The Cleveland Orchestra Adds Three Events to Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival

The Cleveland Orchestra announced three new programs as part of its second annual Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, which runs May 15 to May 26 at Severance Music Center in collaboration with eight partner organizations, including Tri-C JazzFest, Assembly for the Arts, and Cleveland Public Library. 

On May 18, young children and families are invited to join Caldecott Medalist and New York Timesbestselling author/illustrator Christopher Raschka in two performances of The Magic Flute for Kids, an enchanting one-hour journey featuring storytelling, projected illustrations, live musical highlights from the opera, and interactive learning opportunities. 

Power Dynamics: Diverse Perspectives on Classical Music brings together thought leaders and artist advocates on May 19 to discuss the state of diversity in classical music today, both locally and nationally. Later that evening, celebrated radio host, commentator, and writer Terrance McKnight curates and leads a unique mix of conversation, reflection, and music through the lens of different Magic Flute protagonists such as Monostatos, the enslaved overseer of the wizard Sarastro's temple, and the Queen of the Night, a revenge-seeking sovereign of the nocturnal realm. 
 

On May 21, seven-time Grammy Award winnerTerence Blanchard makes his Severance Music Center debut with Absence, an evening of music honoring his mentor, jazz icon Wayne Shorter. He is joined on stage by longtime collaborators the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet.