Classical •  Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is

May 7, 2015 12:33 am

Classical

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 7:30pm

Medieval Women’s Choir A free preview of their May 15-16 concert. Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104 Free Thursday, May 7, 2015, 12pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Thursday, May 7, 2015, 7:30pm

Seattle Symphony Imogen Cooper conducts and plays two Mozart piano concertos (#17 & 24). Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $35-$120 Thursday, May 7, 2015, 7:30pm

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Machinations Musical, Divers, & Sundry I.e., new experimental works by UW students and alumni. Chapel Performance Space (Good Shepherd Center), 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. $5-$15 Thursday, May 7, 2015, 8pm

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UW Opera Co-producing, with Pacific MusicWorks, Mozart’s a-bit-of-everything fairy tale The Magic Flute. Stratospheric soprano Cyndia Sieden sings the Queen of the Night. Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, UW Campus, Seattle, WA 98105 $10-$40 Friday, May 8, 2015

Hiroaki Tohgi From this Chief Court Musician of the Japanese imperial household, a demo of gagaku music and dance. Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E. Prospect St. (Volunteer Park), Seattle, WA 98112 Free Friday, May 8, 2015, 7pm

Ten Grands Pianos, that is, in a multi-genre benefit concert. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $42 and up Friday, May 8, 2015, 7pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Friday, May 8, 2015, 7:30pm

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Seattle Composers Salon A new-music open-mic night, with works by Matthew James Briggs, Jessi Harvey, Ian McKnight, and Michael Owcharuk. Chapel Performance Space (Good Shepherd Center), 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. $5-$15 Friday, May 8, 2015, 8pm

Seattle Pro Musica The premiere of John Muehleisen’s Eternity Passing Over-An Arctic Requiem, commissioned in memory of the parents, killed in a 2005 bear attack, of an SPM member. Plus music by Part and MacMillan. St. James Cathedral, 804 9th AveSeattle, WA 98104 $12-$38 Friday, May 8, 2015, 8pm

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UW Opera Co-producing, with Pacific MusicWorks, Mozart’s a-bit-of-everything fairy tale The Magic Flute. Stratospheric soprano Cyndia Sieden sings the Queen of the Night. Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, UW Campus, Seattle, WA 98105 $10-$40 Saturday, May 9, 2015

Seattle Symphony Exploring rhythm in a family concert entitled “The Orchestra Rocks.” Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $15-$20 Saturday, May 9, 2015, 11am

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Saturday, May 9, 2015, 7:30pm

Octava Chamber Orchestra Schumann, Respighi, and more. Maple Park Church, 17620 60th Ave. W., Lynnwood $13-$20 Saturday, May 9, 2015, 7:30pm

B’Shnorkestra “Global Concertos” is Samantha Boshnack’s name for her quintet of new works written for five musicians from diverse traditions. 8 p.m. Sat., May 9. (Open dress rehearsal with Q&A, 8 p.m. Fri., May 8.) (See <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958322-129/ear-supply-culture-club” target=”_blank”>Ear Supply</a>.) Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, 104 17th Ave SSeattle, WA 98144 Suggested donation $5-$15 Saturday, May 9, 2015, 8pm

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FHTAGN An immersive experience from members of this experimental spatial-music collective. Chapel Performance Space (Good Shepherd Center), 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. $5-$15 Saturday, May 9, 2015, 8pm

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Peter Hallock Tribute Concert Music of this composer, long associated with St. Mark’s Cathedral, who died last year. Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E. $20-$25 Saturday, May 9, 2015, 8pm

Seattle Pro Musica The premiere of John Muehleisen’s Eternity Passing Over-An Arctic Requiem, commissioned in memory of the parents, killed in a 2005 bear attack, of an SPM member. Plus music by Part and MacMillan. St. James Cathedral, 804 9th AveSeattle, WA 98104 $12-$38 Saturday, May 9, 2015, 8pm

Seattle Symphony Imogen Cooper conducts and plays two Mozart piano concertos (#17 & 24). Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $35-$120 Saturday, May 9, 2015, 8pm

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UW Opera Co-producing, with Pacific MusicWorks, Mozart’s a-bit-of-everything fairy tale The Magic Flute. Stratospheric soprano Cyndia Sieden sings the Queen of the Night. Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, UW Campus, Seattle, WA 98105 $10-$40 Sunday, May 10, 2015

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American String Project Chamber music (Brahms and Mendelssohn) adapted, excitingly, for string orchestra. Brechemin Auditorium, Music Building (1st floor), University of Washington,

West Stevens Way NE & Skagit Lane, Seattle $15 Sunday, May 10, 2015, 2pm

Seattle Symphony Chamber Music Prokofiev, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky from SSO musicians. Benaroya Recital Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $39 Sunday, May 10, 2015, 2pm

