Tickets for these performances are on-sale and available at the Harris Theater box office located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Dr., by calling 312-334-7777 or by visiting www.HarrisTheaterChicago.org.

Program information for the month of January at the Harris Theater is as follows:

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble with Artistic Director Jon Faddis

Celebrating “The Great Summit”:  The Music of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington

Friday, January 15, 2010, 8:00 pm

Tickets: $15-$45

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble pays tribute to Jazz greats, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington in what is sure to be an evening of fabulous music. Highlights of the performance include big band arrangements of Armstrong classics, such as “What a Wonderful World,” “Swing that Music,” and “Stardust,” as well as Ellington favorites pulled from the CJE’s own library.

Harris Theater and Contempo present

Double-Bill: Where Jazz and Contemporary Music Intersect

Saturday, January 16, 2010, 7:30 pm

Tickets: $25, $40

Cliff Colnot, conductor

Susanne Mentzer, mezzo soprano

eighth blackbird

Chris Potter, saxophones

Kenny Werner, piano

This exciting co-presentation of Contempo’s Double-Bill: Where Jazz and Contemporary Music Intersect

features important Chicago premieres and combines the best of living composers, cutting-edge performances by contemporary artists, and memorable appearances by jazz musicians. Featuring Grammy Award-winning sextet eighth blackbird and renowned mezzo soprano Susanne Mentzer, who performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus this past October and wowed both critics and audiences with her portrayal of Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Chicago Opera Theater in 2006, as well as jazz musicians Chris Potter and Kenny Warner, Double-Bill will include the Chicago premiere of Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer Bernard Rands’ work, now again – fragments from Sappho for ten-piece ensemble, along with Kurt Weill’s September Song. The  performance will also feature the Chicago premiere of Taiwanese composer Yu-Hui Chang’s Binge Delirium for solo percussion and conclude with a jam session with jazz musicians saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Kenny Werner.

Shawn Brogan Allison    Towards the Flame

Bernard Rands              now again – fragments from Sappho

Kurt Weill                      September Song

Yu-Hui Chang                Binge Delirium for solo percussion

Set with Chris Potter, saxophone, and Kenny Werner, piano

The Dance Center of Columbia College presents

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Moon Water

Friday, January 22 and Saturday, January 23, 2010, 8:00 pm

Tickets: $30 – $65

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Asia’s leading contemporary dance company, returns to Chicago blending Eastern and Western dance styles with Lin Hwai-min’s internationally renowned signature work, Moon Water. Lauded worldwide for its innovation, grace and extreme physical fluidity, Moon Water is a contemporary exploration of the Tai Chi Tao Yin movement, set to JS Bach’s exquisite Six Suites for Solo Cello. During this breathtaking performance, water sweeps across the entire stage and is reflected by a wall of mirror suspended midair, creating a stunning on-stage work of art. The company, made up of two dozen dancers with training in Tai Chi Tao Yin, meditation, martial arts, Chinese Opera movement, modern dance, ballet and calligraphy, execute Lin Hwai-min’s choreography beautifully – varying from the weighty stillness of a stone sculpture, to floating lyricism, to fierce martial-art like attacks. “Mr. Lin has accomplished what creative artists rarely succeed in doing today: challenging the audience with a work unlike any other,” says The New York Times. “Moon Water is not about meditation but is a meditation in itself.”

UIC Department of Surgery presents

Barbara Frittoli
Sunday, January 24, 2010, 3:00 pm

Tickets: $50 – $500; Student and UIC Staff discounts available

Barbara Frittoli will join Members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, led by conductor Mattia Rondelli for this exciting fundraising event for the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Surgery. The program includes Beethoven Seventh Symphony and Berlioz Les Nuiz d’Ete for soprano and orchestra. This special event will use the fine art of music to raise funds for the special art of robotic surgery under the direction of Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti. Originally from Italy, Dr. Giulianotti moved to Chicago two years ago to advance the art of robotic surgery, and now is the director of robotic surgery at UIC. Dr. Giulianotti has performed over 2,100 minimally invasive surgeries with over 1,000 robotic procedures.

As a classical pianist and the world’s premiere robotic surgeon, Dr. Giulianotti has sought to unite these two worlds by creating a new organization,” The Art of Healing, The Art of Music”. He emphasizes “Surgery helps the body while opera soothes the soul”.

Platinum $500 Tickets: A portion of the proceeds of this purchase will fund the Robotic Surgery Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Platinum ticket holders are invited to a private pre and post concert reception, meet and greet with Barbara Frittoli, and will hold premiere seating.

