'Opera-tion' is the name of the game this weekend

Toledo will be the scene of a major 'opera-tion' this weekend as three different companies bring three distinct productions to the area. All three are revivals and the sum total reveals the diversity within the world of opera.

The Toledo Opera launches its new season with Ariadne auf Naxos at 8 p.m. Friday in the Valentine Theatre and follows with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday in the same spot. Stars in the Richard Strauss comedy to be sung in English and German with subtitles are Heather Buck, Markus Beam, Barbara Quintiliani, and Michael Hayes. Tickets start at $40 at 419-255-7464 or toledoopera.org.

Live at the MET in HD will open its 2010-2011 season with Wagner's monumental Das Rheingold in a controversial new production at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rave Motion Pictures Fallen Timbers 14. Tickets start at $15 at the door or in advance at movietickets.com. (An encore presentation is set for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27.)

Finally, put on your mod threads and find your way to the Owens Community College Center for Fine and Performing Arts at 3 p.m. Sunday to experience the revival of a 1970s hit rock opera: Alice & Wonderland. Inspired by The Who's huge hit, Tommy, Richard Rosen and Wink Kelso created a fast and compelling tale featuring the key characters in Lewis Carroll's classic children's tale. This family-oriented revival is a production of the Magik Theater in San Antonio, Texas. Tickets start at $15 at 567-661-2787 or owens.tix.com.

•

Organist David Aaron Miller will perform with the Wesleyan Chorus of Monroe Street United Methodist Church at 3 p.m. Sunday in the sanctuary, 3613 Monroe Street. Bernard Sanchez will conduct. The concert is free.

•

Trumpeter-conductor-music man Doc Severinsen, 83, planned to retire to his ranch in Mexico. Instead, he's back on the road, touring with a group he discovered not far from his hacienda in San Miguel de Allende: The San Miguel 5. The Doctor will be in the house at 8 p.m. Saturday to open the Toledo Symphony Orchestra's KeyBank Pops series joined by guitarist Gil Gutierrez, violinist Charlie Bisharat, bassist Kevin Thomas, and percussionist Jimmy Branley. Accompanied by the Toledo Symphony, Severinsen and his group should shake the Stranahan Theater to its rafters. Tickets start at $21 at 419-246-8000 or toledosymphony.com.

The Toledo Symphony will continue its 2010-2011 Classics Concerts with a pair of performances at 8 p.m. Oct. 15 and 16 at the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle. Guest conductor Julien Kuerti will lead a program titled "Powerful Pairings," with music by Samuel Barber, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 Pianists Frances Renzi and Samantha Biniker will solo in the Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat Major. Tickets start at $20 at 419-246-8000 or toledosymphony.com.

•

The Toledo Youth Orchestra opens its concert season at 4 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Peristyle with a varied program of music led by Kenneth Thompson, Wasim Hawary, Brian Troutman, and Mark Irwin. Admission is free to the public.

•

Troubadour Patrick Ball will return to Trinity Episcopal Church for a performance at 7 p.m. Oct. 17. Tickets are $ 12-15 at 419-243-1231.

•

Bowling Green State University will present a free public Faculty Artist Series concert with soprano Ann Corrigan; mezzo Tina Bunce, and pianist Kevin Bylsma, at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Bryan Recital Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

Also on the BGSU campus, the Young People's Concerts will begin with "Wishing on a Star," a salute to Disney, at 11 a.m. Oct. 16 in Bryan Hall. Tickets are $1-2.

Later that day, the BGSU A Capella Choir, Collegiate Chorale, University Men's Chorus, University Women's Chorus and University Choral Society will be in concert at 8 p.m. in Kobacker Hall. For ticket information, contact the center box office weekdays from noon-6 p.m. at 419-372-8171 or toll-free 1-800-589-2224.

•

Bowling Green State University bassoonist Nate Zeisler will be in the spotlight at the Great Performances in the Great Gallery series at 3 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Toledo Museum of Art. This free, public series is sponsored by the museum, BGSU and the University of Toledo.

•

The Toledo Piano Teachers will open their new season with a free public program at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Andrews Church, 3620 Heatherdowns Blvd. Pianist and teacher Barbara Harris will discuss how to introduce a new piece of music. Parents of homeschoolers are encouraged to attend. For further information, contact Darlene Stammer at 734-856-4460.

•

DeVonte Stovall, a senior cellist at Toledo School for the Arts, attended the Sphinx Performance Academy last summer on a full scholarship. The one-week intensive for young musicians of color was held at Oberlin College.