If music be the food of love . . .

Young Chang

Music director Carl St. Clair compares Felix Mendelssohn’s composition

for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to a musical magic carpet.

Shakespeare’s words ride the carpet and so do the actors who utter his

writing to life.

This experience is what St. Clair, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra,

actors from South Coast Repertory, the Women of the Pacific Chorale and

guest soloists are striving for with next week’s “Shakespeare, In Love”

concert at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Actors Nike Doukas and Mark Harelik will read short scenes from

Shakespeare’s “Dream” between the symphony’s performance of Mendelssohn’s

orchestral treatment of the same play. The concert, part of the

symphony’s Classical Connections Concert Series, will include

performances of Tchaikovsky’s overture for “Romeo and Juliet” and

selections from the “Courtly Dances” section of composer Benjamin

Britten’s opera “Gloriana.”

The Britten piece isn’t related to Shakespeare, but concert organizers

took into account the timeliness of the dances, which were performed in

the royal court during Shakespeare’s time and fit the mood of his works.

“Gloriana” was a name for Queen Elizabeth, during whose reign the Bard’s

work flourished.

Despite the title, the concert has nothing to do with the Academy

Award-winning film “Shakespeare in Love.” The name instead refers to the

theme of Shakespeare’s works -- the folly of love, the tragedy of love --

and how it inspired composers to create music.

“The music by Mendelssohn is so beautiful, and I was just amazed by

how much the music tells the story,” said Doukas, a well-known SCR

presence whose recent credits include “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Everett

Beekin” and “The Beard of Avon.” “The music takes it that much farther.”

Jim Medvitz, vice president of orchestral operations for Pacific

Symphony, said one of the challenges in putting on a production like

“Shakespeare, In Love” is being thorough.

“To blend these theatrical schools so it doesn’t appear like a stage

play that went awry or a concert that didn’t develop,” said Medvitz, who

is in charge of coordinating and staging the concert. “We’re trying to

combine and be convincing in that challenge.”

Doukas said the combination of symphonic music, acting and singing

makes for an “intense” sensory experience.

St. Clair, during an e-mailed interview from Germany, noted that the

blend is rare for a traditional concert audience.

“The challenges are timing, flow and the rhythm of the spoken word and

how it relates and combines with music,” the conductor wrote.

But when it comes to Mendelssohn, music and written text seem to go

hand in hand. The composer grew up familiar with Shakespeare’s works

translated into German. His family even staged small Shakespeare shows in

the home.

“So his music reflects his long time love and appreciation for

Shakespeare’s [Midsummer Night’s] Dream,” St. Clair wrote. “The music

that Mendelssohn has composed sets just the right mood and reflects the

magic and mystery of this wonderful play.”

FYI

* What: “Shakespeare, In Love”

* When: 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

* Where: Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center,

600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

* Cost: $21-$56

* Call: (714) 755-5799