OLD TOWN — Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland steps back to the old to discuss the new in an event set for the old Old Town School Concert Hall in February, with tickets on sale Friday.
Copeland has scheduled a discussion and audience question-and-answer session at the hall, 909 W. Armitage Ave., for 7 p.m. Feb. 17. Tickets are $20, on sale online at 8 a.m. Friday, 9 a.m. for phone orders at 773-728-6000 or in person at the old Old Town School or the new Lincoln Square outlet at 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
The event takes place the night before Copeland's new opera, "The Invention of Morel," debuts from the Chicago Opera Theater, with performances set for Feb. 18, 24 and 26 at the Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave.
Copeland came to fame as the drummer for the British reggae-punk band the Police and is widely considered one of the top drummers in popular music.
The opera, a co-world premiere commissioned by Chicago Opera Theater and the Long Beach Opera, is based on a 1940 novel by Argentine author Adolfo Bioy Casares.
Copeland has said: "I've got a pretty clear idea of how music can drive emotion, which is why I'm so keen on opera — it's the most fun a composer can have with his clothes on."
