Beagle's du o, Bel Duetto, to perform

Dancers and a backing band complete the package.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Bel Duetto, a musical duo with operatic roots, will perform in a two-show engagement at The Youngstown Playhouse this weekend.
Amanda Beagle of Howland and Craig Raymaley of Pittsburgh make up Bel Duetto. Beagle, of Howland, represented Ohio in the 2005 Miss America Pageant, where she won the talent award for her singing. The soprano has performed leading roles in many musical comedies and operas, including "La Boheme," "The Gondoliers," "Bye Bye Birdie" and "The King and I." A winner of both the Giorgio Tozzi Scholarship and the Marvin Hamlisch Award, Beagle received operatic training in Italy as part of Opera Theatre of Lucca.
Raymaley has garnered critical praise for his on-stage portrayals, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calling him "a burnished force" and "the biggest treat of the evening." While a member of the performer residency program at Carnegie Mellon University, Raymaley, a tenor, made his professional debut with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh. He was chosen to create the role of Tokopoko in the world premiere of Leonardo Balada's opera "The Town of Greed," the recording of which has been released internationally on the Naxos label.
Songs
With songs that range from Verdi to Gershwin, Bel Duetto likes to put a fresh spin on some old standards, according to Beagle.
Highlights of the concert will include "Libiamo" from "La Traviata"; "O Mio Babbino Caro," "All I Ask of You" and "Lullaby of Broadway"; Italian favorites such as "Funniculi, Funnicula" and "O Sole Mio"; and standards.
Ballroom dancers Kristin Dobson and Travis Pownell, an instructor at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Warren, will embellish the numbers "Besame Mucho" and "Ran Kan Kan." Additional dancers will include Kelsi Darby and Tawni Darby, who is the reigning Miss Pennsylvania Outstanding Teen.
Band members are Anthony Ruggiero, piano; Tyler Clark, synthesizer; Dan Kalosky, bass ; Dan Wilson, guitar; and Don Yallech, percussion.