Sparta - Lake Mohawk Friends of New Jersey State Opera will host a concert to commemorate the life and legacy of Alfredo Silipigni at 7:30 p.m. on Monday June 12, at Prudential Hall, N.J. Performing Arts Center, in Newark. The concert will feature the N.J. State Opera Orchestra and Chorus with invited soloists and guests, conducted by Joseph Colaneri. Colaneri, a member of the conducting roster of the Metropolitan Opera, will lead the company in selected works by Puccini, Mascagni and Verdi. Silipigni, a New Jersey native, was a founder of the N.J. State Opera 40 years ago and served as the company’s principal conductor and artistic director until his death in March. He brought to the New Jersey stage a level of excellence unsurpassed in the state, in collaboration with many of opera’s most celebrated artists, including Licia Albanese, Beverly Sills, Birgit Nilsson, Magda Olivero, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Jerome Hines, Franco Corelli, Anna Moffo, Sumi Jo, Carlo Bergonzi, Roberta Peters, James McCracken, Sherrill Milnes, Samuel Ramey, James Morris and Placido Domingo. Silipigni’s and the N.J. State Opera’s acclaimed productions included two world premiers, and his authoritative performances of the verismo repertoire created a unique venue for emerging young singers, musicians and practitioners of operatic stagecraft. The concert is made possible in part by support from Lake Mohawk Gourmet Foods, a supporter of the N.J. State Opera. For information, log on to lakemohawkgourmetfoods.com, or drop by the shop at 29 West Shore Trail in Sparta for a complimentary cup of Tea-and-Roses artisan tea to learn more about the concert.