Sylvia McNair Photo by: Roni Ely
Las Vegas has much to offer lovers on St. Valentine’s Day, but visitors with a predilection for George Gershwin might want to look north of the Strip, where The Smith Center for the Performing Arts hosts the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s presentation of Pops III: A Gershwin Valentine. Conductor Peter Bay directs the orchestra and guest soprano Sylvia McNair as they interpret Gershwin’s more romantic compositions such as “The Man I Love,” “Shall We Dance?,” “I Got Rhythm,” “’S Wonderful” and “Summertime,” as well as additional orchestral selections and overtures from Porgy and Bess and Let ’Em Eat Cake.
McNair, who performed alongside Kathleen Battle in a Grammy-winning recording of Handel’s Semele and won Best Classical Vocal performance for her 1995 baroque album The Echoing Air, turned increasingly to the Great American Songbook as her career progressed. Her schedule often includes concerts dedicated to Gershwin at the classical world’s most prestigious venues, including a June 2013 appearance with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of conductor Leonard Slatkin.
Bay, who has been music director and conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra for 16 seasons, worked with McNair for Here to Stay: The Gershwin Experience, a production featuring pianist Kevin Cole that was performed across the country.
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, starting at $26 plus tax and fee, reception $50 additional, 361 Symphony Park Ave. 702.749.2000
