Worry not, classical music fans. Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean you can’t get your fix of fine concert performances. Nor does it mean you have to sacrifice a couple of precious hours of a glorious Minnesota summer in order to experience one. There are plenty of outstanding outdoor classical events this summer, from parks to taproom patios. Here are some we recommend. And they’re all free, except where indicated.
St. Croix Valley Opera
Each summer, the sound of operatic arias, duets and choruses bounces off the bluffs above the St. Croix River, courtesy of this company. Baritone Justin Spenner starts things this Thursday with a 7 p.m. recital at Lakefront Park in Hudson, Wis. But the main event is the Grand Concert along the river in Stillwater (7:30 p.m. July 26), where soprano Hailey Clark, mezzo-soprano Meridian Prall, tenor Joseph Dennis and bass-baritone Reginald Smith Jr. will sing their hearts out, accompanied by conductor Joseph Li and a chamber orchestra. (Lowell Park South, Sam Bloomer Way, Stillwater, scvopera.org)
Mississippi Valley Orchestra Crewtet
One of our most solid civic orchestras breaks down into smaller groups in the summer and visits patios outside area taprooms. There, the musicians perform arrangements of film music and songs by a plethora of pop artists, from the Beatles, David Bowie and the Police to Hozier, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan. (6-8 p.m. July 10, Aug. 14 and Sept. 11, Lake Monster Brewing, 550 Vandalia St., St. Paul; 6-8 p.m. Aug. 7 and Sept. 4, Bauhaus Brew Labs, 1315 NE. Tyler St., Mpls., mississippivalleyorchestra.com)
Minneapolis Pops Orchestra
Every Saturday and Sunday night in July, you can head to the Lake Harriet Band Shell and find a first-rate pops program of classical works, film music and show tunes performed by the Twin Cities’ top freelance classical musicians and a few current and former members of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. (7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 5:30 p.m. Sundays through July 27, Lake Harriet Band Shell, 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy., Mpls.; mplspops.org)
Ordway Inside Out
A large video wall and a first-rate sound system allow you to sit in St. Paul’s Rice Park and experience some excellent performances from the primary tenants of the neighboring Ordway Center. On July 12, you can catch a concert by the String Queens, followed by baritone Bradley Greenwald’s inventive “Schubert Mixology” (Aug. 2), Minnesota Opera’s production of the mariachi opera “Cruzar a la Cara de la Luna” (Aug. 9) and Richard Egarr leading the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in five of J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concertos” (Aug. 16). (7 p.m.; Rice Park, 4th and Washington streets, St. Paul, ordway.org)
Bloomington Symphony Orchestra
Manny Laureano might be retiring from his long-held post as principal trumpeter of the Minnesota Orchestra, but he’ll still be conducting this accomplished local orchestra as it performs a concert of classical themes found in “Looney Tunes” cartoons. (7 p.m. July 29, Normandale Lake Band Shell, 5901 W. 84th St., Bloomington, bloomingtonsymphony.org)
Lakes Area Music Festival Block Party
If you’re up Brainerd way, you should visit this festival, which has become a summer destination for musicians from several of the country’s top symphony orchestras and some first-rate singers, as well. While most of the music is inside the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts, the festival also hosts a gathering by the Mississippi River for a concert of classical and pop. (7:30 p.m. Aug. 6, Lyman P. White Amphitheater, 484 E. River Road, Brainerd, Minn., lakesareamusic.org)
The Pickup Truck Opera
In what’s become a delightful summer-closing tradition, Mixed Precipitation updates a classic opera with some satirical contemporary elements and adds a bit of some decidedly unoperatic genre like pop, funk or country. This summer, it revisits Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” the tune-filled tale of a king making a deal with the gods. (Aug. 13-Sept. 13; various venues throughout Minnesota; suggested donation, $5-$45, mixedprecipitation.org)
