The Mikado is one of Gilbert and Sullivan's best-loved creations, and that's saying something, given their roster of enduring hits. The two-act comic opera has not only added phrases such as "let the punishment fit the crime" to the lexicon, but delighted audiences for more than 125 years with its convoluted tale of two ill-fated lovers who must wed others -- or else. Launching this year's Fort Worth Opera Festival, the new production still features fake executions and a cast of characters with preposterously made-up Japanese names like Yum-Yum and Nanki-Poo. Directed by John de los Santos, this version is set in modern Japan but promises to deliver the plot twists and music that have made it a favorite. For more information see our Opera Festival preview, page 1E.
Saturday-June 4. Bass Hall, Fort Worth. $15.40-$137.50. 817-731-0726; www.fwopera.org.
Brahms, Barber and more
It's not quite its 25th anniversary celebration -- look for June 6-7 concerts to mark that event -- but Fort Worth's longest established professional chamber music group is giving a free performance Monday that you might consider an appetizer to the official fete. The Spectrum Chamber Music Society program will include Hindemith's Scherzo for Viola and Cello; Variations for Four Drums and Viola by Michael Colgrass; Sonatensatz for Violin and Piano by Brahms; Introduction, Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Piano by Carl Maria von Weber; and Samuel Barber's Cello Sonata.
7 p.m. Monday. First United Methodist Church's Leonard Chapel, 800 W. Fifth St., Fort Worth. Free. 817-877-0688.
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