he has appeared in: The Hunt with John Walsh (CNN), Mysteries at the Museum (Travel Channel), Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall (NBC), Six Degrees of Murder (Discovery Channel), Checked Out, On The Case with Paula Zhan (Discovery ID), Rabid Beast (Animal Planet TV), Suddenly Rich (TLC TV), Whistleblowers (Spike TV), Blood Feuds – Gangs of New York (Discovery Channel), We Speak NYC, Crimes of Fashion (Discovery ID).
In American Films he starred in Alice in America, Tango Shalom, Winter Has No Sun, Most Beautiful Island, Paisanos in Paris, Following Phil, Terminal 5, Sheepshead, Again, Overload Rock or Die, The Redemption, Kingdom of the Alley, Ring Ring, Laundry Day, Capicola, Make it Work, There Will Come Soft Rains, Amarena, When I Sing, Hatikvah.
He starred in several commercials for Sotheby’s & eBay, Bank of America, Don Julio Tequila, Khiel’s, Volkswagen, BJ’s, Pepsi, Mitsubishi Cars and more.
Full biography on www.davidserero.com
About the ANGEL ORENSANZ FOUNDATION
The Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts was established in 1992 as an artistic and cultural resource open to artists, writers, thinkers and leaders from all over the world, and to the community around us. Over the years we have welcomed and been inspired by Philip Glass and Spike Lee; Arthur Miller, Alexander McQueen, Salman Rushdie, Maya Angelou and Alexander Borovsky; Elie Wiesel and Chuck Close.
We cooperate with PS1/MoMA; The Goethe Institute and the Whitney Museum, New York; the Italian Cultural Institute, New York University; Columbia University and Princeton University; the National Russian Museum of St. Petersburg and the Royal Shakespeare Company of London; The World Council of Peoples for the UN, the United Jewish Council and the American Academy in Rome. We work with independent artists from all over the world to develop here educational and artistic projects. The Foundation has just opened a digital department of cultural and artistic projects with a strong educational basis in the community.
We publish a quarterly magazine, Artscape; a weekly TV program on MNN, and maintain an archive of 50,000 pictures of the work of Angel Orensanz. We run a library of social and cultural history as well as a collection of thousands of digital files and video of Angel Orensanz.
The Foundation prides itself in maintaining the building at 172 Norfolk St., the former Ansche Chesed Synagogue (1849), in its architectural integrity and in the tradition of the German Reform Movement of the mid 19th century. www.orensanzevents.com
WHAT: NAPOLEON by Stanley Kubrick adapted for the stage.
WHEN: August 20th and 23rd at 8pm.
WHERE: The Orensanz Foundation 172 Norfolk St. New York, NY 10002.
TICKETS are $20 to $30 and can be purchased on NapoleonKubrick.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006.
Media Contact:
The Culture News
