Raguel Gabriel's Night of Dreams comes true

Mesmerising audiences at his Night and Dreams recital at the Renee Weiler Concert Hall, in New York, Trinidad and Tobago's Raguel Gabriel is a rising star in the world of classical music and theatre.

In the span of just a year, he has not only participated in competitions such as the UK-based World Classical Music Awards, but has also emerged victorious: he was the only tenor and male to win the gold prize in his category at this year’s awards.

On the evening of November 5, the Renee Weiler Concert Hall echoed with his soul-stirring tenor voice as he performed his curated recital, Night and Dream.

The recital is the second production byhis company, RTG Productions, which he launched in 2021 with a livestream performance of Franz Schubert's entire Schwanengesang at the Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center in Manhattan, accompanied by pianist Dr Jeffrey Middleton.

"They call, when day awakes: 'Come back, holy night! Beauteous dreams, come back again!’ It was this line from Schubert’s beautiful and haunting meditation
Nacht und Traume (Night and Dreams) that touched my heart one late night this year and sparked the inspiration for this recital," Gabriel said.

The programme featured a diverse repertoire, from Franz Schubert to Gustav Mahler’s lied
Ich atmet einen linden duft (I Breathe a Linden Scent),
Um Mitternacht (At Midnight),
Liebst du um Schonheit (Do You Love for Beauty),
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I’m Lost to the World), arias by composers like Henri Duparc, Gabriel Faure, Ernest Chausson, Henry Purcell, Roger Quilter and Richard Strauss’s
Morgen! (Morning!).

Among the audience members was US actor and magician Todd Robbins.

Gabriel's journey into the world of performing arts extends beyond his vocal accomplishments. With a rich background in theatre, he has seamlessly transitioned between the worlds of opera and drama. He is a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, second-place winner of the Sinfonietta Bel Canto Orchestra's Vocal Competition in Chicago (2022) and the third-place winner of the Marker and Pioneer International Music Competition in the Tenor category. This year, Adam Gerber, director of development at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, invited him to be the headline performer at the launch of the James Tripp Scholarship Fund.

Gabriel now has his eyes set on auditioning for a popular US television show in 2024, participating in more competitions and returning to the stage as an actor.

He also plans to explore new music and hopes to bring the Night and Dreams recital home to TT.