Mida oli 3/25/08

   This weekend's concerts seem to be about hitting the road.
   If  you know your "Aeneid" (by Virgil), you know that Trojan hero Aeneas stopped on his way to found Rome and broke the heart of Dido, Queen of Carthage (the Romans never were nice to the Carthaginians and utterly destroyed the city later, sowing the ground with salt for good measure so nothing would grow there again).
   Virgil’s lovers are the subject of Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” the oldest surviving English opera (1689) and a beauty, too, with one of the most touching arias ever written (“When I am Laid in Earth,” Dido’s lament upon Aeneas’ departure).
    The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra led by music director Mischa Santora will present a concert performance of “Dido and Aeneas” at 2 p.m. March 30 in Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St. in Over-the-Rhine. Leading roles will be sung by tenor Mark Panuccio as Aeneas and mezzo-soprano Soon Cho as Dido, with mezzo-soprano Liza Forrester as the Sorceress and soprano Joelle Harvey as Belinda.

Tenor Mark Panuccio

The opera is in six scenes and lasts about 60 minutes. 
   Also on the program, a collaboration with the Vocal Arts Ensemble, will be J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 202, “Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten” (“Wedding Cantata”) with Harvey as soloist and Handel’s Coronation Anthem, “Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened,” written for the coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline of England.
   Chris Milligan, director of marketing and audience development for Cincinnati Opera, will present “Tune-Up,” an informal discussion of the music at 1:30 p.m. before the concert.
   Admission is $25, $12.50 for Enjoy the Arts/Start members, free for children 18 and under with a ticketed adult. For tickets and information, visit www.ccocincinnati.com or www.vaecinci.org

   The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra led by music director Paavo Järvi performs its last concerts in Cincinnati this week before departing on a two-week tour of Europe April 1.
   The program, which will be performed on the tour, comprises Mozart’s Overture to “The Marriage of Figaro,” Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10.
   Concerts are 7:30 p.m. March 27, 11 a.m. March 28 and 8 p.m. March 29 at Music Hall.

Nikolai Lugansky

For a preview of Lugansky, 36, one of Russia’s hottest young artists and a Rachmaninoff demon, view a clip of him performing on YouTube.  (Follow the link on the CSO's home page at www.cincinnatisymphony.org or visit  www.youtube.com  and  search "Nikolai Lugansky.")
   Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, which Järvi led on his first tour with the CSO in 2003, including a highly praised performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall, is a powerful work, with a brutal, searing second movement, supposedly intended as a clandestine portrait of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
   Tickets are $12-$79.25. $10 for students, half-price for seniors evening concerts only, at (513) 381-3300 or the CSO web site at www.cincinnatisymphony.org
   Thursday’s concert includes a complimentary pre-concert buffet dinner in the Music Hall Ballroom between 6:15 and 7:15 p.m.

Patricia Corbett (right) and her husband J. Ralph Corbett (seated) (archival photo)

There will be a tribute to Cincinnati philanthropist Patricia Corbett at 11 a.m. March 29 at Music Hall.  "A Musical Celebration of an Extraordinary Life: Patricia A. Corbett" is free and open to the public and will include performances by Cincinnati Opera soprano Jane Jennings and tenor Mark Panuccio, the CSO, the May Festival Chorus, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's 2008 musical theater senior class, members of Northern Kentucky University's Azmari Quartet, and two groups from the School for Creative & Performing Arts.
   Conducting will be CSO music director Järvi, opera impresario and former May Festival music director Julius Rudel, and Cincinnati Ballet music director Carmon DeLeone.  Host will be Naomi Lewin of WGUC-FM.
   Mrs. Corbett, who died January 28, and her late husband J. Ralph Corbett were among the most generous arts supporters in Cincinnati history.  Participants in the tribute are donating their services in her memory.
   The doors to Music Hall will open at 10 a.m. The auditorium itself will open at 10:45 a.m.  No tickets are necessary.
   For information, or to arrange for handicapped-accessible seating, call the Cincinnati Arts Association ticket office at (513) 621-2787.
  
   The Catacoustic Consort, Cincinnati’s fine early music ensemble, makes an amorous visit to Italy at 7:30 p.m. March 29 at Clifton United Methodist Church, 3416 Clifton Ave. and 3 p.m. March 30 at Christ Church Glendale, 965 Forest Ave.   The program, “The Pleasures of Love: 17th-Century Italian Love Songs,” features soprano Laurie Heimes and tenor Craig Lemming with accompaniment by theorbo, lirone and viol.  Tickets are $20, $7 for students, at www.catacoustic.com