Anticipation is growing for a night at the opera

Opera Western Reserve has made huge strides in its seven years of existence. Ticket sales for its production of “La Traviata” on Friday should equal or top those for last year’s production, “Carmen,” which drew a record 1,500.

It’s a big step up from the first few years, when attendance ranged from 400 to 700.

A rush of ticket buyers turned out the first day tickets went on sale for “La Traviata,” making it the best box-office opening day the OWR has ever had. “People are waiting to buy the exact seats that they want,” said David Vosburgh, director. “We are developing a very loyal audience.”

Educating Mahoning Valley residents about opera is part of the audience-building plan, and OWR has done its part by offering a string of the most popular works in the repertoire.

It also gave free performances for several hundred assisted-living residents and students at its Wednesday night dress rehearsal and several hundred more students at its school performance this morning.

Next year, OWR will stage “Tosca,” and it promises to be dazzling. The giant and newly refurbished pipe organ in Stambaugh Auditorium will be operational by then, and it will be used in the opening scene, which is of a church service.

SPRINGSTEEN-GRUSHECKY CONCERT IN RETROSPECT

Last week’s Joe Grushecky-Bruce Springsteen concerts in Pittsburgh were one (or two) for the ages.

Springsteen started and ended the first night (last Thursday) playing solo with his acoustic and a harmonica. The rapt audience could sense it was witnessing a moment in music history as the Boss delivered heartfelt version’s of “Pittsburgh,” “For You” and “This Hard Land.”

He ended the 21/2-hour show in the same fashion with a heart-stopping, stripped-down version of “Thunder Road.”

Springsteen gracefully turned the old gem in his hand, giving all a fresh look at its brilliance. His soft-and-slow take on the roaring youth anthem turned it into a riveting look in the rear-view mirror.

But those were the bookends of the show. The middle was a full-on blowout. The ever-youthful Springsteen stalked the stage, his excitement energizing the Houserockers band and the 2,300 packed into intimate and historic Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.

Grushecky’s songs always have stacked up well against Springsteen’s, and that fact was clearly demonstrated at the concert.

The two traded off playing their own compositions all night. Grushecky’s “What Did You Do In the War?,” “Never Be Enough Time,” “Homestead” and “I’m Not Sleeping” melded with and complemented Springsteen songs such as “Atlantic City,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “The Promised Land” and “Murder Incorporated.”

LOOK FOR HOCHENDONER IN TWO MAJOR MOVIES

Jeff Hochendoner of Poland is a regular in the major motion pictures being cranked out in Pittsburgh, and he will be seen in two more in the next two weeks.

He has a role in “Unstoppable,” which opens Friday. The film, starring Denzel Washington, is about a runaway train carrying dangerous chemicals. Hochendoner also will appear in “The Next Three Days,” starring Russell Crowe, which opens Nov. 19.

Hochendoner just landed a role in “Mafia,” starring Ving Rhames. Shooting will begin soon, but a release date hasn’t been set.

More INFORMATION about downtown sign

After reading a recent column in this space about old advertising signs in downtown Youngstown, Eldon Streff of Salem called with some first-hand info about the Washburn-Crosby Co. The flour mill was the corporate predecessor of General Mills. It took on the new name in 1928 after a series of acquisitions. Streff was an employee of General Mills.

An old Washburn-Crosby sign that had been covered by the adjacent State Theater was uncovered in 2008 when the theater was razed. The sign had to have been painted no later than 1925, because the theater opened in early 1927. That means it is at least 85 years old — and Streff believes it is considerably older.