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The fable of the ant and the grasshopper counsels that summer is the time to plan ahead for the winter. That sage advice motivates local performing arts groups to sell season subscriptions.
For one thing, subscribers get a pre-determined respite from the inevitable winter doldrums. Other, more tangible perks sometimes include overall lower ticket prices, guaranteed same seats for every show, and first dibs on tickets for other programs. More importantly, subscriptions can help keep performing arts companies out of the cold.
"What it allows us to do is have money up front to start building a season, putting shows together," says Gary Voss, box office manager for Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley. "It helps you budget if you know up front that there's a certain amount of money there. Most major arts organizations have a subscriber base and rely heavily on a subscriber base."
For those inclined to stock up for winter, here's a sampling of the upcoming seasons for four major South Bay companies.
Opera San José's second season in the California Theatre features classics, new and old. The opera opens its season with the Pulitzer-winning The Crucible, which will be directed by Timothy Near, artistic director of the San José Repertory Theatre.
Sept. 10-25: The Crucible
Robert Ward and Bernard Stambler's operatic retelling of Arthur Miller's allegorical play about the Salem witch trials.
Nov. 19-Dec. 4: A Masked Ball
A love triangle leads to murder in this passionate Verdi opera.
Feb. 11-25: La Bohème
Starving artists find love and face loss in Puccini's classic.
April 22-May 7: Don Giovanni
Mozart's masterpiece retells the story of Don Juan's exploits—and comeuppance.
Subscriptions are $220-$340. Call 408.437.4450 or see www.operasj.org.
Symphony Silicon Valley's 2005-06 season is a lineup of seven concerts that offers everything from myriad Mozart works to an Ellington jazz epic to a tango-tinged Piazzolla piece, as well as top guest soloists and conductors.
Oct. 1-2: "A Midsummer Night's Dream on the Waterfront About Beethoven"
Music by Mendelssohn, Bernstein and Beethoven, with guest conductor Patrick Flynn.
Oct. 29-30: "American Originals"
Works by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and David Amram, with Amram appearing as guest soloist. Paul Polivnick and Dennis Wilson are guest conductors.
Dec. 10-11: "Mozart Festival"
A program of Mozart and Tchaikovsky with soloists from the orchestra and guest conductor George Cleve.
Jan. 21-22: "Mozart and Brahms"
Music by—who else?—Mozart and Brahms, with soloist Stephen Prutsman and George Cleve conducting.
March 18-19: "Mozart Requiem"
An all-Mozart program with a guest choir and conductor George Cleve.
April 1-2: "Nakamatsu Plays Grieg"
Van Cliburn winner Jon Nakamatsu is the soloist in this concert of Beethoven, Grieg and Sibelius, with guest conductor William Boughton.
May 13-14: "Tango Fantastique"
Music by Debussy, Piazzolla and Berlioz, with guest soloist Ju-Young Baek and conductor Paul Polivnick.
Subscriptions are $96-$476.
The San José Repertory Theatre gets personal for its 25th anniversary season with a lineup of plays that focus on extraordinary individuals, starting with Craig Bohmler and Mary Bracken Phillips' musical The Haunting of Winchester, a tale of local eccentric Sarah Winchester.
Sept. 3-Oct. 2: The Haunting of Winchester
World premiere musical about the building of the mansion that became the Winchester Mystery House.
Oct. 13-Nov. 15: The Tricky Part
Martin Moran's one-man show about how he came to terms with his molestation as a teen.
Nov. 26-Dec 30: Pride and Prejudice
A comedy adapted from Jane Austen's novel of cross-class romance in early 19th-century England.
Jan. 28-Feb. 26: The Immigrant
A play based on the true tale of a Jewish man who fled Czarist Russia to find a new home in rural Texas.
March 18-April 16: The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow
A comedy about a brilliant teenage agoraphobic and her efforts to find her birth mother.
April 29-May 28: Iphigenia at Aulis
San Francisco's Dance Brigade performs a world premiere adaptation of a drama by Euripides.
June 10-July 9: 2 Pianos, 4 Hands
A comedy about two boys who dream of becoming concert pianists.
Subscriptions are $92.50-$339. Call 408.367.7255 or see www.sjrep.com.
Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley keeps audiences on their toes with a diverse season that leaps from Greek tragedy to a celebration of the cinema to Shakespeare and beyond. The company's annual production of The Nutcracker (Dec. 15-24) is not part of a regular season subscription, but subscribers do get first crack at the best seats. The Little Mermaid (May 19-20), danced by Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley students, is also a subscription add-on.
Oct. 6-9: World premiere of artistic director Dennis Nahat's new setting of Stravinsky's Firebird; Flemming Flindt's Phaedra, based on Euripides play.
Nov. 17-20: World premiere of Cinema Soundtracks, by Daryl Gray; Dennis Nahat's Grand Pas De Dix.
March 9-12: Romeo & Juliet, choreographed by Dennis Nahat, set to Prokofiev's music.
April 20-23: Dennis Nahat's Slavonic and Hungarian Dances, plus a program to be announced.
Subscriptions are $80-$240. Call 408.288.2800 or see www.balletsanjose.org.
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