{"id":2234962,"date":"2026-01-14T20:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2234962"},"modified":"2026-01-14T20:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:17:14","slug":"entertainment-aso-community-orchestra-offers-night-at-the-opera-the-arkansas-democrat-gazette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/entertainment-aso-community-orchestra-offers-night-at-the-opera-the-arkansas-democrat-gazette\/","title":{"rendered":"ENTERTAINMENT: ASO Community Orchestra offers \u2018Night at the Opera\u2019 | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"zephr-arkonline\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>                <!-- Audio Player Container --><\/p>\n<div id=\"audioPlayer\" style=\"display: none;\"><figcaption class=\"player-label\">Let us read it for you. Listen now.<\/figcaption><audio id=\"audio\" controls=\"\" controlslist=\"nodownload\" oncontextmenu=\"return false;\"><br \/>\n                Your browser does not support the audio element.<br \/>\n            <\/audio>\n        <\/div>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><u>THEATER<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bard @ the Bar<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Actors Theatre of Little Rock offers another one-shot &#8220;Bard @ the Bar,&#8221; a reduced (60\u201375 minutes) and purportedly comedic version of William Shakespeare&#8217;s &#8220;Macbeth,&#8221; 7 p.m. Thursday at Fassler Hall, 311 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com\/actorstheatrelr.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><u>MUSIC<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8216;Night at the Opera&#8217;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Arkansas Symphony Community Orchestra, area amateur musicians at various experience levels operating under the aegis of the Arkansas Symphony&#8217;s Education &amp; Community Outreach arm, presents &#8220;A Night at the Opera,&#8221; 7 p.m. Sunday at Calvary Baptist Church, 5700 Cantrell Road, Little Rock.<\/p>\n<p>Soprano Shannon Webb will sing the arias &#8220;Caro Nome&#8221; from &#8220;Rigoletto&#8221; by Giuseppe Verdi and &#8220;O Mio Babbino Caro&#8221; from &#8220;Gianni Schicchi&#8221; by Giacomo Puccini, and, with mezzo-soprano Sarah Dailey, the duet &#8220;Belle Nuit, \u00f4 Nuit d&#8217;Amour&#8221; from &#8220;The Tales of Hoffmann&#8221; by Jacques Offenbach.<\/p>\n<p>The orchestra will play the Prelude to Engelbert Humperdinck&#8217;s opera &#8220;Hansel and Gretel&#8221;; the &#8220;Minuet&#8221; and &#8220;Dance of the Blessed Spirits&#8221; from &#8220;Orfeo e Euridice&#8221; by Christoph Willibald Gluck; and the torrid &#8220;Bacchanale&#8221; from &#8220;Samson and Delilah&#8221; by Camille Saint-Sa\u00ebns.<\/p>\n<p>Alisa Bekebrede, the orchestra&#8217;s principal harpist, will be featured on the &#8220;Bacchanale&#8221; and the arias &#8220;O Mio Babbino Caro&#8221; and &#8220;Caro Nome.&#8221; ASO Associate Conductor Valery Saul will be on the podium. Admission is free. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit arkansassymphony.org.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pre-concert lecture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Music Director Geoffrey Robson will include behind-the-scenes insights and musical snippets and take questions in a pre-concert lecture regarding the orchestra&#8217;s Jan. 24-25 Masterworks program, noon Friday at the orchestra&#8217;s Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, 1101 E. Third St. in Little Rock&#8217;s East Village. Admission is free.<\/p>\n<p>The orchestra will perform Dmitri Shostakovich&#8217;s Symphony No. 5 and, with guest concertmaster Alexander Kerr, the Violin Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Prokofiev, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 and 3 p.m. Jan. 25 at Little Rock&#8217;s Robinson Center Performance Hall.<\/p>\n<p>Call (501) 666-1761 or visit arkansassymphony.org.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stream-able concert<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Schools across Arkansas can stream the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra&#8217;s most recent children&#8217;s concert, &#8220;Fairytales and Fantasy,&#8221; for free through Feb. 13 via the orchestra&#8217;s website, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/arkansassymphony.org\/e-lee-ronnel-music-academy\/youth-programs\/childrens-concert\">arkansassymphony.