Artpark welcomes back opera to its stage after a long absence.By Bill Raffel, WBFO
Buffalo, NY – Opera returns to the stage of Artpark for the first time in many years. Good morning. I'm Bill Raffel with Music Notes.
These past few years have been fairly quiet for opera lovers, following the demise of the Greater Buffalo Opera Company. The Chautauqua Opera has kept the flame burning during summers. And now, Artpark will stage a production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly Friday (7/25) at 8?p.m. and Sunday (7/27) at 2?p.m. Ellen Douglas Schlaefer has been directing Broadway musicals at Artpark for the past three summers and is looking forward to a different form of musical theatre.
The Chautauqua Opera will give the final performance of Gounod's Romeo and Juliet in English tonight (Monday, 7/21) at 7:30?p.m. The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh joins the Chautauqua Symphony on Saturday for Poulenc's Gloria and the Mozart Requiem Saturday at 8:15 in the Amphitheatre. Visit the CSO web site for information about concerts on Tuesday (7/22) and Thursday (7/24) at 8:15?p.m. The Music School Festival Orchestra will accompany dancers from the Ballet School tonight (Monday, 7/21) at 8:15?p.m. in the Amphitheatre.
The Buffalo Philharmonic concludes its summer series with several free concerts, tomorrow at 7?p.m. in the South Park Botanical Gardens, Thursday at noon at One M?and?T Plaza downtown, and Sunday at 7:30?p.m. in Delaware Park. There's one ticketed performance, Saturday at 7:30?p.m. in Murphy's Orchard in Newfane, on Route 78 north of Lockport (I hope they're not playing the William Tell Overture there).
The Clarence Summer Symphony welcomes the concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony, Jacques Israelievtich, for a Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, presumably the E?minor. Music Director Arie Lipsky will also lead the final movements of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, Sunday (7/20) at 7?p.m. in Clarence Town Park. And that's free.
The Carillon Concert series resumes on Wednesday (7/23) with Roy Lee from Toronto ringing the bells at 7?p.m. followed by the Caledonian Bagpipe Band. That's free outside of Calvary Episcopal Church on Milton Street in Williamsville.
The UB Summer Reading Chorus will go through Mozart's Requiem under the direction of William Weinert from the Eastman School of Music. That gets underway Wednesday (7/23) at 7?p.m. in Baird Hall on UB's North Campus.
The American Legion Band of the Tonawandas gives a free concert Sunday at 7?p.m. in Buffalo's Cazenovia Park.
Theatre Organist George Crecji performs on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ at the Riviera Theatre Wednesday (7/23) at 7:30?p.m.
That's Music Notes. I'm Bill Raffel. Have a great week!