Mozart Salutes Planned for ’91

The Orange County Philharmonic Society is lining up several concerts for 1991 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death, society executive director Erich A. Vollmer said Wednesday.

Among them will be a March concert by the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, conducted by Hanz Graf. Other spring concerts on a Mozart Bicentennial series that is still being finalized will feature pianist-conductor Philippe Entremont and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Additionally, Vollmer said negotiations are under way to bring the Salzburger Marionettentheater to Orange County for at least four performances. At its home in Salzburg, where it was founded in 1913, the company uses intricately carved and costumed marionettes in full-length productions of operas, mostly by Mozart but including works by Tchaikovsky, Rossini, Offenbach and Johann Strauss. The troupe tours periodically in the United States.

“We had wanted to bring them to Orange County when they toured the West Coast last year, but we didn’t have the right venue,” Vollmer said.

For the troupe’s local dates in December, 1991, Vollmer said the society hopes to schedule productions of “four or five of Mozart’s operas, including one performance for children” at the new 750-seat Irvine Theatre. The society also will be offering a Mozart lecture series to coincide with the concerts.

Dates and ticket prices will be announced when the full season scheduling has been confirmed, Vollmer said.