If music be the food of love... we say turn up the volume! This Saturday, May 31 at 9 a.m., Classic 107 is dishing up a Shakespeare-inspired playlist to celebrate the return of Shakespeare in the Ruins (SIR), Manitoba’s acclaimed outdoor theatre company. Their 2025 season kicks off June 5 with Macbeth, followed by a production of Waiting for Godot (yes, that one), beginning June 13.
Known for their promenade-style performances in the scenic Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park, SIR brings timeless works to life under Manitoba skies. What better way to set the stage than with a morning of music inspired by the Bard himself?
Here’s what’s coming up on Saturday’s playlist:
🎭 9:00 a.m. – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
Performed by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
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💔 Star-crossed symphony! Tchaikovsky turns Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy into a sweeping sonic soap opera with duels, drama, and that unforgettable love theme.
🎭 9:23 a.m. – Roger Quilter – “Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun”
From Five Shakespeare Songs, performed by Phillip Sly (bass-baritone) and Michael McMahon (piano)
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🕯 A tender musical farewell. Quilter sets a funeral text from Cymbeline to gently mournful music that soothes the soul and stills the heart.
🎭 9:26 a.m. – Guillaume Lekeu – Étude Symphonique No. 2 (“Ophelia”)
Performed by the Liège Philharmonic, conducted by Pierre Bartholomée
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🌊 A tragic muse. Belgian composer Lekeu channels Ophelia’s fragility and heartbreak into this hauntingly beautiful symphonic poem.
🎭 9:35 a.m. – Sergei Prokofiev – Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet, arranged for two pianos
Performed by Martha Argerich and Sergei Babayan
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🎹 Double the pianists, double the drama! This fiery four-hands arrangement brings the feud-filled world of the Montagues and Capulets to life with bold rhythms and moody harmonies.
🎭 9:42 a.m. – Felix Mendelssohn – Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado
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🧚♀️ Fairy dust and forest hijinks! Mendelssohn’s sparkling overture captures the enchanted world of Shakespeare’s comedy with elfin lightness and youthful energy.
🎭 9:54 a.m. – Giuseppe Verdi – Macbeth – “Patria oppressa”
Performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by Georg Solti
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The witches are waiting. This powerful chorus of the oppressed sets the tone for Verdi’s dark, dramatic take on Macbeth—the perfect musical teaser before SIR’s production opens June 5!
Coming soon to the stage... and the ruins
Shakespeare in the Ruins returns with promenade-style theatre among the ruins of the Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park:
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June 5: Macbeth – a chilling tale of ambition, fate, and daggered dreams
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June 13: Waiting for Godot – Beckett’s absurdist classic, directed with a unique SIR twist
For tickets, performance times, and everything you need to know for an unforgettable night under the stars, visit sirtheatre.org.
Don’t miss it: tune in at 9 a.m. sharp this Saturday for an hour of Shakespearean splendour!