If you go to an orchestra concert during December, there’s a small chance you’ll get to hear the suite from Rimsky-Korsakov‘s opera, Christmas Eve. Usually one movement (the Polonaise) gets programmed in an attempt to get some variety into the program, and to balance out things like Sleigh Ride.

But before you get the hot cocoa and snuggle up by the Christmas Tree, you should be aware that this is not your lovey-fuzzy Christmas Nutcracker. Like any good Russian opera, this tale has devils, a witches’ Sabbath, and a fantastical plot that is bizarre, even for an opera. Or, on the other hand, go ahead and get the cocoa and snuggle up; just blissfully ignore all the dark subject matter and enjoy the music!

The witches’ Sabbath in this piece is fairly tame. By this time this piece was written, the subject had already been overdone – the trend was started by Berlioz nearly half a century before. I suppose Rimsky-Korsakov knew he couldn’t outdo his good friend‘s more famous setting of the same subject!

If your holiday traditions include Christmas presents, consider this a warning – you’ve only got a few more days to get your shopping done! Don’t delay; the traffic only gets worse and you’re more likely to make a bad decision if you shop at the last minute.

Here’s the March of the Toys to get you moving. It began as part of an operetta by Victor Herbert, which was later adapted into a Disney film. The music has been a staple for the holidays ever since! It might provide the inspiration you need to find those last few presents.

And, if you’re going to have a holiday piece stuck in your head while you shop, it may as well be this one.

No matter who you are, you’ve probably heard Gioachino Rossini‘s before, largely because of Looney Tunes. There’s nothing wrong with that. His music is so energizing and playful – perfect stuff for watching the Road Runner outwit Wile E. Coyote and by extension, the Acme corporation. More than that, he doesn’t play any musical guessing-games with his audience. When there’s a melody, you hear it. When it gets faster, you know. No special knowledge required.

This is the overture to his opera “La Cenerentola” – Cinderella.

So why is this post titled “Wait for it …”? The first two minutes of the overture is “sit down and shut up” music. Some quiet notes, a couple big chords, some noodling around, some weird harmonic progressions. Stuff to pass the time as opera patrons rush to their seats before the real action begins. (I’m actually convinced that at 2:09, Rossini was actually setting the words “sit down, shut up, sit down, shut up” to orchestral music.)

So if you get bored or lost early on … wait for it. Things start to get going around 2:15.