Austin Opera continues to be an outstanding asset to Austin. The number of children in the audience at the opening performance of Carmen was astonishing; even more astonishing is that they stayed to the end and were not restless. These were elementary-school students. Perhaps they were in attendance to see and hear siblings perform in the children’s chorus, which was excellent, as was the large adult chorus.

The orchestra grows better and better and better. Under the baton of Richard Buckley, it rendered true justice to the beautiful score.

The principal singers embodied their characters well, and they sang exceptionally, solo and with other members of the cast. Austin Opera is especially fortunate to have such strong singers in the roles of Don Jose and Escamillo. It sometimes seems that the male members of a cast do not rise to the level of the female singers, but such is not at all the case in this production.

Set in Spain, the four-act opera by Georges Bizet is sung in French. Above the stage, there are supertitles in English. The translation is good and the coordination of the titles with the action on stage was always precise.

Although there was perhaps an element of almost silent-screen action in the last act, with somewhat overwrought physical action and dramatic movement, the direction of the large cast was otherwise supremely managed throughout, taking every advantage of the versatile and handsome set.

In some performance of this work, professional dancers take the stage in certain scenes, in this one the singers appeared to execute the inventive choreography themselves, and very well.

On line there’s a synopsis of the plot. Those who do not know the opera should ignore it and be drawn in by the momentum of the unfolding action.

Acts I and II last 90 minutes. A 25-minute admission is followed by acts III and IV, running 60 minutes, so that the total performance time is about three hours.

Advance tickets are available for the remaining shows: 7:30 PM, Thursday, November 16; and 2:30 PM, Sunday, November 19.

Performances are at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 West Riverside Drive. Early arrival allows enjoyment of the scenic terrace looking toward downtown.

Be warned: parking at One Texas Center that was once free, with designated spaces for Car2Go vehicles, is now behind a barrier and costs $5; a credit card must be used. Opera-goers did not know how to get in to the lot (there are bollards and drop barriers), and they did not know how to exit.

The parking annoyance, however, is no reason at all to miss this memorable production of Carmen.

The Pirates of Penzance brings you all these, and more, thanks to the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin.

Look forward to an accomplished chorus, an expert 19-piece orchestra, and vocal music of distinguished quality from each of the lead and featured singers. Every comedic bit is carried out so well that it elicits outright laughter from the entranced audience.

If you don’t know the story, it won’t be spoiled for you here. Just remember, though, that “pilot” and “pirate” can sound very much alike. Thanks to the wonderful acoustics of the venue and also to the assistance of the supertitles above the stage (to aid in understanding when the tempo is breakneck), there’s not the least difficulty in hearing all and following every little twist and turn of the plot (there is one and it’s complicated).

The Father’s Day Sunday performance was attended by many, many children, who sat rapt and thoroughly engaged. Not one family departed during the intermission; all remained for the entire performance, which is quite a testimonial to the delight afforded to all ages.

In the Worley Barton Theater every seat is a good seat; there are no bad ones. Every seat enjoys an excellent view. Every member of the audience hears every note well, enjoying to the fullest not only the clever comic songs, but the rousing pieces and the sweetly sentimental numbers as well. This production is theater at its finest and music so wonderful that a person listening only and not seeing a bit of the spectacle would nonetheless be privileged beyond compare.

There’s a lively printed program. The cast bios are most entertaining, and so are the candid images of cast rehearsals.

The house was full. All advance tickets appeared to have been sold, and additional seats were brought in for those who arrived planning to buy tickets at the door.

Five performances remain. You owe it to yourself to attend at least one. You will smile, you will laugh, you will be thoroughly happy during the show, and for many, many days afterward.

The summer production of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin is a delight for all ages. Elementary-school students enjoyed the entire Father’s Day Sunday matinee performance with complete attention from start to finish. A large orchestra, a cast that sings, dances, and acts at the highest level, and a fully theatrical production presented to the audience in an intimate theater with excellent acoustics are a credit to all who have had a hand in bringing this wonder of live theater to Austin. So stellar is the cast that it’s not possible to single out any particular singers, old favorites or new ones, but the combination of earnest sincerity and comic exaggeration cannot be surpassed, bringing the clever lyrics and spritely music to brilliant life. As the audience headed home, hearts were light and smiles were omnipresent. Remaining performances at the Brentwood Christian School are: Friday (today), June 24, 7:30pm; Saturday (tomorrow), June 25, 2 pm, and 7:30 pm; and Sunday, June 26, 2 pm, Everyone sings with the utmost clarity; all performances are supertitled so that not one nuance fails to be appreciated. This show is guaranteed enjoyment. Don’t fail to treat yourself and your friends and family to a very special event.

Yes, it’s silly; yes, it will make you laugh. The Sorcerer is the current production of the Gilbert & Sulllivan Society of Austin.

A mysterious potion in a teapot causes upheaval in a country village. Love is everywhere but perhaps not always where it should be.

Not least among the pleasures is a full accompaniment for the excellent vocalists provided by the Gillman Light Opera Orchestra under the expert direction of Jeffrey Jones-Ragona: nineteen instrumentalists!

There’s no stinting on the fine chorus: ten men and ten women! The principal parts are sung by old favorites and new. Each is wonderful in his or her individual fashion, and there’s no justice in singling out anyone.

All are easily understood, thanks to the small auditorium with its excellent acoustics. There are, nevertheless, supertitles for all dialogue and lyrics. The libretto is available on line, but why spoil the story in advance if it’s unfamiliar? Keep the suspense. Read it after the performance.

Direction, costumes, lighting, set and sound design, stage business, and choreography are all just as they should be. We attended a performance preceded by an hour-long children’s program. Little children attended that and then stayed for the two-act show afterwards. The Sorcerer is truly a delight for audiences of all ages.

There are no bad seats in the house at the Worley Barton Theater, Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar. Remaining performances are:

Thursday, June 25; 7:30 pm
Friday, June 26; 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 27; 2 pm and 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 28; 2 pm

Ticket prices are most reasonable, from $7 to $25. The Sorcerer is a sparkling jewel, one not to be missed.

If you miss the Austin Opera production of Don Giovanni (the May 3 Sunday matinee at 3 pm is the last live performance, with a KMFA live broadcast Don Giovanni beginning at the same time), you’ll miss a highlight of 2015 music and theater in Austin.

The music is always a delight to hear whether or not the opera is staged in such a fashion as to awake emotions and promote deep engagement with the plot. So many times, for example, Donna Elvira is almost a figure of ridicule; not so in this staging. The entire cast sings beautifully, alone and with other members; the sets and lighting are evocative and speedily set up for each succeeding scene so that no virtually no time is expended in waiting and so that the momentum never flags. All stage business is inventive, but never to the extent that outpourings of song are hindered. The singers are not just vocally agile; they are physically agile, to the extent that they appear able to enjoy second careers as acrobats and dancers. It would be unfair to single out any individual member of the cast for particular distinction: everyone sounded wonderful, as did the orchestra and chorus.

The Friday night audience was attentive from beginning to end; no departures were observed during the sole, brief intermission; enthusiastic applause lasted and lasted. Check on line for available remaining tickets for Don Giovanni (as low as $15 and there are no bad seats), and don’t forget the live broadcast. What a triumph!

Circo Hermanos Vazquez+ is smartly paced and choreographed and very beautiful as a spectacle. The costumes are not extravagant, but they are fresh and very becoming to the artists, who are of the first class. The band is live. The clowns are laugh-out-loud funny.

Circo Hermanos Vazquez is set up at Highland Mall through this coming Sunday, April 12, when there will be shows at 2, 5, and 8 pm. Monday through Thursday weekday shows are at 7:30 pm. On Friday and Saturday, the shows begin at 6 and at 9 pm. Tickets may be purchased on line; the box office is open every day beginning at 10 am. Discount coupons admitting a child under 10 accompanied by an adult with a paid-for ticket are to be found around town; there was a plentiful supply at Chango’s on the Drag. Doors open a half hour before the spectacle begins.

The popcorn (palomitas) was fresh; the beverage was Coca-Cola. Opportunities for souvenir photographs with the members of the circus are numerous.

Photographs and unedited videos give only the merest notion of what a very fine show this is, definitely a treat for all ages.

This production of H.M.S. Pinafore captivates. The orchestra’s bigger and brighter than ever (19 members counted), and so’s the chorus (28 members counted). Both the men and the women of the chorus excel, and for once the men get to dance more than the women. The orchestra is bold and bright, a true pleasure to hear.

Austin favorites Holton Johnson, Russell Gregory, Janette Jones, and David Fontenot reprised starring roles to great applause; Gil Zilkha as the captain and Carol Brown as Josephine, his daughter, shone. We attended the Sunday matinee that was preceded by a one-hour program for young people. H.M.S. Pinafore held the attention of children for the entire performance. There was no difficulty at all in understanding the snappy lyrics, so clearly sung, but there are supertitles above the stage for anyone who may find them to be a helpful supplement to the performance.

