The New Haven Symphony Orchestra will open its 2026-27 season with A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Sunday, September 27 at 3:00 p.m. at Woolsey Hall in downtown New Haven. Led by Music Director Perry So, the concert brings together Shakespeare’s comedy and Mendelssohn’s original incidental music in a performance featuring two-time Tony Award winner James Naughton, soprano Lisa Williamson, and the Elm City Girls’ Choir.
Naughton will perform all of the play’s characters, moving among its lovers, fairies, royals, and comic players as selected scenes are woven through Mendelssohn’s score. Rather than presenting the play and music as separate works, dialogue and orchestral music will alternate throughout the concert so that each illuminates the other. Inspired by the celebrated concert interpretation narrated by Dame Judi Dench, the presentation will feature the full orchestra, with Williamson and the Elm City Girls’ Choir joining for the score’s vocal music.
The program includes scenes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Mendelssohn’s incidental music, including the familiar Wedding March; Katherine Balch’s musica pyralis; Howard Swanson’s Night Music; and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Hero and Leander. Together, the works explore the play’s shifts between day and night, reality and fantasy, and the human and fairy worlds.
Maestro So says, “Shakespeare has long been a source of inspiration for composers. But there’s one that might just stand above them all – the work of a 17-year-old, no less: the early Romantic gem that is A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn. This concert will include almost all of the music Felix wrote for the play, as well as a beautiful dramatic monologue by Felix’s equally gifted sister, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. And as a magical summer’s night is itself a deep well of inspiration, works by Howard Swanson and Yale University’s own Katherine Balch have been woven into the tapestry of our presentation of this beloved Shakespeare play and the music inspired by it.”
Tickets and Subscriptions
To purchase tickets, click here or call (203) 693-1486.
Tickets start at $15 for adults. Tickets for youth under 18 are free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Active military receive free admission, and college student tickets are $10 with ID. Subscriptions of three or more concerts save 20 percent, with three-concert packages starting at $36.
Meet the Featured Artists
James Naughton is a graduate of Brown University and Yale Drama School and the winner of two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical, for City of Angels in 1990 and Chicago in 1997. He received the 1999 MAC Award for Best Male Vocalist for his one-man concert Street of Dreams, presented by Mike Nichols, and recorded the PBS Live from Lincoln Center special James Naughton Sings Randy Newman. Naughton directed Broadway productions of Arthur Miller’s The Price and Our Town, starring Paul Newman. His film credits include The Paper Chase, Cat’s Eye, The First Wives Club, The Glass Menagerie, and The Devil Wears Prada. His television work includes Ally McBeal, Damages, Gossip Girl, The Blacklist, and The Affair.
Lisa Williamson has been described by The Washington Post as “silvery of voice” and “a showstopper.” Her career has taken her from Muscat, Oman, to Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and the Indianapolis Brickyard. She has appeared with Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Portland Opera, Opera Ithaca, Opera Theater of Connecticut, and Salt Marsh Opera. As a concert artist, Williamson has performed with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Missoula Symphony, and Hartford Symphony Orchestra. From 2005 to 2010, she served as vocal soloist with the United States Coast Guard Band, giving more than 200 performances across 34 states and Japan. Williamson is Assistant Professor of Voice at Ithaca College School of Music, Theater, and Dance.
The Elm City Girls’ Choir (ECGC) has earned a reputation as one of America’s leading youth choirs. Founded in 1993, ECGC provides advanced performance opportunities and conservatory-level training in vocal technique, musicianship, and conducting. The choir has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Walt Disney World and has recorded with Yale Schola Cantorum, The Whiffenpoofs of Yale, Peter Eldridge, and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. ECGC has appeared on live national television with Diana Ross and completed concert tours of Italy, England, Canada, Mexico, and China.
The NHSO’s 2026-27 Season is sponsored by the English Family. This concert is performed in honor of Inspirational Giving Awardee Anne Darbelnet Hale. The concert is sponsored by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; the Connecticut Department of Economic Development, Office of the Arts; and Southern CT State University.
