Martina Arroyo Foundation presents Tales of Hoffmann
Whether it is the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Royal Opera or major opera houses worldwide, the name Martina Arroyo is revered. Her many appearances on “The Odd Couple” and “The Johnny Carson Show” made Martina Arroyo known outside the opera world as well. Arroyo’s brilliant soprano and great ebullient sense of humor made her a household name as well as a beacon and a pioneer for minorities in the opera world.
She was born in Harlem, and her father Demetrio was able to pay for his daughter’s education and cultural yearnings because of his job as a mechanical engineer at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Martina also pursued a career as a public school teacher briefly before settling on opera.
Since her retirement in the 1990s, Martina Arroyo has been able to assist young opera singers through her foundation. This has permitted them to perform in her ninth “Prelude to Performance” series at the theatre named for Brooklyn’s own Danny Kaye and his wife and collaborator, Sylvia Fine. The intimate Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Playhouse is located at Hunter College and seats more than 600 people.