This show is crammed with songs that are not to be forgotten. Most are jaunty and funny; some are a bit more serious and are treated so (for example, “Refrain, audacious tar”). Pinafore will make happy people happier and will brighten the darkest day.

Remaining performances are: Thursday, June 19, 7:30 pm; Friday, June 20, 7:30 pm; Saturday, June 21, 2 pm and 7:30 pm; and Sunday, June 22, 2 pm. All seats are reserved; tickets may be purchased on line for pick-up at the theater (Brentwood Chistian School, 11908 North Lamar).

Thank you, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin!

Learned pigs were new to us. All the acts were fast-paced and expert and some were quite novel. There were feats of strength and balance by two acrobats without props of any kind. A rapid roller-skating act within a very small circumference was astonishing, and so was a high trapeze act that was more about balance than about swinging; the audience scarcely dared to breathe during these. Liberty horses with a high quotient of Arabians were very pretty, and so were Bactrian camels and zebras. A woman on a braced pole was graceful in her strength. The little boys in the audience were especially mesmerized by a dual wheel-of-death act. A pair of bad-boy clowns and a Martian clown new to Earth were both really funny, both for children and adults, although the “undocumented” Martian undergoing an interrogation was for the grown-ups.

The tent is air-conditioned and there are molded-plastic seats affixed to the bleachers, all really very comfortable. There was an ATM machine for those who didn’t bring enough money for souvenirs. Refreshments included Coca-Cola, bottled water, palomitas/popcorn, nachos, algodones/cotton candy, alitas/chicken wings, and more. Little boys couldn’t resist the light swords, and little girls loved their lighted butterfly wands.

A live band of at least six accompanied almost all of the acts, at a volume that was sufficient but not too loud. Initial safety announcements were delivered in both Spanish and English; thereafter, all was in Spanish except for the act of the trained pigs, whose accompanying people spoke English followed by an announcer’s translation into Spanish.

The Web site for Circo Hermanos Vazquez does not appear to have been updated for this season’s new performers. It does announce performances for today at 6 pm and at 9 pm. The location is in the Highland Mall parking lot, with ample parking. Call 1-877-829-7839 to confirm current information.

More pictures are available; the audience is permitted to make videos and take still photographs so long as there’s no flash. And there’s a wonderful opportunity for souvenir pictures of children attending; during the brief intermission, the smallest children may be photographed atop a very small saddled pony and one of the learned pigs is available to be included in a photograph.

This is a circus for all ages and there’s no need to understand Spanish to love it, although that does help with some of the jokes!

Pagliacci has come and gone now, but all lovers of music should mark their calendars for the next two Austin Lyric Opera productions: The Marriage of Figaro (January 31; February 2, 3, 2013) and Gounod’s Faust (April 25, 27, 28, 2013). These promise to be the giant crowd-pleasers that Pagliacci was. The orchestra just gets better and better and all was most pleasing about this production. We saw the Friday performance, and then confirmed our appreciation by listening to the Sunday live performance on KMFA 89.5-fm. The audience loved the surprise encore concert after the performance, when, accompanied by the orchestra, leading singers were joined by the chorus (also excellent) in song.

The Mikado will make you happy. You will still be singing the songs the next day. If you’ve never been to a performance of this show, treat yourself and at least one other person to one of the five remaining performances (Thursday, 16 June, 8 pm; Friday, 17 June, 8 pm; Saturday 18 June, 3 pm and 8 pm; and Sunday, 19 June, 3 pm).

The Mikado is theatrical magic in an intimate setting. An 11-member men’s chorus, a 12-member women’s chorus, a 16-piece orchestra, and outstanding singers and actors in the named roles join to form an ensemble that is even greater than the sum of its great parts. Bright costumes, clever sets, and ingenious choreography and stage business contribute mightily to the fun. The fans as wielded by the cast practically deserve their own credits in the program.

We attended a children’s matinee and were present for part of the hour-long program that preceded the performance the musical comedy. Nearly every child remained for the performance itself, and for the entire performance. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve enjoyed this comic light opera (thanks to the Austin Gilbert & Sullivan Society and to student performances at UT), it’s always fresh and funny.

At this performance, there were supertitles projected above the stage. Even though the lyrics are in English and the singers enunciate very clearly, I think that, since the rapid pace of some of the songs can be confusing to first-time audiences, being able to see the words promotes even more out-loud laughter from the crowd than usual.

The Mikado, the annual major production of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin, is playing at the Travis High School Performing Arts Center, where the amenities include comfortable seating with plenty of legroom, strong air-conditioning, and ample parking. Tickets are discounted when purchased in advance on line or by telephone.

The music is very beautiful, and it is played and sung with the excellence that it deserves.