Ambassador Cooks Up Headliner Feast

Russian pianists, dancers from Spain, and chamber orchestras from Britain and Italy will be part of an international parade of performers taking the stage at Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium this year.

American musicians are well represented on the calendar as well.

Tickets are sold out for tonight’s performance by Mel Torme and the McGuire Sisters.

Pianist Ellis Marsalis, father of young jazz stars Branford and Wynton Marsalis, appears with Marcus Roberts for an afternoon of “cool jazz” on Feb. 3. Tickets range from $19.50 to $22.50.

L’Orchestre de Paris, with sisters Katia and Marielle Labeque as piano soloists, plays Mendelssohn’s Concerto in A-Flat Major for Two Pianos and Orchestra on March 5. Tickets cost from $50 to $60.

The Jose Greco Spanish Dance Company gives two performances March 17, with ticket prices ranging from $19.50 to $22.50.

Master flutist James Galway appears with I Solisti Veneti, a chamber orchestra from Italy, on April 7. Tickets range from $44.50 to $47.50.

Also in April, the English Chamber Orchestra plays Beethoven, Dvorak and Mozart under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman. Tickets for the April 18 event range from $44.50 to $47.50.

Later in the month, Larry Elgart and his Manhattan Swing Orchestra will perform “Hooked on Swing,” with a 16-piece big band, vocalists and swing dancers. Elgart will be at the Ambassador on April 23 and 24, and tickets are $17 to $20 for each performance.

And April 30, international superstar cellist Mstislav Rostropovich will be in recital at the Ambassador. Tickets are $39.50 and $36.50.

May brings “The Pirates of Penzance,” Lee Ritenour and one of the Soviet Union’s top pianists to the Ambassador.

Opera A La Carte will stage Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Pirates” on May 4 and 5 with Donald Adams as the Pirate King and company director Richard Sheldon as the Major General. Tickets are $24.50 to $27.50.

Ritenour and an ensemble group will appear for the first time at the Ambassador on May 9, playing Brazilian bossas and sambas, pop, jazz and fusion for ticket prices ranging from $24.50 to $27.50.

The final performance of the 1990-91 season is May 16, when Russian pianist Elisso Bolkvadze makes her West Coast debut. Bolkvadze was a prize winner in the 1989 Van Cliburn Competition. The evening costs $12 to $15.

As with any venue, the performances, dates and prices are subject to change. Check with the Ambassador for complete information.