Academy Award Winner Sir Ben Kingsley Joins Houston Symphony for Opening Night Concert

The Houston Symphony will open its 103rd season at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17, 2016, with an unforgettable performance of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf featuring the orchestra and Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley.

Led by Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Peter and the Wolf, the story of an intrepid boy who helps his animal friends outfox a predator from the forest, will be brought to life by award-winning actor Sir Ben as he recounts the events accompanied by the orchestra. Each character in the story has a musical alter ego, with various instruments representing Peter's animal pals.

Sir Ben is best-known for his titular role in the 1983 film, Gandhi, for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Actor. He has starred in television and film roles with memorable performances in Bugsy, Shutter Island, Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List,House of Sand and Fog and many more. Most recently, Kingsley voiced the panther Bagheera in Disney's live-action remake ofThe Jungle Book. Kingsley was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 for his services to the British film industry.

The storytelling-themed Opening Night program also includes Rossini's Overture to The Thieving Magpie and Richard Strauss'Der Rosenkavalier. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit www.houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.

OPENING NIGHT CONCERT

Saturday, September 17, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conductor

Sir Ben Kingsley, narrator

Rossini: Overture to The Thieving Magpie

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf

R. Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier

Tickets from $29

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