For its 2018 summer residency at the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform 15 concerts from July 12 through Aug. 19, led by eight conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel in his long-awaited Ravinia debut. Also appearing on the podium will be James Conlon, former Ravinia music director, and Symphony Center regulars Vasily Petrenko and Emil de Cou. Andy Einhorn, Ken-David Masur and Joshua Gersen will make their simultaneous Ravinia and CSO debuts.
In her newly appointed role as artistic curator, Marin Alsop will lead the CSO in six of its 15 Ravinia concerts this summer. The appointment marks the first time in the festival’s 114-year history that Ravinia has appointed an artistic curator. Alsop, currently music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, will continue in the role “through the 2019 season and beyond.”
For programming, Ravinia observes the worldwide celebration of the Leonard Bernstein centennial, with six CSO concerts featuring works by the revered American composer-conductor, including his Mass (a CSO premiere), Chichester Psalms, Serenade (After Plato’s Symposium), Slava! (A Political Overture) (CSO premiere) and Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah). The season-opening concert on July 12, conducted by Alsop, re-creates the program that Bernstein played at Ravinia in 1986 during his final tour with the New York Philharmonic: the overture to Candide, Serenade (After Plato’s Symposium), with violin soloist Joshua Bell, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique).
“I was lucky enough to have worked with this genius, but you really didn’t need to know this man to know his mind and heart,” Alsop said in a statement. “He’s touched generations of music makers and music lovers at the cellular level and influenced the 20th century’s relationship with this universal art form in ways we still don’t completely comprehend and may never witness again. I’m so proud to be his surrogate for Ravinia’s exciting tribute.”
Other program highlights include the annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular, an all-Beethoven night and an evening of bel-canto arias and overtures with tenor Matthew Polenzani, an Evanston native, and soprano Nadine Sierra, both regulars at the Metropolitan Opera. The annual gala features Broadway superstar Audra McDonald in a program titled “A Sunday in the Park with Audra McDonald.” Other guest artists appearing with the CSO will be pianists Yuja Wang, Garrick Ohlsson, Simon Trpčeski and Igor Levit, and vocalists Frederica von Stade, Michelle DeYoung, Paul Appleby and Paulo Szot.
Three films will receive presentations by the CSO: Steven Spielberg’s “E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), both with scores by Oscar winner John Williams. The third live-to-picture CSO concert will be Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” (1958), with Bernard Herrmann’s Wagnerian-like score.
Tickets go on sale to Ravinia donors beginning March 20. To reduce customer wait times, ticket on-sale dates will be split over two days, with June and July concerts available starting Tuesday, May 8, and with August and September programs available starting Thursday, May 10, exclusively at ravinia.org.
For CSO concerts, most pavilion seats will be $25 each, thanks to funding from Exelon. Lawn admission for all classical concerts, including the CSO, special events, recitals and chamber music, will be free for children and students. For ticket information, visit ravinia.org or call (847) 266-5100.
This summer’s CSO schedule follows. All concerts are in the pavilion unless otherwise specified:
Thursday, July 12, 8 p.m., Leonard Bernstein centennial
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Joshua Bell violin
Bernstein Overture to Candide
Bernstein Serenade (After Plato’s Symposium)
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)
Tickets, reserved, $100, $25; lawn $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Saturday, July 14, 7:30 p.m., Leonard Bernstein centennial
Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Marin Alsop conductor
Chicago Symphony Chorus solo quartet
Tamara Wilson soprano
Michelle DeYoung mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby tenor
Ryan Speedo Green bass-baritone (CSO debut)
TBA boy soprano
Bernstein Chichester Psalms
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (with projected English supertitles)
Tickets, reserved, $100, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Sunday, July 15, 5 p.m., “Sunday in the Park with Audra McDonald”: A Gala Evening Benefiting Ravinia’s Reach*Teach*Play®
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Andy Einhorn conductor (CSO debut)
Audra McDonald vocalist
Program to be announced
Tickets, reserved, $135, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 3 p.m.
Wednesday, July 18, 8 p.m., All-Beethoven program
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Gustavo Dudamel conductor (Ravinia debut)
Yuja Wang piano
Beethoven Overture to Egmont
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1
Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Tickets, reserved, $100, $25; lawn $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Sunday, July 22, 5 p.m., Tchaikovsky Spectacular
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ken-David Masur conductor (CSO debut)
Miriam Fried violin
Tchaikovsky Entr’acte, Waltz and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture (with cannon fire)
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn $10. Park opens at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, July 24, 8 p.m., Leonard Bernstein centennial
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Makoto Ozone piano (CSO debut)
Copland Appalachian Spring
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Saturday, July 28, 7:30 p.m., Leonard Bernstein centennial
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Chicago Children’s Choir
Vocality vocal quartet
Paulo Szot baritone (Celebrant) (CSO debut)
Bernstein Mass (CSO premiere)
With Kevin Newbury, director; Leslie Stifelman, music supervisor; Melissa Mahon, choreographer, and Victoria “Vita” Tzykun, scene designer, all making their Ravinia debuts.
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 1, 8 p.m., “E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial,” film with orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou conductor
John Williams E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Complete film shown on pavilion and lawn video screens. Pre-concert discussion with Dean Richards, entertainment critic for WGN-TV and WGN-AM.
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn, $25. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m., “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” film with orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Emil de Cou conductor
Williams Raiders of the Lost Ark
Complete film shown on pavilion and lawn video screens. Pre-concert discussion with Dean Richards, entertainment critic for WGN-TV and WGN-AM.
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn, $25. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko conductor
Simon Trpčeski piano
Strauss Don Juan
Grieg Piano Concerto
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Tickets, reserved, $75, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 9, 8 p.m., James Conlon returns
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
James Conlon conductor
Garrick Ohlsson piano
Stravinsky Suite from Pulcinella
Strauss Suite from Le bourgeois gentilhomme
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20
Tickets, reserved, $75, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m., Rossini and Donizetti favorites
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
James Conlon conductor
Nadine Sierra soprano
Matthew Polenzani tenor
Rossini Overture to The Barber of Seville
Donizetti “Lucia, perdona” from Lucia di Lammermoor
Rossini Overture to Semiramide
Rossini Passo a sei (Act 1 ballet) from William Tell
Donizetti “Il dolce suono” (Mad Scene) from Lucia di Lammermoor
Donizetti “Tombe degli avi miei” (Final Scene) from Lucia di Lammermoor
Rossini Overture to William Tell
Tickets, reserved, $75, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 15, 8 p.m., Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” film with orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Joshua Gersen conductor (CSO debut)
Herrmann Vertigo
Complete film shown on pavilion and lawn video screens. Pre-concert discussion with Michael Phillips, film critic of the Chicago Tribune.
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn, $25. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m., Leonard Bernstein centennial
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Igor Levit piano (CSO debut)
Bernstein Slava! (A Political Overture) (CSO premiere)
Ravel Piano Concerto
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 5 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 19, 5 p.m., Leonard Bernstein centennial
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Frederica von Stade mezzo-soprano
Bernstein Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah)
Mahler Symphony No. 1
Tickets, reserved, $90, $25; lawn, $10. Park opens at 3 p.m.