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Mozart's Attic - Thursday, Feb 4th 10:00 pm

If you didn't know any better and got plopped into 19th century Europe, you'd probably think that this guy Shakespeare was a pretty good librettist or ballet impressario rather than a substantial playwright himself.

It seemed for a few decades that half the major composers were tripping over each other adapting the Bard's plays into operas, ballets, and other musical forms. Gounod, Bellini, Verdi, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Faure, and others gave it a try -- often several tries.

We can't get to them all, but we'll hear a few of them this week, including the complete incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelssohn.

Originally from central Massachusetts, Jay has called the Space Coast home for more than 30 years. He began his association with WFIT in the late '90s as a dumpster diver for office furniture in response to a broadcast plea for a new chair from a frustrated disc jockey. (WFIT has come a long way since.)