A preview of music, film, theater, dance and more

Bravura ballet

Ballet Legere’s 40th anniversary production of “The Nutcracker” will run from Dec. 6-7 at Dominican University in River Forest. Artistic Director Donna Vittorio has assembled a troupe of professional dancers from Chicago-area companies as well as local child and adult amateur dancers. General performances are at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Dec. 6 and at noon and 4 p.m. on Dec. 7 (balletlegere.org, 708-488-5000). Weekday performances on Dec. 4, 5 and 8 are geared for school field trips and senior groups.

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Rising son

Matteo Bocelli will bring his Falling in Love tour to the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan at 8 p.m. on Dec. 12. The son of world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli, Matteo has earned legions of fans thanks to his dashing good looks, beautiful tenor voice and unique blend of classical and modern pop. His 2018 duet with his father, “Fall on Me,” has amassed more than 123 million views on YouTube and 400 million streams globally, and he has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Colosseum in Rome. His current tour is taking him to Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Dublin and Portugal as well as the United States. For more, click here.

Celebrating Salieri

Though best known today for his fictional rivalry with Mozart, Antonio Salieri was a prolific and successful composer in his own right. The Chicago Opera Theater will honor the 200th anniversary of Salieri’s death with the Chicago premiere of his comedy, “Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle” (“Falstaff, or The Three Tricks”). Premiered in 1799 and inspired by the plot of Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” “Falstaff” follows the misadventures of the arrogant and bumbling knight as he schemes to seduce two married women — only to be outwitted by their clever tricks. The opera will be performed on Dec. 3, 6 and 7 at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago. For more, click here.

Channeling Ol’ Blue Eyes

Grammy Award-winning vocalist Mark Tremonti will celebrate the 110th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s birth with a tribute concert at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Des Plaines Theatre. A marquee guitarist and singer best known for his tenures with the rock groups Creed and Alter Bridge, Tremonti pivoted dramatically in 2022 with the release of “Tremonti Sings Sinatra.” His musical homage to the Chairman of the Board earned raves reviews from Billboard, CBS New York, the Washington Post and Carson Daly, who called the album “Bar none, the best Frank Sinatra cover I’ve ever heard.” Tremonti donated 100% of the album’s proceeds to the National Down Syndrome Society. For more, click here.

Giving tree

A pair of Italian Americans teamed up with several other local artists to transform the remains of a 200-year-old elm tree into a work of art. Rising up from the grounds of Ragdale in Lake Forest, “Diversity of Birds” was created by Jyl Bonaguro and Mia Capodilupo and fellow artists Margot McMahon, Anthony Heinz May, Nicole Beck, Julia Sulmasy, and Fredy Hauman Mallqui. Located at 1260 N. Green Bay Road, Ragdale is an artist residency program and community (ragdale.org). The Ragdale Tree Project was spearheaded by Chicago Sculpture International (chicagosculpture.org). The CSI has collaborated with the Chicago Park District to create more than 50 public sculptures from dead and dying trees. For more about Chicago Sculpture International, click here. For more about The Ragdale Tree Project, click here.

Sumptuous showcase

European history buffs will have a field day at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Deering Family Galleries of Medieval and Renaissance Art, Arms and Armor. Unveiled in 2017, the expansive exhibit showcases nearly 700 objects from the museum’s rich holdings of art from 1200 to 1600 as well as an extensive arms and armor collection. Among the Italian items on display are a terra-cotta altarpiece by Florentine Benedetto Buglioni, works of art for the bedchambers of Tuscany’s merchant elite, and a tempera-on-panel diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion (pictured). For more, click here.