CCM Mainstage Season to Open in October

aerial view of CCM at night

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, James M. Barrie and William Shakespeare make good company.

All will be represented on the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s 2014-15 Mainstage Series, comprising opera, musical theater and drama.

Beginning with the Bard, Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” will lead off the series Oct. 2-5 in Patricia Corbett Theater at CCM. To follow during the season will be “Peter Pan,” the musical based on J.M. Barrie’s play, and Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte.”

Details:

• “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare. Brant Russell, director. Oct. 2-5. Patricia Corbett Theater.

• “Legally Blonde.” Music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Book by Heather Hach. Diane Lala, director and choreographer. Craig Dalton, musical director. Oct. 23-Nov. 2. Patricia Corbett Theater.

• “Hansel and Gretel” by Englebert Humperdinck. Libretto by Aldeheid Wette after the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Mark Gibson, conductor. Robin Guarino, director. Nov. 20-23. Corbett Auditorium.

• “The Heidi Chronicles” by Wendy Wasserstein. Richard E. Hess, director. Feb. 12-15. Patricia Corbett Theater.

• “Peter Pan,” based on the play by James M. Barrie. Music by Morris “Moose” Charlap and Jule Styne. Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Joe Locarro, director and choreographer. Roger Grodsky, musical director. March 5-8. Corbett Auditorium.

• “Cosi fan tutte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Mark Gibson, conductor. Robin Guarino, director. April 9-12. Patricia Corbett Theater.

Subscriptions to CCM’s Mainstage Series are available in packages of three to six shows, ranging from $84-$180. Single tickets – available Sept. 2 – are $31-$35 (adults) and $20-$24 (students) for operas and musicals, and $27-$31 (adults) and $17-$20 (students) for dramas. Call (513) 556-4183. Parking may be pre-ordered with subscription orders.

In other news:

Benjamin Schmid

Violinist Benjamin Schmid will be soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 October 30 and Nov. 1 at Music Hall. The Viennese-born Schmid replaces previously announced violinist Alina Ilmagrimova. The concert, to be led by guest conductor Andrey Boreyko, will also include Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain” and the Orchestral Suite No. 3 by Tchaikovsky. Tickets begin at $12, available at (513) 381-3300 and online at www.cincinnatisymphony.org

From former CSO music director Paavo Järvi, comes news of his Beethoven cycle with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. A poll of Japanese critics, published in the music magazine The Record Geijutsu, has selected Järvi and the DKB’s recordings of the Beethoven Symphonies No. 1, 2, 3 and 8, and their Beethoven Overtures as “the best recorded version” of those works. The Järvi/DKB recordings of No. 5 and 9 came in second to versions by Carlos Kleiber and Wilhelm Furtwängler, respectively. Bravo Paavo.

Auditions for Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. August 25 and from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. August 26 at Lakeside Presbyterian Church, 2690 Dixie Highway, Lakeside Park, Kentucky. Recall auditions will be August 27 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., also at Lakeside Presbyterian Church. Singers should prepare two contrasting solo works, one in a language other than English. Sight-reading skills and tonal memory will be evaluated also. An accompanist will be provided. To schedule an audition, call (513) 744-3229, or contact RWetzel@mayfestival.com