Staged RSO Production Will Be A First

RIDGEFIELD — As part of the Ridgefield Playhouse Series, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra will offer its first staged theatrical presentation during its January 10 chamber concert. The performance will include works by Igor Stravinsky and Joseph Haydn and will be at Ridgefield Playhouse.

Stravinsky’s Concerto in E-flat for chamber orchestra, commonly referred to as the “Dumbarton Oaks” Concerto, is scored for flute, clarinet, bassoon, two horns, three violins, three violas, two cellos and two double basses.

Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, known as “The Farewell Symphony,” was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1772. It was written for Haydn’s patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy while Haydn and the court orchestra were at the prince’s summer palace.

Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale,” written in 1918 during World War I, was scored for seven instruments with the story told through narration, dance and song.

“A Ridgefield first: symphony meets theater in a fully staged presentation of Stravinsky’s rarely performed cautionary tale,” said Music Director Gerald Steichen of the unique presentation of “The Soldier’s Tale,” which will feature dancers James Robey and Melissa Gerth, directors of The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, and singer Jeremy Webb, star in the Lincoln Center 2008 production of “The Glorious Ones.”

Tickets are $25 to $50 for adults, $15 to $30 for students, and can be purchased online at RidgefieldSymphony.org, or by calling the symphony’s box office at 203-438-3889.