Classical Music and Opera Listings for June 22-29 G Roald Smeets

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Saturday on Sunday

Saturday on Sunday (Photo credit: Willamor Media)

¶ Opera

¶ ★ ‘The Most Happy Fella’ (Friday through July 8) In March the Dicapo Opera Theater had a big success with its sensitive, lively and finely cast production of Frank Loesser’s ambitious and charming musical. The production, directed by Michael Capasso, is now back by popular demand for a three-week run with the same performers in the leading roles. The appealing baritone Michael Corvino is Tony, a lonely middle-aged vineyard owner who falls for a young mail-order bride whom he calls his Rosa Bella, played by the luminous, lovely soprano Molly Mustonen. Pacien Mazzagatti conducts. Friday, Saturday and Thursday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m., Wednesday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Dicapo Opera Theater, 184 East 76th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues, (212) 288-9438, (212) 868-4444, mosthappyfella.com; $35 to $100. (Anthony Tommasini)

¶ ★ ‘Oceanic Verses’ (Monday) Paola Prestini’s wistful dreamlike multimedia “folk opera,” concerning lost songs, ghosts and memory, has been glimpsed in workshop performances around the city in recent years. Now the completed work has its stage debut, mounted by Beth Morrison Projects with VisionIntoArt, and presented under the banner of the River to River Festival. Kevin Newbury directs; Julian Wachner conducts performers from Trinity Wall Street, the Washington Chorus and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy. At 7:30 p.m., Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University, 3 Spruce Street, Lower Manhattan, (212) 219-9401, rivertorivernyc.com; free. (Steve Smith)

¶ ★ Princeton Festival (Saturday) This double bill of operatic one-acts mixes a classic — Puccini’s comic “Gianni Schicchi” — with Rachmaninoff’s far less well known “Francesca da Rimini,” inspired by Dante. At 8 p.m., McCarter Theater Center for the Performing Arts, 91 University Place, Princeton, N.J., (609) 258-2787, princetonfestival.org; $30 to $125. (Zachary Woolfe)

¶ ‘Tosca’ (Wednesday) Vincent La Selva and his indefatigable New York Grand Opera have long brought free performances to Central Park, and this summer’s first offering is Puccini’s classic melodrama, conducted by Mr. La Selva and starring Claire Stadtmueller, Alejandro Olmedo and Raemond Martin. At 7:30 p.m., Naumberg Bandshell, Central Park, Manhattan, (212) 245-8837, vincentlaselva.com/pages/nygohome.aspx; free. (Woolfe)

¶ Classical Music

¶ Aston Magna Festival (Friday and Saturday) This festival, devoted to the performance of early music on period instruments, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Friday’s program features repertory by Mozart and Franz Krommer for winds, strings and fortepiano; it is repeated on Saturday. Friday at 8 p.m., Olin Hall, Bard College, 30 Campus Road, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.; $35, $25 for 62+, tickets can only be purchased at (845) 758-7425. Saturday at 6 p.m., Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, Mass.; $35, $25 for 62+, (413) 528-3595, astonmagna.org. (Vivien Schweitzer )

¶ ★ Bargemusic (Saturday and Sunday) Mark Peskanov, the violinist who now runs this floating concert hall on the East River, will be joined by the cellist Edward Arron and the pianist Jeewon Park for a program of rich-hued piano trios — Saint-Saëns’s Trio No. 2, Beethoven’s “Ghost” Trio and Ravel’s sole work for this combination. Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Bargemusic, Fulton Ferry Landing next to the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, (718) 624-2083, bargemusic.org; $35, $30 for 65+; $15 for students. (Allan Kozinn)

¶ Caramoor International Music Festival (Saturday and Sunday) This vibrant festival opens its last season under the artistic direction of Michael Barrett, who has appreciably enlivened its offerings. For Saturday’s opening gala, Roberto Abbado conducts the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and members of the Bel Canto at Caramoor Young Artist and Apprentice Program in a Mendelssohn evening, with Gil Shaham as the soloist in the Violin Concerto in E minor and Bebe Neuwirth narrating “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” On Sunday the guitarist Jason Vieaux plays an intimate recital. Saturday at 8:30 p.m., Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, N.Y., (914) 232-1252, caramoor.org; $15 to $85 on Saturday, $15 and $30 on Sunday. (Smith)

¶ ★ Chelsea Music Festival (Friday and Saturday) This enterprising festival, now in its third year, is focusing on Debussy’s 150th anniversary, looking especially at his interest in Japan, a fascination he shared with many artists in late 19th-century France. The festival draws to a close with a program on Friday titled “Violin Daybreak,” featuring works by Debussy, Takemitsu, Chausson and Ysaye, and the violinists Augustin Hadelich and Fanny Clamagirand. And the finale on Saturday, “Cherry Blossom Road,” will feature the Adam Birnbaum Trio and others. Friday at 7 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, Chelsea, $40, $30 for students with ID and 65+. Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, 540 West 21st Street, Chelsea, $65, $55 for students with ID and 65+. A complete lineup and other festival information is at chelseamusicfestival.org. (Tommasini)