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The concert, recorded Nov. 14 at the Robinson Center Performance Hall, featured clarinetist Arissa Cholthitchanta, the winner of the orchestra&#8217;s 2025 Stella Boyle Smith Competition, in the first movement of the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 by Carl Maria von Weber with the orchestra. The program also included a &#8220;Harry Potter Symphonic Suite&#8221; by John Williams, &#8220;The Sorcerer&#8217;s Apprentice&#8221; by Paul Dukas and the Overture to &#8220;Hansel and Gretel&#8221; by Engelbert Humperdinck. Valery Saul conducted.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><u>ETC.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rock and gem sale<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Holiday Inn Express &amp; Suites Maumelle, 200 Holiday Drive, Maumelle, hosts a Gem Amethyst Rock Fossil Sale, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Thousands of crystals, minerals, fossils and gems will be available starting at $5, as well as meteorites, cabochons and amethyst cathedrals. Admission and parking are free. Visit <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/events\/1155441773035809\/ 1155441776369142\">facebook.com\/events<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wedding show<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>More than 80 exhibitors will be on hand to help engaged couples plan their weddings at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Wedding Show, 12:30-4 p.m. Sunday at the Statehouse Convention Center, Markham and Main streets, Little Rock.<\/p>\n<p>In its 30th year, &#8220;we are going big,&#8221; says Democrat-Gazette events director Amanda Copley. &#8220;We are bringing Little Rock and Champion Coaches&#8217; trolley onto the stage to create a magical, storybook-inspired experience for our couples.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Attendees can step inside the interactive trolley-themed scene &#8220;filled with floral inspiration and expertise from Arkansas wedding pros,&#8221; according to a news release. Wedding professionals will share insider tips and inspirations in a new expert session titled Ever After Experts.<\/p>\n<p>The show will include fashion shows throughout the day. One couple will win an Ultimate Giveaway, valued at more than $10,000. Prizes will also be awarded throughout the show. Attendees will receive a 2026 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Wedding Planner and a copy of the 2025 Real Weddings magazine, which includes photography, editorial content, checklists for couples and a listing of local wedding-industry businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Sponsors include Dillard&#8217;s. Tickets are $10, $50 for limited VIP (which includes early entry, a T-shirt, a tote bag of swag from sponsors reserved seating for the fashion shows and access to VIP-only prizes). Call (501) 378-3807 or visit arkansasbridalcommunity.com.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><u>AUDITIONS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8216;Come From Away&#8217;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wildwood Park for the Arts is holding auditions for &#8220;Come From Away&#8221; (music, lyrics and book by Irene Sankoff and David Hein), 1-9 p.m. Jan. 25 in the choir room at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock. Callbacks will be at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at Wildwood, 20919 Denny Road. Prepare 32 measures of a song in the style of the show and one contemporary monologue, no longer than 90 seconds, also in the style of the show, and provide a headshot and resume. A complete character breakdown is available at wildwoodpark.org. Bevan Keating directs; Christina Munoz is the choreographer. Rehearsals start Aug. 11; production dates are Sept. 9-20. Auditions are scheduled by appointment on a first-come, first-served basis. Supporting and main roles are paid positions. To schedule, email casting@wildwoodpark.org.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.arkansasonline.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let us read it for you. Listen now. Your browser does not support the audio element. THEATER Bard @ the Bar Actors Theatre of Little Rock offers another one-shot &#8220;Bard @ the Bar,&#8221; a reduced (60\u201375 minutes) and purportedly comedic version of William Shakespeare&#8217;s &#8220;Macbeth,&#8221; 7 p.m. Thursday at Fassler Hall, 311 E. Capitol Ave., [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2234963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2234962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ENTERTAINMENT-ASO-Community-Orchestra-offers-\u2018Night-at-the-Opera.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2234962"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2234964,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234962\/revisions\/2234964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2234963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}