Join Utah Symphony | Utah Opera this September and October for the Shakespeare in Music Festival - a community event of art, dance, food, and literature. Festival lectures and presentations around Salt Lake City are designed to supplement the upcoming Utah Opera production of Verdi's Macbeth, and Utah Symphony performances of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet and Smetana's Richard III.

Performances
• Utah Symphony – Romeo & Juliet (Berlioz’s symphonic poem with Smetana’s Richard III ) September 25 & 26 |  8pm @ Abravanel Hall
• Utah Opera presents Verdi’s Macbeth October 17, 19, 21, 23 & 25 | 7:30pm @ Capitol Theatre, October 25 | 2pm @ Capitol Theatre
• Utah Opera Ensemble Apprentice Artists “Much Ado About Opera”. Utah Opera’s five Ensemble Artists will perform scenes taken from a variety of operatic settings of Shakespeare’s plays. October 29 | 7:30 pm @ the Thompson Chamber Music Room in Gardner Hall at the U of U | FREE

For tickets to any Utah Symphony or Utah Opera performances, please call (801) 355-ARTS (2787) or visit www.utahsymphony.org. 

Festival Lectures and Events
• “Music & Dance of Shakespeare’s Day” by Dr. April Greenan (UofU School of Music)
    September 3 | 7 pm @ Utah Opera Production Studios, 3rd floor dance studio

April Greenan from the University of Utah School of Music will introduce us to the kind of music Shakespeare himself might have listened to with examples played live by Dorian Mirth, a Renaissance ensemble.  Dust off and bring along your 4th-grade recorder if you have one to play a melody from Tallis’ Canon (click here to download sheet music) with Dorian Mirth.  Afterward, learn a Renaissance dance from dance instructor Challe Carter and dance to the playing of the band. 

• “Songs, Sonnets and Shakespeare: How Music is Utilized Within Shakespeare’s Plays” by Michael Bahr (Utah Shakespearean Festival)
    September 10 | 7 pm @ The Art Center Auditorium

Michael Bahr will discuss the music found within Shakespeare’s writings: in Shakespeare’s poetry, and in the songs he wrote to be performed as part of some of his plays.  Among other topics, Michael will talk about modern directors’ choices, given the song texts in the plays: do they find Renaissance music and hire musicians?  do they hope their actors can come up with some tunes? do they hire modern composers to write something fresh and expressive?

• “Traditional British Foods” with Chef Tara Duff
    September 17 | 7 pm @ Elizabeth’s Bakery & Tea Shop | $10/person | Call 801.533.6683 to purchase, limit 50 patrons

Taste traditional British foods, some of which have been around since Shakespeare’s day.  Learn more about what kinds of food Shakespeare might have eaten, and taste for yourself some of the favorite foods of the British Isles.  Chef Tara Duff has planned a special tea and foods to sample:  the menu of delights includes samples of Cornish pasty, sausage roll, cucumber sandwich, scone with jam & clotted cream, shortbread, and trifle (3 savories and 3 sweets).

• “Shakespeare at the Cinema, Symphony, and Opera” by Bettie Jo Basinger (UofU School of Music)
    September 24 | 7 pm @ The Art Center Auditorium

Bettie Jo Basinger from the University of Utah School of Music will discuss great music that has been composed to express the stories of William Shakespeare:  some in operatic versions, some in purely musical versions for symphony concerts, some for film adaptations of the stageplays.

• Macbeth Opera Preview Lecture by Dr. Tom Cimarusti (Assistant Professor of Musicology, Texas Tech University)
   October 14 | 7:00pm @ The City Library 4th floor meeting room

Tom Cimarusti, formerly of Utah Valley University and presently at Texas Tech, will offer an introduction to Verdi’s opera version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  Come learn about the history of Verdi’s creation, listen to the music under the guidance of our lecturer, and get prepared for your full appreciation of the Utah Opera production of this great opera.

Online Course
• Macbeth, through OPERA America (email pfowler@usuo.org to receive this four-week tutorial)
    September 22 – October 13 | FREE to our patrons

Partner Organization Events – on themes found in Macbeth
• Stephanie Wilde – “Harmed” (art exhibit)
   September – October | Salt Lake Arts Center
• Slide Jam – “Proud to Be An American” (slide presentations centered on themes of scandal and patriotism)
   September 23 | 6:30 pm | Salt Lake Arts Center
• Forum – Business Ethics
   October 7 | 6:30 pm | Salt Lake Arts Center
• Ballet West – “The Dream” (featuring A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
   October 30, 31 & November 4-7 | call 810-323-6900 to purchase tickets

Partner organizations include: Ballet West, OPERA America, Salt Lake Arts Center, Elizabeth’s Bakery & Tea Shop, Utah Shakespearean Festival and the U of U’s School of Music.

Locations
Abravanel Hall: 123 West South Temple
Capitol Theatre: 50 West 200 South
The City Library: 210 East 400 South
Libby Gardner Hall: 1395 East Presidents Circle @ University of Utah
Utah Opera Production Studios: 336 North 400 West
Elizabeth’s Bakery & Tea Shop: 575 South 700 East
Salt Lake Art Center: 20 South West Temple

For tickets to any Utah Symphony or Utah Opera performances, please call (801) 355-ARTS (2787) or visit www.utahsymphony.org. 
For more information about “Shakespeare in Music,” please call 801-869-9090.