Friday night with the Natchez Festival of Music begins at 7 p.m. in the grand ballroom of the Eola Hotel for “In the Mood,” featuring a six-member sessions band specializing in big band era swing music.

The band includes Dan Colbert on piano and vocals Duncan Goff on bass, band leader Bob Davidson on trumpet, David Battaglia on saxophone, Bud Berthold on drums and a special female guest singer, Lynn Beach Smith, from the University of Southern Mississippi symphony department. This group is the nucleus of the Capitol City Stage Band from Jackson, which performs authentic big band selections including Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Pattie Page, Jo Stafford and many others. Just come — with or without someone — and have some fun. Top the charts while you dance away the night with an evening of hit parade big band music.

Then on Saturday evening, you will absolutely love Gilbert and Sullivan-H.M.S. Pinafore at Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center. Curtain time is 7 p.m. This comedic story of love between two classes takes place aboard the British ship H.M.S. Pinafore when the captain’s daughter falls in love with a sailor. The production is packed with musical pieces with trifling lyrics, which immediately draw the audience into the plot with hearty laughter. Enjoy adult cash bar refreshments in The Grape Escape Club Room at Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center one hour before performance. Sunday afternoon at Magnolia Bluffs Casino brings a return of one of the Festival’s most popular events, “A Musical Wine Tasting,” against the gorgeous Mississippi River sunset. Enjoy the wine sommelier in a selection of wines with tapas that complement the flavor profiles of each wine. This event is paired with live musical entertainment by the Festival performers on the backdrop of the late afternoon river sunset.

The final Festival week is a Tosca Weekend, featuring The World of Maria Callas at Waverly Plantation at 7 p.m. May 23 and Puccini’s Tosca at Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. May 24. The doors open one hour prior to each performance with cash refreshments. You will not forget the May 23 evening tribute to internationally acclaimed soprano Maria Callas, one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. In 2006, Opera News wrote: “Nearly thirty years after her death, she’s still the definition of the diva as artist — and still one of classical music’s best-selling vocalists.” Callas was seductive, full of intrigue — and the woman in the life of Aristotle Onassis before Jackie-O. Regional favorite Maryann Kyle takes you on a musical and dramatic journey through the life of the woman known as “La Divina.” Step into The World of Maria Callas and share in the triumphs, struggles, and tragedies that shaped and defined her legacy. Then, at 3 p.m. May 24, you can learn the “Truth About Tosca” in a conversation with Stanley Hauer in the Eola Hotel Lobby. This is a free community event where you can learn more about the true Roman and Napoleonic history behind Tosca, Puccini’s musical masterpiece, while enjoying a new cash bar libation called the “Toscatini.” Tosca, a passionate story set to some of Puccini’s most beautiful music, is a tale of a woman caught between her fugitive lover and the malicious police chief who is chasing him. This dynamic, musical drama is filled with lust, pain, outright evil and life out of control. The auction of the exquisite Mississippi Ben Watts sculpture of Tosca will be hosted immediately before Tosca begins.

Call 601-446-6631 for tickets or purchase at the door. Ask about special discounts for students, parents with students K-12 and active military. Details and tickets are available at natchezfestivalofmusic.com or natchezpilgrimage.com. For more information about the Festival and restaurant, hotel and B&B specials with tickets and to follow the Festival, visit the Festival’s “sponsors, friends and packages” and “contacts and social media” tabs on the Festival’s website.

Come! You will love the music.

 

Jay Dean is the artistic director for the Natchez Festival of Music.