NATIONAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE - -“Mozart & Friends”

    The recent October concert by  the National Chamber Ensemble started and ended with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In between were  pieces by  his “Friends”, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Anton Hoffmeister. What a lovely evening  of chamber music featuring Leonid Sushansky, violinist and artistic director of NCE, pianist Kathryn Brake, Vasily Popov, cellist and playing the viola, Uri Wassertzug.  Among the concert pieces were Mozart’s Piano Trio in E Major K-542, Beethoven’s Piano Quartet in C Major, Op. 3, Hoffmeister’s  Duo for Violin and Viola, Op. 19 no. 2 and Mozart’s  most famous chamber music masterpiece, the Piano Quartet in G Minor. This is NCE’s ninth season and the next concert will be  their annual Holiday Concert  set for Saturday, December 12 at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre. Tickets are very reasonable and can be purchased through their website at www.NationalChamberEnsemble.org.

METROPOLITAN OPERA simulcast of “”Otello”

     Recently I saw the simulcast of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello” from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The simulcast was held at Potomac Yards Theatres on Jeff Davis Highway in Alexandria. The setting was Cyprus in the late 19^th Century where the Moor Otello is the governor and his ensign is Iago, who secretly hates Otello. Iago knows that Otello is a very jealous man and concocts a plan to ruin him by planting seeds of distrust between Otello and his wife, Desdemona. As always, the Met’s production was wonderful with an outstanding cast of  Aleksandra Antonenko as Otello, Sonya Yoncheva as Desdemona and Zelijko Lucic as Iago. The conductor was Yannick Nezet-Seguin. I encourage you to attend these simulcasts. An added benefit are the backstage interviews during intermission and the camera shots  of the opera house and audience. For more information and tickets, check the website at www.fathomevents.com. Tickets are very reasonable.

SIGNATURE THEATRE - - “Cake-Off”

     Signature Theatre is an originating sponsor of the Women’s Voices Theatre Festival currently going on at more than 50 theatres in the Metro area. The theatres are featuring plays written by women and Signature’s entry is a world premiere of a musical, “Cake-Off” by Sheri Wilner. The setting is a fictitious 50^th Annual Millberry Cake-Off competition with a battle between the sexes. The winner will receive a million dollar prize. The final two bakers are Rita Gaw, played by Sheri L. Edelen and Paul Hubbard, played by Todd Buonopane, both perfectly cast in this very energetic show. Watch out if you’re in the front row! Stealing the show is Jamie Smithson who plays Jack DeVault, the emcee of the cake-off, but who also plays two former female cake-off winners. He’s hilarious! Terrific piano accompaniment by Andrea Grady and great direction by Joe Caolarco. “Cake-Off” is about 90 minutes and runs through Nov. 22. It’s great fun! For more information and tickets, call 703-820-9771 and check the website at ww.sigtheatre.org.

VIRGINIA OPERA - - “Orpheus in the Underworld”

     Virginia Opera opened its 2015-2016 season at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts with Jacques Offenbach’s comic operetta, “Orpheus in the Underworld.” This production was different from what I’m used to seeing by Virginia Opera—and I think I liked it. Offenbach took a famous Greek tragedy and turned it into a satire. At times it’s risqué and reminiscent of a French dance hall. The story begins with Orpheus (Javier Abreu) and his wife, Eurydice (Meredith Lustig) showing contempt for each other. Eurydice want to leave, but Orpheus says that Public Opinion (Margaret Gawrysiak) won’t allow it. Eurydice leaves anyway with Jupiter (Troy Cook) and off they go to Hades. Public Opinion convinces Orpheus to get her back, He tries, but Jupiter tricks him and Eurydice is lost to him forever. The music is wonderful under the baton of Anna Manson. Great direction by Sam Helfrich. The next Virginia Opera production is Puccini’s “La Boheme” in November. For tickets call 866-673-7282 or purchase online at www.vaopera.org.

METROPOLITAN OPERA simulcast of “Il Trovatore”

     Last weekend at the Regal Theatres in Ballston, the New York Metropolitan Opera simulcast its first production of the 2015-2016 season with “Il Trovatore.” The story is about the revenge of a gypsy woman, Azucena (Dolora Zajick) and the jealous Count De Luna (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) who is in love with Leonora (Anna Netrebko). Unfortunately, Leonora is in love with Manrico (Yonghoo Lee). No one knows he is the son of the gypsy woman. Count De Luna and Manrico are bitter and dueling rivals. Manrico drives Count De Luna crazy with his serenading of Leonora. “Il Trovatore” is dramatic and passionate and the cast is more than outstanding, I love these simulcasts from the Met including the backstage interviews during intermission. The next simulcast is “Othello” on Oct. 17. This one will be at Potomac Yards on Jefferson David Highway in south Arlington.  The Ballston Theatre is undergoing renovations and will not be hosting any simulcasts until next year. For more information and tickets, check the website at www.fathomevents.com.