• Portland Ovations opens its season Thursday with a concert by contemporary jazz trumpeter Chris Botti. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. at Merrill Auditorium.
A Grammy Award winner, Botti fuses jazz and pop. Since the release of his 2004 album “When I Fall In Love,” Botti has become the largest-selling American jazz instrumental artist. He has worked with the world’s most acclaimed artists, including Andrea Bocelli, Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Simon and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. For this concert, Botti will be joined by a band.
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Tickets range from $45 to $65. Contact PortTix at 842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium or portlandovations.org.
• In another season-opener, Portland Stage Company mounts the drama “The Morini Strad” beginning this week. In this play by New England playwright Willy Holtzman, concert violinist Erica Morini hires a violin maker to restore her legendary Stradivarius. The aging diva proves to be a prickly client, though the two develop a friendship in this drama about the sacrifices one makes for artistry.
It opens for previews Tuesday, with opening night Friday. The play runs through Oct. 23.
For tickets, $15 to $39, visit the Portland Stage box office at 25A Forest Ave., call 774-0465 or buy online at portlandstage.org.
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