Mobile Opera is reviving a wry one-act comedy with deep roots in the company’s own history. Enrico Golisciani’s “The Secret of Susanna,” first staged by Mobile Opera 72 years ago, returns to the Murphy High School auditorium at 100 S. Carlen St. for a single performance on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.
The 1909 opera spins its tension from a deceptively simple premise: a husband becomes convinced he has seen his wife wandering the streets alone, and his imagination runs toward infidelity. A curious aroma clinging to her clothes finally forces an embarrassing confession into the open, and the suspense builds from there.
Single tickets remain available at $45 for regular seating, $30 for a second tier, and $10 for students. Reservations can be made by calling 251-432-6772 or online at mobileopera.org.
More on the Mobile arts calendar
The weekend also brings a showcase of college-level jazz talent. The Mystic Order of the Jazz Obsessed (MOJO) stages its February Jazz Jambalaya, themed “College 101,” featuring the Coastal Alabama Community College Jazz Band under the direction of Rebecca Barry. The show is set for Monday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in Bernheim Hall at the Ben May Public Library, 701 Government St. Admission is $15, $12 for students and military, and $10 for MOJO members; details are available at 251-459-2298 or mojojazz.org.
Downtown, the exhibition “Carnivalesque II” runs at Sway, 10 S. Conception St., from February through April 6, timed to Mardi Gras season with work from 15 area artists including Lucy Gafford, Jessica Maples, Jordan Atchison and Billy Jordan. Information is at 251-650-4020.
On the grants front, the Gulf Coast Ethnic and Heritage Jazz Festival received a $3,050 award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts on Dec. 12. The nonprofit has brought jazz education and performance to the Mobile area for two decades, including its two-week Marcus Johnson Jazz Camp each midsummer, and plans a recital, student concerts and a headlining luminary from New Orleans beginning in late July 2019.