The URI Opera Theater will perform twice this weekend, with bookend performances at the start and the end. First, they will perform on Friday April 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Edward King House, 35 King St., Newport, as part of a concert to be held under the auspices of Opera Providence, “Opera and Broadway Theatre – Tenors vs. Divas”. They will perform with featured soloists Diana McVey, Georgette Hutchins, child soloist Alexis McKinnon and Rene de la Garza, the new Artistic Director of Opera Providence, who is also a voice faculty member and the director of URI’s Opera Theater. Ticket prices and more information on the event are available from Opera Providence, 585 Elmgrove Avenue Providence, RI 02906, 401-331-6060.
The URI group will close out the weekend with “Comedy Tonight” in the URI Fine Arts Center Concert Hall at 105 Upper College Road, Kingston, on Sunday April 17 at 7:00 p.m., offering a partial encore of the Friday concert with some of the same opera and Broadway selections (without the guest soloists), and some different ones. The program will include some arias and duets from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi, and two selections from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. Also on the program are “That’s Entertainment”, “Comedy Tonight!” from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Forum and “New Music” from the musical Ragtime. The show will be directed by Rene de la Garza with choreography by Denise Lachowski, and accompanied by pianist Patrice Newman with URI student percussionists Charles Kalajian and Zach Friedland. General admission, $10, students, $5.
In between, the URI Symphony Orchestra, directed by Ann Danis, will perform at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, and the URI Chamber Music Ensembles, coordinated by Jane Murray, will perform at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 17. Both concerts will be in the URI Fine Arts Center Concert Hall.
The orchestra concert will offer G. F. Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, Mendelssohn’s Symphony #5 Finale, When Angels Weep by Shaffer, arranged by Catherine Gagnon, a URI alumna; With Quiet Courage by Daehn, and Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos. URI faculty artist Susan Robison and guest artist John Kaboff, founder of the Kaboff Cello School in Arlington, VA, and a noted international performer, will be the featured cello soloists. Tickets are general admission, $10, students, $5, and are available 45 minutes before the concert starts.
The URI Chamber Music Ensembles will present a full afternoon program of music in a variety of styles and periods. The various small group combinations include the clarinet ensemble, flute ensemble, several string ensembles, and many others, each coached by individual faculty members of the URI Department of Music. The concert is open to the public for free admission.
The URI Concert Hall is handicap-accessible, and parking is available in the lot behind the Fine Arts Center, off Bills Road.
For more information, please contact the URI Department of Music, 874-2431, or check the website: www.uri.edu/artsci/mus.