¶ Darmstadt Institute 2012 (Friday and Saturday) This lively, casual series devotes welcome attention to important works by avant-garde composers, both established and up-and-coming. On Friday the long-running ensemble Gamelan Son of Lion showcases the “braid” compositions of one of its founders, Barbara Benary, alongside pieces by David Demnitz, Philip Corner and Daniel Goode. Saturday’s concert splits the bill between two vital outfits: Either/Or, playing works by the Australian composers Chris Mann, Andrew Byrne and Thomas Meadowcroft; and Object Collection, presenting the conceptual multimedia piece “New York Girls.” At 8 p.m., Issue Project Room, 22 Boerum Place, at Livingston Street, downtown Brooklyn, (718) 330-0313, issueprojectroom.org; $15. (Smith)

¶ Music Mountain (Sunday) This long-running festival continues with the Arianna String Quartet performing Mendelssohn’s Andante and Scherzo for String Quartet and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 3 in E flat minor. The ensemble will be joined by the pianist Tanya Bannister for Franck’s Piano Quintet in F minor. Nicholas Gordon, president of Music Mountain, offers a post concert discussion titled “The String Quartet Literature Through the Lens of the Music Mountain Repertory.” At 3 p.m., Music Mountain, Falls Village, Conn., (860) 824-7126, musicmountain.org; $30 in advance, $35 at the door. (Schweitzer)

¶ ★ New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes (Friday and Saturday) This annual guitar festival — a week of concerts and master classes by some of the guitar world’s stars — ends its 12th season with a pair of inviting recitals. First, Jason Vieaux gives a Friday night concert that begins with favorites by Giuliani, Bach and Albéniz, takes a jazzy detour by way of Pat Metheny, and veers back toward modern classicism in works by Dan Visconti and Leo Brouwer. The Saturday evening program by the Amadeus Guitar Duo — Dale Kavanagh and Thomas Kirchhoff — includes music by Handel, Telemann, Jolivet, Mario Gangi and Mr. Kavanagh. At 7:30 p.m., Mannes Concert Hall, Mannes College the New School for Music, 150 West 85th Street, Manhattan, (212) 580-0210, Ext. 4883, newschool.edu; $25. (Kozinn)

¶ ★ New York Philharmonic (Friday, Saturday and Tuesday) On Friday and Saturday, Alan Gilbert conducts the season’s last subscription program, pairing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 (with Emanuel Ax as the soloist) and “Great” Mass in C. Then on Tuesday the orchestra salutes the distinguished French composer Henri Dutilleux, the winner of its first Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music, and presents three key works: “Métaboles”; the cello concerto “Tout un Monde Lointain” (with Yo-Yo Ma as the soloist); and “Ainsi la Nuit,” played by the Miró Quartet. Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, (212) 875-5656, nyphil.org; $45 to $132 on Friday and Saturday; $45 to $125 on Tuesday. (Smith)

¶ Orchestra of the League of Composers (Saturday) This adventurous ensemble, an outgrowth of the League, a cherished advocate for new music, performs works by Ben Weber, Dorothy Rudd Moore and other unsung American composers as a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the American Composers Alliance. The cellist Fred Sherry is among the soloists. At 8 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400, symphonyspace.org; $25 in advance, $30 day of show. (Woolfe)

¶ Rhythms of One World (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) This international choral festival highlights a diverse range of musical traditions, beginning with four programs at Merkin Concert Hall. On Monday the Norwegian Girls Choir will sing music from Norway, including selections by Grieg and contemporary composers. On Tuesday the program features the Kearsney College Choir from South Africa. On Wednesday the lineup features the Voices International from Luxembourg, at 6 p.m., and the University of Newcastle Chamber Choir from Australia, at 8 p.m. On Thursday seven international ensembles join forces at Avery Fisher Hall. Monday at 6 p.m., Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., and Wednesday at 6 and 8 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212) 501- 3330, kaufman-center.org; $20, $12 for students and $65+. At 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Avery Fisher Hall, lincolncenter.org, (212) 721-6500; $25. (Schweitzer)

¶ Tanglewood (Friday and Sunday) The 75th anniversary season of this venerable festival, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, opens with a favorite performer, Yo-Yo Ma, and his multicultural, genre-pushing Silk Road Ensemble. At 8 p.m., Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, 297 West Street, Lenox, Mass., (888) 266-1200, bso.org; $20 to $99. (Woolfe) G Roald Smeets posting

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