Reviews

The magic and might of Shakespeare continues this weekend with the second program in the Monterey Symphony's 2016-17 season. Conductor and music director Max Bragado-Darman leads the ensemble in a luxuriously multi-textured concert featuring the overture and incidental music from Felix Mendelssohn's magnificent "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Bragado has gathered actors, singers and a full chorus to create an enhanced presentation of the music inspired by the celebrated story of the antics of lovers, rustics and fairy folk.

"We are working hard to make this a special experience for our audience," says Bragado. "It's quite a challenge."

The actors, used to interpreting the glorious speeches of Shakespeare in a free-form way, must meet in this setting the demands of a musical score with the precision of the professional musicians.

"The owner of this piece is Felix Mendelssohn; he is calling the shots," says Bragado. "We have to abide by the laws of rhythm and structure. This is an occasion to think, as they say, outside the box, and to lift the concert experience to a different level."

The version, which includes narrative sections as well as Shakespearian dialogue, is an adaptation of one he conducted while he was music director of the Louisville orchestra in the 1990s.

The symphony's talented go-to director Lucretia Butler works closely with Bragado to create a smooth marriage of words and music.

"The engine is the music," Butler says, who also oversees the staging and contributes other theatrical elements.

The cast includes actors Angelique Zuluaga, Michael Jacobs, Doug Toby and a special appearance by the maestro's wife Mary Young Bragado as the Fairy Queen Titania. The artistic collaboration also features members from the distinguished local chorus I Cantori di Carmel, directed by Sal Ferrantelli. The performance will unfold as a semi-staged concert with the actors taking a variety of roles.

The program also features "Variations on a Theme by Haydn" by Brahms, a classical favorite based on the "St. Anthony Chorale." A highlight of this work is its inclusion of members of Youth Music Monterey County's Honors Orchestra who will perform alongside the professional ensemble.

This program will be performed at 7:30 p.m. at Sherwood Hall in Salinas on Friday, and at Carmel's Sunset Center on Saturdays (8 p.m.) and Sundays (3 p.m.). A pre-concert lecture will be offered an hour before each event.

The two youth concerts that take place on Monday morning at Sunset Center will give the youngsters an abbreviated music-only version of the Mendelsohn suite conducted by Bragado.

For tickets and information call 646-8511 or visit online at www.montereysymphony.org.