Nothing beats Dorothy singing “Over the Rainbow” with a live orchestral accompaniment. Tonight, the Blossom Festival Orchestra performs the famous score of The Wizard of Oz while the 1939 movie plays on the big screen. “You have such a small margin for error,” says conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, who makes his Cleveland debut tonight. “The film keeps going, and you have to stay with it. No matter what, that voice is going to enter.”

Kitsopoulos is best known as the former music director of Baz Luhrmann’s Broadway hit La Boheme. He has conducted movie-themed concerts before, but The Wizard of Oz marks his first performance of a complete film. “Not only do you have to know the music, you also have to study the film,” he says. “It’s twice as much work. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Sat., Sept. 2, 8:30 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 3, 8:30 p.m.

This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2006.