(PLAINFIELD, NJ) -- Plainfield Symphony Orchestra begins the new year with their annual free family concert, "Beautiful Beginnings," on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 3:00pm, featuring several famous overtures, led by Maestro Charles Prince. The concert takes place at the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church located at 716 Watchung Ave, in Plainfield.

The term “Overture” means “opening” and is an instrumental piece played before an opera, ballet, or musical play that sets the tone and mood for the performance, and often includes melodies that will be heard later in the work.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) composed his four-act opera The Marriage of Figaro, K.492 (Le nozze di Figaro) in 1786. It is known as an “opera buffa” (comic opera) based on a stage comedy of the time. His Overture to the Marriage of Figaro is one of the most well-known overtures and is often performed in concert. Typical of most opera overtures of the 18th century, it contains no music from the opera itself but captures its spirit.

La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) is a melodrama or opera semiseria in two acts, composed in 1817, and is most famous for its overture. The overture captures the pomp, pathos, and humor found in the opera. Listen for the trademark Rossini technique of employing a slow building “Rossini Crescendo.”

Die Fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) tells the legendary tale of a cursed sailor, wandering the seas in search of his true love. The overture presents themes associated with the characters and ideas of the opera itself but also vividly conjures up the turbulent atmosphere of the sea.

Candide (1956) by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) is an operetta in the style of Offenbach and Gilbert and Sullivan based on a 1759 novella by Voltaire. The sparkling Overture to Candide touches on tunes from the show, is in a sonata form with elements of canonic imitation and presents a “Rossini Crescendo” to close.

Concerts are held at the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church located at 716 Watchung Ave, Plainfield NJ 07060. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.plainfieldsymphony.org

This program is made possible by funds from the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.