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Seattle Youth Symphony Mahler’s Song of the Earth and favorite bits from La traviata. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $15-$48 Sunday, May 10, 2015, 3pm

Opera on Tap Opera moms are saluted tonight in this informal revue. The Paragon, 2125 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 $5-$10 Sunday, May 10, 2015, 7pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Sunday, May 10, 2015, 7:30pm

Compline Services A half-hour meditation each week with the eight-voice Renaissance Singers. Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E. Free Sunday, May 10, 2015, 9:30pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Monday, May 11, 2015, 7:30pm

Douglas Cleveland Bach, Mozart, Rorem, and much more from this organist. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $20-$31 Monday, May 11, 2015, 7:30pm

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Music of Remembrance Picasso and Gertrude Stein debate art and morality in the premiere of Tom Cipullo’s chamber opera After Life. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle, WA 98101 $30-$40 Monday, May 11, 2015, 7:30pm

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Music of Today: Harry Partch Instruments Presentation As an aspiring composer growing up in America’s stiflingly Eurocentric classical-music world, Partch’s dissatisfactions were many. First among them were the parochial limitations of equal-temperament tuning, the standard 12-note scale you’ll find on any piano-which of course is not how the human voice works. “He wanted to find a way to accurately notate what the human voice does naturally,” says UW research associate Charles Corey, which led Partch (1901-1974) to invent his own instruments to accommodate alternate tuning systems and, ultimately, his personal vision of Greek- and Japanese-inspired music drama. Corey became the curator of that instrument collection, formerly housed at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and brought it to UW last December. Partch tinkered with the innards of a reed organ to create his microtonal Chromelodeon; other instruments of his are even more found-object-y, like an array of light bulbs played like a xylophone and gongs made from airplane nose-cones. Corey will explain and demonstrate all these and many more tonight, in preparation for two concerts of Partch’s music on May 26 and 27. GAVIN BORCHERT Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, UW Campus, Seattle, WA 98105 Free Monday, May 11, 2015, 7:30pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 7:30pm

Winds of the Renaissance Chamber music for (self-explanatory) instruments from the (self-explanatory) era. Christ Episcopal Church, 4548 Brooklyn Ave. N.E. $15-$25 Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 7:30pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 7:30pm

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Philip Glass In conversation with cellist Rajan Krishnaswami, book-touring for his memoir Words Without Music. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $37-$42 Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 7:30pm

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UW Chamber Orchestra Curiosities by, and inspired by, Mozart. Brechemin Auditorium, Music Building (1st floor), University of Washington,

West Stevens Way NE & Skagit Lane, Seattle $5 Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 7:30pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin??s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Thursday, May 14, 2015, 7:30pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Friday, May 15, 2015, 7:30pm

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Ariadne auf Naxos For all its frivolity and ebullience-which is the aspect of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos that Seattle Opera is selling the hardest for its upcoming production-it cost its composer, and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, years of grueling and contentious labor. The latter’s original comic concept, the onstage clash of a tragic Greek-myth opera performance and a commedia dell’arte troupe-so avant, so meta-was itself stuffed, like some giant theatrical turducken, into his adaptation of Moliere’s play Le bourgeois gentilhomme. (One of Moliere’s characters presents the two-operas-in-one as an entertainment in his home, or so goes the contrived premise.) Strauss wrote a great deal of music for this hybrid: incidental music for the reworked Moliere plus the complete 90-minute double opera. When this proved less than a hit, mainly because it made for an evening of Wagnerian length, Strauss and Hofmannsthal had to detach what they had so painstakingly spliced together, adding a new prologue to the opera (depicting the manic backstage preparations) so it could stand on its own. Happily for Strauss, though, this overelaborate concept called for two very different styles of music, both of which he excelled at: elegant, sparkling 18th-century pastiche to evoke the commedia players; and soaring, opulent music for his tragic heroine Ariadne. Seattle Opera revives its 2004 production-including, memorably, onstage fireworks at the climax. GAVIN BORCHERT 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sat., plus 7:30 p.m. Fri., May 15. Ends May 16. [See Gavin’s <a href=”http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/958286-129/ariadne-auf-naxos-richard-strauss-meta-opera” target=”_blank”>review</a>.] McCaw Hall (Seattle Center), 321 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109 $25 and up Saturday, May 16, 2015, 7:30pm

Compline Services A half-hour meditation each week with the eight-voice Renaissance Singers. Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E. Free Sunday, May 17, 2015, 9:30pm

Compline Services A half-hour meditation each week with the eight-voice Renaissance Singers. Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E. Free Sunday, May 24, 2015, 9:30pm

Compline Services A half-hour meditation each week with the eight-voice Renaissance Singers. Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E. Free Sunday, May 31, 2015, 9:30pm