With the end of August approaching and September beginning comes a flurry of performing arts events that bode well for the start of a busy season.
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
On Aug. 31, William & Mary, the city of Williamsburg and the W&M Student Assembly are sponsoring the VSO’s summer “Symphony Under the Stars” series — this one being led by guest conductor Morihiko Nakahara, the music director of the South Carolina Philharmonic and resident conductor of the Spokane Symphony.
The light fare will feature happy listening works by the likes of Mozart, Leroy Anderson, Duke Ellington, Tchaikovsky, Borodin and John Williams.
The free event takes place in the beautifully-positioned amphitheater at Lake Matoaka and runs from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Wristbands will be required for entrance due to venue capacity limitations. Once all the wristbands have been distributed, the show will be considered sold out.
Beach chairs and blankets are welcome, but nothing that blocks the view of other guests. Also welcome are coolers and picnic baskets, but no alcoholic beverages or glass containers.
Parking is available in the garage located on Ukrop Way, adjacent to the park area, after 5 p.m. Handicap spaces will be available in the Mason School of Business parking lot, and golf carts will be available at 6 p.m. for those with mobility issues. In the event of rain, the event will be rescheduled.
Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra
Michael Butterman, the WSO’s music director, kicks things off Sept. 8 with “Dinnerstein Plays Brahms” in the Williamsburg Community Chapel. Piano soloist will be Simone Dinnerstein, who broke into international awareness in 2007 with her recording of the “Goldberg Variations.” The recording topped the tops of classical charts and listings in major news publications, which led to her quickly being scheduled to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic in November of the same year.
Her demand expanded to performances with other stellar orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and London Symphony and in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House and Vienna concert hall. She’s a fan of new composers and unusual formats such as a multimedia production she conceived and directed thematically based on her father Simon Dinnerstein’s painting “The Fulbright Triptych.”
For this opening concert, she will be performing the beautiful Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 on the WSO’s newly acquired Steinway. Heroic and passionate, the Brahms overflows with lyrical loveliness. Also on tap is Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, a generally feel-good piece and one of Mozart’s best-liked works.
A pre-concert talk with Butterman begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the 7:30 p.m. program. For tickets, visit williamsburgsymphony.org. Single tickets for adults are $65 and $10 for students. For those wanting to livestream the performance, single tickets are $30 and $10 for students. Mastercard and VISA only.
Williamsburg Players
The Williamsburg Players opens its 66th season with Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” Sept. 8-24, in its Hubbard Lane theater.
Set in Brooklyn during the Great Depression, it essentially deals with the coming of age of Polish-Jewish American teenager Eugene and puberty, sex, self-identity, awareness and a family with personal issues and relations. It’s all about family and reflects Simon’s Jewish background and warm Jewish humor, albeit somewhat bittersweet. “Brighton” won three Tony awards and adapted into a film.
Directing is Lisa Velardi who has also served as choreographer and performer in community theaters in New Jersey and Delaware for over 40 years. For many years, she directed at the middle and high school level in Delaware, and locally, last spring, she co-directed “Something’s Afoot” for the Players.
Performances are Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. Starting Sept. 14, Thursday performances are at 8 p.m. Base tickets are $20 adults and $12 students/children. Children under 2 years old are free if they sit in the same seat as the parent. For tickets, visit williamsburgplayers.org and click on box office and then “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” and follow directions from there. Or call the box office at 757-229-0431.
Opera in Williamsburg
Opera in Williamsburg opens its season with the always popular and somewhat giddy Viennese comedy “Die Fledermaus.” This Johann Strauss II delicacy is a farce, vaudeville-inspired affair with silly things happening everywhere — mixed messages, deception, jealousy, theft and jail time. Set in Vienna on New Year’s Eve, it’s a harmless delight in which all’s well with fun and champagne.
Featured singers have graced the stage of the Met, New York City Opera, Spoleto USA and European houses, not to mention performing in operettas, musicals and solo or orchestral-vocal works. Orchestra conductor is Jorge Parodi and stage director is Adam Cioffari.
Performances are Sept. 9 at 2:30 p.m. and Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Crosswalk Church auditorium in Norge. The spacious venue offers plenty of free parking and concessions by Carmen Alves (Elite Cuisine; cash preferred).
Tickets range from $15 to $59 and can be purchased at operainwilliamsburgvirginia.thundertix.com or operainwilliamsburg.org.
Coming up
Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural An Evening for the Arts fundraiser on Oct. 6 in Merchants Square. The fundraiser will take place during An Occasion for the Arts, which is in Williamsburg Oct. 7-8. The Friday event from 5-9 p.m. is a fundraiser for the AOFTA Artist in Residence Program benefitting Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools.
Tickets and VIP packages can be purchased at
simpletix.com/e/an-evening-for-the-arts-2023-tickets-110165.
Have information about the arts in the Historic Triangle? Contact John Shulson at [email protected].
