UTC Opera, Orchestra plan performances

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students are combining three American operas into one performance directed by Ronald Ulen, which will be presented tonight and repeated Sunday afternoon in UTC Fine Arts Center.

The opening work, Samuel Barber's "A Hand of Bridge," is an evening at home with friends, according to Terry Sanford, UTC Music Department administrative specialist.

"Often deemed one of the 'minute operas,' this work is short but does not lack pizazz," he said. "Its four ariettas delineate the inner thoughts of the four card players, and what was once a light story becomes much deeper. It is a joke with murderous overtones."

Seymoure Barab's "A Game of Chance" is a comedy about three bored knitters who find out what would happen if their dreams came true.

The performance will conclude with Carlisle Floyd's first opera, "Slow Dusk," a Romeo and Juliet-like tragedy that alters the course of a young girl's life.

* Tuesday evening, maestro Jooyong Ahn will direct the UTC Orchestra in Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto and Sibelius' Second Symphony. The UTC Symphony Orchestra is the most advanced orchestral ensemble at UTC.

The Beethoven piece will feature Argentinian pianist Mirian Conti. Juilliard School recently established a scholarship in Conti's honor. She was also selected one of its 100 Outstanding Alumni in 2005 to celebrate the school's centennial.

The Second Symphony is the most popular and most frequently recorded of Sibelius' symphonies, Sanford said.

If You Go

* What: UTC Opera Presents Three American Operas.

* When: 7:30 tonight, 3 p.m. Sunday.

* Admission: $7 and $5.

* What: UTC Orchestra concert.

* When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Admission: Free.

* Where: All performances in UTC Fine Arts Center, corner of Vine and Palmetto streets.