Gold $250 Tickets: A portion of the proceeds of this purchase will fund the Robotic Surgery Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Gold ticket holders are invited to a private pre concert reception and will hold preferred seating.

Harris Theater presents

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 7:30 pm

Tickets: $45 – $75

Following an appearance in the UK, including a performance in celebration of the 80^th Anniversary of the Royal Variety Performance which Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo promise to delight Chicago audiences with an exciting new program demonstrating their playful, entertaining view of classical ballet in parody form and en travesti. Hailed as “wholly spectacular” and “stunning” by The New York Times, the Trocks, as they are affectionately known, will amuse and inspire Chicagoans with their blend of their loving knowledge of dance, their comic approach, and the astounding fact that men can, indeed, dance en pointe without falling flat on their faces! The fact that men dance all the parts–heavy bodies delicately balancing on toes as swans, sylphs, water sprites, romantic princesses, angst-ridden Victorian ladies–enhances rather than mocks the spirit of dance as an art form, delighting and amusing the most knowledgeable, as well as novices, in the audience. This Harris Theater presentation of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is back by popular demand after a sold-out engagement at the Harris in 2007.

Judith Neisser is the Presenting Sponsor of the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement.

Swan Lake- Act II (Le Lac Des Cygnes)
Patterns in Space
La Vivandiere
Majisimas

Old Town School of Folk Music presents

Rosanne Cash

January 29 2010 at 8:00 PM

Tickets: $42, $45

Johnny Cash’s daughter has held her own since she ventured into the country music scene in the late ’70s. With what Rolling Stone calls “a voice that floats like smoke,” plus an ability to “belt it out,” the Grammy Award-winning Rosanne Cash has topped Billboard’s charts and earned acclaim for both country and crossover songs. With the recent release of “The List,” a celebrated new album of 12 covers culled from a list of 100 essential country songs her father gave her in 1973, Cash collaborates with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Wilco. New country fans and traditionalists alike tip their hats to this star in her own right. Radio sponsor for Rosanne Cash is WXRT.

Harris Theater Family Series presents

New Millennium Orchestra

DJ Beethoven

Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 1 pm

Tickets: $10

Join Francesco Milioto and the New Millennium Orchestra on a fresh, urban electronic musical journey to the opera house and cinema, then on to a jazz club and underground lounge and discover a brand new way to look at music and musicians! In its inaugural presentation, DJ Beethoven will enlighten audiences as to how the orchestra and its musicians have burst out of the concert hall and now can be found in everyday places – including a DJ’s turntable! – influencing every genre of music.

The Slusar-Goldman Family is the Lead Sponsor of the DJ Beethoven family series performance.

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All programs, prices and dates are subject to change.

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Opened in 2003, the Harris Theater’s mission is to partner and collaborate with an array of Chicago’s emerging and mid-sized performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. The Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929 and today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city’s world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and international companies.  To learn more about the season at the Harris Theater, visit www.harristheaterchicago.org or call the box office at 312-334-7777 to request a brochure.

For additional information about the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago’s state-of-the art 1,470 seat performance venue, please visit www.harristheaterchicago.org.

For high-res images please contact Betsy Shea, Harris Theater for Music and Dance at 312.334.2459 or bshea@harristheaterchicago.org.

The Harris Theater is pleased to announce that UBS is serving as the 2009-2010 Season Sponsor.

The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the Irving Harris Foundation for its leadership support of the Presenting Fund.

United Airlines is the Official Airline of the Harris Theater.

Judith Neisser is the Presenting Sponsor of the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement.

The Slusar-Goldman Family is the Lead Sponsor of the DJ Beethoven family series performance.

Windy City Media Group is the Media Partner for the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is the Lead Underwriter of the Harris Theater’s Rental Subsidy Program.

The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s support of the theater’s collaborative partnerships.

The Harris Theater is partially supported by the CityArts Program 4 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

English mezzo-soprano Diana Montague has withdrawn from all performances in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s revival of The Marriage of Figaro Feb. 28-Mar. 27 due to ill health, Lyric’s general director William Mason announced today. The distinguished singer was to have made her Lyric Opera debut as Marcellina in the Mozart opera.

American mezzo-soprano Lauren Curnow will portray Marcellina (role debut) in all 11 performances of The Marriage of Figaro at Lyric.

“We send best wishes to Ms. Montague for a swift recovery,” said Mason. “We are fortunate that Ms. Curnow, a former member of our Ryan Opera Center who has graced our stage several times previously, is available on such short notice.”

