Uhhhh, what was that falling from the sky earlier this week? Could it be that winter will actually come? Don’t panic. Just find someplace cozy to settle in with a good book, a good story, good jazz or good chamber music. Don’t know where to do that? Fortunately, I have a few suggestions. Read on.
Thursday, Nov. 13
CCM Opera, “Cendrillon” | 8 p.m. Patricia Corbett Theater, University of Cincinnati. 513-556-4183. DETAILS: Verdi and Puccini are more famous, but France in the late 19th century had its own operatic star composer in Jules Massenet. Out of more than 30 operas, Massenet’s most enduring is “Manon,” but “Thaïs” (I promise you know the “Meditation”) and “Werther” are also powerful tragedies. For its fall opera production, the College-Conservatory of Music mines a very different vein in Massenet’s “Cendrillon,” his 1899 setting of the Cinderella fairy tale. Go hear it so you, too, can wonder why Massenet isn’t more popular. Mark Gibson conducts and Brian Robertson directs. Repeats at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
(Photo by Mikki Schaffner)
Cincinnati Storytelling Festival | 7 p.m, Know Theatre, Over-the-Rhine. 513-300-5669. DETAILS: Who doesn’t like a good story? The Cincinnati Storytelling Festival is now in its fifth year, and it’s marking the occasion by moving to a new venue, Know Theatre. On tap are professional storytellers Charlotte Blake Alston, Bil Lepp and Paul Strickland, the festival’s Covington-based artistic director. Themed performance sessions run through Saturday, including a free round of children’s stories at 2 p.m. Saturday. Others include stories dubbed spooky, “good weird,” funny, old tales reimagined and the storytellers’ favorites. Check the full schedule for details and tickets.
CCJO, “The Dude” | 7 p.m. The Redmoor, Mount Lookout Square. DETAILS: No, Quincy Jones’ first name was not “legendary,” even though it looks like it. He deserved it. From his start in 1953 with Lionel Hampton’s band, he became a record company executive, bandleader, composer (he studied with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen), arranger and producer. He was the driving creative force behind – wait for it – legendary recordings by the biggest names in popular music, from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, not to mention his own music, and he scored dozens of movies and television shows. For the first anniversary of his November 2024 death, the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra offers a tribute titled “The Dude” for Jones’ 1981 studio album as part of its big band series.
Friday, Nov. 14
CCAC Golden Ticket | 6-8 p.m. Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Clifton. 513-497-2860. DETAILS: The Clifton Cultural Arts Center’s annual Golden Ticket exhibition has become the center’s marquee event. The juried art show, presented by Summerfair Cincinnati, showcases diverse, talented artists living or working within 50 miles of the CCAC. This year’s exhibition includes work by about 60 artists. Learn more c/o of our Casey Weldon. Opening reception and awards presentation begin at 6 p.m. Friday. Exhibition runs through Dec. 12.
Cincy Shakes, “Love’s Labour’s Lost” | 7:30 p.m. Otto M. Budig Theater, Over-the-Rhine. 513-381-2273. DETAILS: Not quite a Christmas show – that opens next month – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company eases into the holiday spirit with one of the Bard’s great comedies. A group of friends agrees to foreswear romance to focus on learning, but we all know that won’t last long, will it. (We won’t talk about the bummer surprise character death near the end). This production is set in the ancient days of big hair and pastel fashion – the 1980s. Runs through Dec. 6.
Pyramid Hill Lights | 6 p.m. Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum, Hamilton. 513-868-8336. DETAILS: Yes, it’s already time for holiday light shows. (With daylight fading so early after the time change, why not?) Pyramid Hill says it’s plugging in more than a million lights for its annual drive-through show. Once again, the park is working with local artists to work on the displays, and it’s collaborating with 4Wall Entertainment, which specializes in lighting installations and has worked on BLINK Cincinnati, to enhance this year’s holiday show. They’ll keep the lights on for you through Jan. 4.
Cincinnati Museum Center, “Holiday Junction” | Queensgate. 513-868-8336. DETAILS: If you’d prefer your holiday wonder indoors, the Duke Energy trains (that’s the CG&E trains to natives) roll out Friday for the 79th year and keep rolling through Jan. 5.
