Trolley tracks and Tchaikovsky

As we enter the final days of summer the Symphony Pops is completing its run at the Embarcadero while San Diego Opera brings some culture to the other side of the tracks.

It’s Tchaikovsky time at the Symphony Pops. The concert comprises nine pieces by the Russian master. This is an event based on the spectacular.

The SDSU marching band brass will be augmenting the orchestra. There will be fireworks. Both in the music and in the sky.

The nine pieces are as follows.

"Cossack Dance" from Mazeppa Marche slave (Slavonic March), Op. 31 Nocturne, Op. 19, No. 4 Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy "Valse" from Swan Lake (Le Lac des cygnes), Op. 20a "Valse: Allegro Moderato" from Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 "Valse des fleurs" from Nutcracker, Op. 71a "Valse" from Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66a Overture 1812 (Ouverture solennelle), Op. 49

The Cossack Dance from Mazeppa is somewhat rare as is the Nocturne. The rest of these pieces are mainstays in the Tchaikovsky canon. Anyone going to their first orchestra concert will recognize all of them from popular culture.

The concerts are at Embarcadero Park on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 2, 3, and 4. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

Starting on September 3 the San Diego Opera will be taking a 30-minute version of Rossini’s Cenerentola (Cinderella) to eight trolley stations across the county. The program is cleverly titled Opera on Track.

The concerts will feature young artists associated with the San Diego Opera. The photo on the company’s website is off the 2005 or 2006 outreach ensemble, which was dissolved after the first financial crisis of 2007.

San Diego Opera is making progress in resurrecting opportunities for emerging artists. The Opera on Track initiative promises to expose the artform to thousands of people who might not even know there is a first-rate opera company in San Diego.