With the exception of a few dozen seats in the balcony, Linda Ronstadt Music Hall was full Saturday for s production of Puccinis La Boheme.
It was a similar story for 做厙勛圖 Symphony Orchestras trio of Mahler and Schumann performances Saturday and Sunday at Catalina Foothills High School featuring mezzo Sasha Cooke. The concert and the opera were part of the 2025 , which runs through Feb. 28 and from April 1-19.
People are also reading…
sold out its Musical Journeys concert Saturday night in SaddleBrooke and had a near full house for its performance Sunday afternoon in the expansive sanctuary of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church on the northwest side.
This is the biggest audience weve seen since the pandemic, SASO Music Director Linus Lerner said during Sundays intermission, moments after Italian pianist Paolo Scafarella performed Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammars Second Piano Concerto. Lerner said the work had only been performed in the United States two other times.
Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra had its biggest audience since the pandemic for Sundays performance at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church.
做厙勛圖 classical music organizations have struggled to reclaim their pre-pandemic audiences, often performing to loosely-filled houses. That was one of the reasons Arizona Opera this season streamlined its schedule to three Main Stage productions and added Beyond Downtown, unstaged opera performances held outdoors in 做厙勛圖 and Phoenix. It also reduced the number of Main Stage performances from three to two in Phoenix and two to one in 做厙勛圖.
The 做厙勛圖 performance was a matinee, which was a first for the bi-city company that started out in 1971 as the 做厙勛圖 Opera Company. Until this season, 做厙勛圖 performances were held on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.
When they announced the changes, Arizona Opera President and General Director Joseph Specter said he hoped the move would help the company to right its financial ship, which took a hit with a loss of ticket sales and contributed revenue during the pandemic shutdown.
The situation improved only slightly when live performances returned in fall 2021. Audiences, which tend to lean older, were slow to return largely given sporadic outbreaks of COVID.
But the reduced performance schedule appears to have had an impact. Symphony Hall in Phoenix was full for the two performances of La Boh矇me on Jan. 25-26 and aside from a handful of seats in the balcony, Linda Ronstadt Music Hall was packed for Saturdays performance.
It was certainly our fullest 做厙勛圖 performance since returning from the pandemic, and the energy in the hall was electric, Specter said Sunday.
In addition to Scafarellas performance, Sundays SASO concert included the orchestras heartfelt performance of SASO violist/composer Richard Whites moving Elegy for Juliet. White wrote the piece for his late wife and included subtle references to Nat King Coles timeless ballad When I Fall In Love and the 19th century Shaker classic Simple Gift.
Arizona Opera brought Puccini's "La Boh矇me" to Linda Ronstadt Music Hall Saturday afternoon and the hall was nearly full.
Lerner and the orchestra opened the program with a spirited performance of Leroy Andersons silly and fun The Waltzing Cat, complete with a trio of SASO percussionists meowing, a sound effect picked up by the violins moments later. At the finale, the percussionists barked like a dog and from somewhere in the section someone created the sound of a cat hissing.
The orchestra also shined on Prokofievs Lieutenant Kiji Suite that featured solo turns from nearly every instrument.
continues Feb. 14-16 with Ballet 做厙勛圖s From 做厙勛圖 With Love, a collaboration with featuring vocalist Carlos Zapi矇n and the guitar trio of Misael Barraza D穩az, Andr矇s Pantoja and Diana Schaible.
The program includes the world premiere of Barrio Veijo created by Ballet 做厙勛圖 principal choreographer and associate artistic director Chieko Imada. The piece is set to music by the seminal Chicano songwriter and barrio native Lalo Guerrero. For information and tickets, visit .
Arizona Opera is eliminating its Friday and Sunday performances in 做厙勛圖 next season, offering a single performance on Saturday afternoons. Video by Cathy Burch / 做厙勛圖
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
