Also in October, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala emerges from the pit in Milan's opera house and stops by Strathmore as part of a U.S. tour; Riccardo Chailly will conduct music by Rossini, Rota and Respighi.
The Washington Bach Consort will celebrate the holiday season with the Thomaskantor's Christman Oratorio. The State Symphony of Mexico, under Enrique Bštiz, makes its D.C.-area debut with works by de Falla, Beethoven and Brahms.
Among the major dance companies to visit Strathmore next season are Philadanco, Tango Buenos Aires, and Russia's Moiseyev Dance Company.
Next February 16 brings a landmark, as Strathmore presents an original production of its own for the first time. Free to Sing: The Story of the First African-American Opera Company recounts, through narrative and 19th-century music, the story of the Colored American Opera Company, which was formed in Washington, D.C. in 1873. The evening will conclude with a concert version of Julius Eichberg's The Doctor of Alcantara, a popular opera of the time which the COAC performed that year.
The creative team for Free to Sins includes stage director Scot Reese, the Post-Classical Ensemble with conductor Angel Gil-Ord‹ê±ez and scholar/artistic director Joseph Horowitz, and the Morgan State University Choir under the direction of Eric Conway.
In addition to these events presented by Strathmore itself, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Washington Performing Arts Society offer concert series at the Music Center, as do several other organizations.
