Classical music has come back from summer vacation, and that means you actually have a choice of concerts this week. Most importantly, many of the city’s leading groups are opening the season with glittering events. Look for reviews next week.
>> Washington National Opera is opening its fall season with one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, Puccini’s La Bohème (September 15 to 30). For all its audience-pleasing qualities, this opera is a tired old warhorse, but it is an excellent choice as an introduction for a neophyte. Already, five of the nine performances have sold out. The company has some initiatives to help you attend, if price is an issue. You should join Generation O if you are 18 to 35 years old. There will also be two performances (September 25 and 27) in the new Access to Opera Tickets offer. Last-minute tickets will be sold for $25, only at the box office and only on the day of the performance, starting at 10 a.m.
If you still cannot get yourself into the Kennedy Center Opera House, wait for the the live simulcast (September 23, 2 pm), which can be viewed on the large outdoor screen on the National Mall or in Silver Spring’s AFI Silver Theatre and Alexandria’s Old Town Theater, all free. You can even spend your Saturday afternoon (September 15, 1:30 p.m.) listening to one of last year’s performances of Nicholas Maw’s Sophie’s Choice on WETA (90.9 FM). You can read my review while you listen.
>> After Saturday night’s opening gala at the opera, it is ironic that the most famous opera singer of the weekend will appear with the National Symphony Orchestra, on its Season Opening Ball Concert (September 16, 7 p.m.) in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Solo performances will be offered by soprano Renée Fleming and pianist Peng Peng, a billing which has caused the concert to sell out already. If you cannot find a way in, you can listen to the concert live on the radio (again, WETA 90.9 FM). Champagne and ball gowns not provided.
>> Another important opening is the first concert (September 15, 6 p.m.) in the Emerson Quartet’s Smithsonian Resident Associates concert series at the National Museum of Natural History. The program has Haydn and Beethoven, but the real draw is the chance to hear Kaija Saariaho’s Terra Memoria.
Photo of Renée Fleming by Andrew Eccles, courtesy of Decca Classics
