BROOKLYN BUZZ: Opera plus a concert to lure music-lovers

A two-for-one-deal will never go out of style for cash-conscious Brooklynites, who should take note of an opportunity over the next two weekends to get both opera and a concert in one sitting, courtesy of the Regina Opera Company.

The double-bill will feature four performances of Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” plus an alternating schedule of operatic and piano concerts on March 3, 4, 10 and 11, at 3 p.m. inside Regina Hall, 1210 65th Street.

On March 3 and 11, the concert portion of the evening will highlight Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 featuring pianist Karol Ishizeki. On March 4 and 10, the concert will include selected arias and duets from “La Boheme” and “The Barber of Seville,” the famous overture from which will also be performed.

According to Francine Garber-Cohen, one of Regina Opera’s directors, the creative pairings were made with the balance between tragedy and comedy in mind.

“’The Barber of Seville’ is a comedy which we think goes well with the tragic ‘verismo’ opera [‘Cavalleria Rusticana’] that tears your heartstrings and is a slice-of-life opera that may have even been based on a true story,” said Garber-Cohen. “Then with ‘La Boheme,’ the scene that we’re doing is a happy scene, where the two young lovers meet in the last half of the first act. And of course the Beethoven is a little something different because we don’t feature the orchestra all that often.”

Garber-Cohen adds that the performances are full of variety and are family-friendly, since, “opera is a tragedy, but nobody dies on stage and there are no fistfights. The opera is up to our usual fabulous standard of performances.”

Tickets are $25 for general admission, $20 for senior citizens and college students under age 25, $5 for teenagers, and free for children under age 12. They can be purchased at the box office. The performance will have one intermission and refreshments will be available.

For more information, contact reginaopera@yahoo.com or 718-259-2772, or visit www.reginaopera.org.