Lauren Curnow debuted this fall at Florence’s Maggio Musicale as the Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen; she debuted in the same production in 2008 at Japan’s Saito Kinen Festival, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and directed by Laurent Pelly. An alumna of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Curnow has been heard at Lyric as Berta/The Barber of Seville (2007-08), Clorinda/Cenerentola and Papagena/The Magic Flute (2005-06), the Fox/The Cunning Little Vixen (2004-05), and Alisa/Lucia di Lammermoor (2003-04). Other engagements include Hansel/Hansel and Gretel (Opera Company of Philadelphia, 2007), Elle/La Voix Humaine and Second Sprite/Rusalka (Wexford Opera Festival, 2007), and Donna Elvira/Don Giovanni (Austin Lyric Opera, 2006). Also this season, the lyric mezzo-soprano performed as a soloist in a concert of folksongs by Luciano Berio at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. In Lyric’s 2007-08 Barber of Seville, the “other” Figaro opera, Curnow was praised by Opera News for her “unusual comedic flair…and her quite fine voice. Berta afforded her a proper aria and she made a delightful thing of it.”

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (in Italian with projected English translations)  11 performances beginning at 7:30 p.m., except for matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Feb. 28 (mat.), March 3 (mat.), 6, 9, 12 (mat.), 15, 18 (mat.), 20, 22, 24, 27

Lyric Opera has presented The Marriage of Figaro in eight different seasons previously since 1957, most recently during the 2003-04 season. “La folle journée” (“The Crazy Day”) was the subtitle of Beaumarchais’ comedy on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart based his opera, one of the greatest creations in the entire repertoire. It centers on a single frantic day in the life of Aguas Frescas, the castle of Count Almaviva (baritone Mariusz Kwiecien). The Count has designs on Susanna (soprano Danielle de Niese), maid of the Countess (soprano Anne Schwanewilms). Susanna is to be married this very day to the count’s valet, Figaro (bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen), which doesn’t stand in the way of the Count’s keeping an assignation with her. But he reckons without Figaro and Susanna who – aided by the Countess – conspire to teach the philandering Count a lesson. Others figuring prominently in the plot are the amorous young page, Cherubino (mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato); an older couple, Dr. Bartolo (bass Andrea Silvestrelli) and Marcellina (mezzo-sopranoLauren Curnow), who turn out to be Figaro’s parents, to his amazement; Susanna’s devious music master, Basilio (tenor Keith Jameson); and Antonio, the Count’s gardener (baritone Philip Kraus).

The production will be conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (Feb. 28-Mar. 18) and Leonardo Vordoni (debut, Mar. 20-28). The original production is by Sir Peter Hall; Herbert Kellner is stage director, with sets and costumes by John Bury and lighting by Duane Schuler.

The Dr. and Mrs. Edwin J. DeCosta and the Walter E. Heller Foundation Production. Revival made possible by Mr. & Mrs. Dietrich M. Gross.

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Guild Board of Directors celebrates its 26^th Fantasy of the Opera in the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive., on Saturday, February 6, 2010, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Guests at the $400 per-person black-tie fundraiser will begin the evening with specialty cocktails or champagne and gourmet hors d’oeuvres prepared by some of Chicago’s top restaurants: Carnivale, Coco Pazzo, Devon Seafood Grill, Il Mulino, Lloyd’s Chicago, Lockwood Restaurant, N9NE Steakhouse, One North Kitchen & Bar, Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush, Piccolo Sogno, primebar, Prosecco, Province, and Shikago Restaurant.

This season’s Fantasy Raffle features American Airlines (Lyric’s official airline) round trips for two to Paris (business class) and round trips for two (business class and first class) on American Airlines to any destination in the world; and a six-month membership at The Spa at Trump Tower.

This season’s Fantasy Silent Auction (held in the Nancy W. Knowles Lobby) features a 4-night stay at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado, including ski passes and equipment rental; a dinner and fireworks spectacular at the exclusive Independence Day celebration at the Chicago Yacht Club; a chic and practical Prada hobo bag; plus an enticing array of weekend getaways, luxury items, sports-event tickets, opera tickets and memorabilia, and more.

The Cabaret performance in the Ardis Krainik Theatre begins at 8 p.m. and features stars of Lyric’s current and previous seasons. Music Director Sir Andrew Davis will serve as Master of Ceremonies;  Nicole Cabell (Elixir of Love), David Cangelosi (Tosca), Mark Delavan (Cav/Pag), Susan Graham (The Damnation of Faust), Danielle de Niese, Joyce DiDonato, and Philip Kraus (The Marriage of Figaro), Joseph Kaiser (Faust), and members of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center will perform selections from the great American songbook, Broadway classics, and light operatic fare.