Caffè Vivace, George DeLancey Quartet | 7 p.m. Walnut Hills. 513-601-9897. DETAILS: If you’re not thrilled with the chillier weather, warm jazz is a proven antidote. In town this weekend is the George DeLancey Quartet, featuring its namesake Cambridge, Ohio-born bass player. Joining him are saxophonists Jonathan Beshay and Eddie Bayard, and drummer James Gaiters. All four have played with the biggest names in jazz. In April, a new work by DeLancey, commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center, was premiered by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Saturday, Nov. 15
Books by the Banks | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, downtown. 513-369-6900. DETAILS: Celebrate your love of books at Greater Cincinnati’s annual regional book festival, featuring national, regional and local authors and illustrators. I know, it’s not technically at the Banks, but it is still packed with author panels covering every major genre and author talks. There also are plenty of family events through the day.
Art Academy of Cincinnati, “Story Art” exhibition | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Over-the-Rhine. 513-562-6262. DETAILS: Designed to coincide with Books by the Banks, the Art Academy mounts an exhibition of book illustrations created by more than two dozen regional artists. The works range from traditional painting to digitally produced art, photography and sculptures, as well as a display of the printed books the illustrations are from. (If preferred, opening reception is Friday, the 14th, 5-8 p.m.) Runs through Dec. 12.
Sunday, Nov. 16
Matinée Musicale, Bridget Kibbey | 3 p.m. Memorial Hall, Over-the-Rhine 513-977-8838. DETAILS: The folks at Matinée Musicale are keeping their Ohio theme going with Findlay, Ohio, native Bridget Kibbey. The harpist is at home with the masters – Bach, Debussy, Ravel, Bartok – while being a bold advocate of new works. She’s already commissioned concerti from Vivian Fung and Brazilian composer Joao Luiz, and she plans to premiere two newly-commissioned concerti in 2027. Her program here is solidly classical, including her own transcriptions of Albeniz, Bach and Debussy, plus works by Britten, Faure … and Bridget Kibbey.
Rutter’s “Gloria” in a later orchestration for full orchestra.
Rutter “Gloria” | 3 p.m. Armstrong Chapel United Methodist Church, Indian Hill. 513-476-7218. DETAILS: The Cincinnati Choral Society and the Blue Ash-Montgomery Symphony Orchestra team up on a program built around John Rutter’s “Gloria.” Although he’s seen as quintessentially part of the British choral tradition, Rutter’s “Gloria” has an American accent: It was commissioned and premiered by a chorus in Nebraska. CCS artistic director Philip Clary conducts. The Choral Society will be augmented by the Indian Hill High School Premieres chorus, and BAMSO’s Michael Chertock will conduct additional brass and percussion arrangements.
Monday, Nov. 17
Woodward Theater, “King Baby” | 7:30 p.m. Over-the-Rhine. 513-345-7981. DETAILS: For an historic performance venue renovated and reborn, the Woodward has become a haven for interesting films, too, including movies made from classic live concerts. Now it’s venturing even further afield with films like 2024’s “King Baby,” an award-winning dystopian and disturbing psychological case study wrapped in a supposed fairy tale. What happens when a wooden “queen” appears in a kingdom inhabited only by a king and a servant?
Tuesday, Nov. 18
The scherzo from Daniel Hass’ Quartet No. 1
Chamber Music Cincinnati, Renaissance Quartet | 7:30 p.m. Memorial Hall, Over-the-Rhine; 513-977-8838. DETAILS: In what promises to be one of the most electric performances of the season, Chamber Music Cincinnati welcomes the Renaissance Quartet, comprising violin phenom Randall Goosby (already nearly 30!) and his buddies from Juilliard, violinist Jeremiah Blacklow, violist Jameel Martin and cellist Daniel Hass. All embrace the inclusive attitude toward music that has made Goosby a favorite as a soloist. The quartet’s program covers all the bases you’d expect, from mainstream – Brahms – to unjustly undiscovered – Florence Price – to new – Hass’ own first quartet from 2021, titled “Love and Levity.”
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