By Jeanne Sager
BETHEL — March 27, 2007 — It’s less than a month away.
Individual tickets for the second season of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts summer concert series will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 23.
Tickets sales start with the return of the New York Philharmonic, the nation’s oldest symphony orchestra once again opening Bethel Woods for the summer on Saturday, July 7 at 8 p.m.
The marches of Sousa, the symphonic dances of Bernstein and the well-loved children’s songs of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” will ring out across the hills of Bethel, the concert ending once again with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and a booming fireworks display.
Last year’s Philharmonic visit sold out the pavilion and lawn, drawing 11,000 music enthusiasts and the curious to Bethel.
Visitors eager to get the first look at the new center were treated to the antics of conductor Bramwell Tovey, host of the Philharmonic’s Summertime Classics series who will return to Bethel this year.
He’ll be accompanied by a concert narrator who has yet to be announced.
The show will bring to life one-time Philharmonic director Leonard Bernstein’s classic musical “West Side Story” and give instrumental voice to the animals of Sergei Prokofiev’s playful tale.
“We are delighted to return to the performing arts center on the historic site of the original Woodstock concert,” said Zarin Mehta, New York Philharmonic president and executive director. “It is a spectacularly beautiful setting – a perfect backdrop for listening to great music under the stars.”
This is the first official announcement of the second season at Bethel Woods, but Marketing Director Matt McNeil promised there will be “many, many more to come.”
Tickets to the show will be first come, first serve, available Monday, April 23, at 10 a.m. at www.BethelWoodsLive.org, by phone at 454-3388, at Ticketmaster outlets or www.Ticketmaster.com.
Call 866-781-2922 for more information. Reserved seat tickets are $65, $45, and general admission lawn tickets are $30 each.