After the Cabaret, guests will enjoy a festively elegant seated dinner prepared by Calihan Catering. At 10 p.m. the “Go-Diva” Chocolate Lounge opens in the lower-level Opera Club. Liqueurs and specialty coffees will be served, along with sweet indulgences courtesy of Godiva Chocolatier. Guests will enjoy dancing to music performed by Ken Arlen’s Indigo in the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Grand Foyer, with sizzling décor by Kehoe Designs.

Fantasy of the Opera is made possible by deeply appreciated support from the following: Platinum Grand Benefactor and Lead Sponsor: Harris Private Bank; Golden Grand Benefactors An Anonymous Donor, Bain & Company, Baker & McKenzie, closerlook, inc., Deloitte., Ernst & Young LLP, Jenner & Block LLP, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Jordan II/Jordan Industries, Richard P. and Susan Kiphart, KPMG LLP, Mayer Brown LLP, and Donna Van Eekeren; Silver Grand Benefactors An Anonymous Donor, Eisen Family Foundation, James G. and Laura G. McCormick, Allan and Elaine Muchin, Peer Pedersen, Spencer Stuart, and Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP; and Benefactors BBJ Linen and Quarles & Brady LLP. The Fantasy Raffle Sponsor is American Airlines, the official airline of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

All proceeds benefit Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Valet parking is complimentary to all guests.  To make a reservation and for more information, visit www.lyricopera.org\fantasy or call (312) 827-5656.

For a sneak peek at some hot silent-auction items that are Lyric exclusives, go to http://www.makeitbetter.net/make-a-difference/charity-auctions

The schedule for the Harris Theater winter/spring 2010 season includes a variety of acclaimed Chicago favorites, Chicago premieres and engagements with individuals and organizations that are seldom seen in Chicago. Joining such popular and acclaimed Chicago institutions as River North Chicago Dance Company, Music of the Baroque, eighth blackbird, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Chicago Opera Theater and Chicago Jazz Ensemble is highly anticipated return of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan; the introduction of the Harris Theater’s Broadway Luminaries series, including engagements with composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheimand Chicago area native Christine Ebersole; the annual Contempo Double-Bill, featuring eighth blackbird and jazz musicians Kenny Werner and Chris Potter; classical guitarist Sharon Isbin and violinist Mark O’Connor; The Magnetic Fields; and the conclusion of the Harris’ new Eat to the Beat $5.00 lunchtime dance series.

The Harris Theater is pleased to share that UBS is serving as the 2009-2010 Season Sponsor. The Harris Theater’s 2009-2010 season has been made possible with support from United Airlines, the Harris Theater’s Official Airline. Judith Neisser is the Presenting Sponsor of the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement; the Irving Harris Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of the Sharon Isbin and Mark O’Connor engagement; the Feitler Family Fund is the Presenting Sponsor of the Stephen Sondheim engagement; BlueCross Blue Shield of Illinois is the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the Christine Ebersole engagement; Lori Gray Faversham and Family is the Lead Sponsor of the Cross that River family series performance; The Slusar-Goldman Family is the Lead Sponsor of the DJ Beethoven family series performance. Windy City Media Group is the Media Partner for the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Sharon Isbin and Mark O’Connor, Stephen Sondheim and Christine Ebersole engagements. The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the Irving Harris Foundation for its leadership support of the Presenting Fund. Rental subsidies for select user groups have been provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Lead Underwriter of the Harris Theater’s Rental Subsidy Program. Additionally, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has provided support for collaborative partnerships with the Harris Theater to the following arts and cultural organizations: Alianza de las Artes Puertorriquenas, Chicago Opera Theater, eighth blackbird, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Music of the Baroque and Urban Gateways. All performances are on The Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage.

Tickets to all Harris Theater performances are available at the Harris Theater box office located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Dr., by calling 312-334-7777 or by visiting www.HarrisTheaterChicago.org.

Program information for the Harris Theater’s 2010 winter/spring season is as follows:

Classical Music

Music of the Baroque
“Glover Conducts Mozart-The Requiem”
Friday, February 5, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 – $75

Jane Glover, conductor
Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra
Arianna Zukerman, soprano
Phyllis Pancella, mezzo-soprano
Scott Ramsay, tenor
Stephen Morscheck, bass