Thursday 3/23 & Friday 3/24
George Eliot’s novel arrives on stage as Middlemarch in Spring, a chamber opera that premiered in 2015. The musical treatment (part of the Virginia Festival of the Book) offers humor, passion and political upheaval, while serving to commemorate Ash Lawn Opera’s 40th anniversary as it relaunches as Charlottesville Opera. “We’re pleased to be able to signal our progress and professionalism with our new name…” says the organization’s president, Martha Redinger. $12-49, times vary. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 979-1333.