‘Bridgerton’ has been in books, on Netflix and now debuts at Lexington Opera House

Fans of the Netflix hit “Bridgerton” are now used to critical scenes like balls and parties where everyone is decked out in their Regency Era finery dancing and conspiring to 19th century musicians playing oddly familiar and often relevant 21st century songs by artists such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and BTS.

The style is reflexively called classical music today. But what viewers of the show are seeing is chamber music in the context that earned its name. It’s music that was originally played by smaller ensembles in homes, ballrooms, courts, parks — essentially venues smaller than a concert hall, where listening to music wasn’t necessarily the focus.

The Lexington Chamber Orchestra, part of the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington, is claiming a little bit of this little pop culture phenomenon with a concert that will feature some of the songs played on “Bridgerton” along with exceedingly familiar works of the chamber music genre. In addition to being the first time stepping out of the traditional chamber music repertoire, Friday’s concert will be the orchestra’s first in the Lexington Opera House.

First program includes classics plus pop with a twist

“We wanted for our Opera House debut to do something very unique,” Marcello Cormio, music director of the Chamber Orchestra, said.

The orchestra will be playing versions of songs used in “Bridgerton” arranged by the Vitamin String Quartet, which is one of the ensembles that has worked on the show. The quartet will actually be in Central Kentucky this fall for an Oct. 19 performance at Richmond’s EKU Center for the Arts.

“There’s tunes by Arianna Grande, Taylor Swift, Coldplay that are arranged for string quartet,” Cormio said. “We’re going to take on that and expand it to a full string orchestra.

“They’re very rhythmical tunes, very tuneful, and we are sure the audience will recognize them and be fascinated by the way those tunes sound in a string orchestra.”

Crossover to electric guitar

Cormio said that the music of “Bridgerton” was perfect for the string orchestra of just over 20 musicians because a lot of the traditional “pops” material is arranged for larger, full orchestras with winds and percussion. These arrangements don’t even include bass, which will make this part of the concert an adventure for principal bass Paul Reich, who will be putting down his double bass for a bass guitar — something he has done before in pops and musical theater ensembles, including with the Lexington Theatre Company.

“I kind of like the challenge,” said Reich, who will in a number of cases be adapting cello parts to the bass guitar. “I think it’s going to be fun to figure it out.

“A rock band is chamber music. ... A good musician is a good musician, right? You listen with your ears and go, ‘Oh, that’s what that needs to sound like. That’s what I need to do.’ And you do it, right? Most musicians cross over these days.”

‘Bridgerton’ piece includes Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Arianna Grande

Cormio and the orchestra want the seven or eight “Bridgerton” selections to be a bit of a surprise, but he notes the concert will include Swift, Grande, Sia, BTS, Coldplay, and others.

While the musicians in the orchestra are getting to learn some of today’s hits, the audience will also hear some mainstays of the chamber repertoire including Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” one of those pieces you probably know even if you think you don’t, along with pieces by Corelli and Bizet.

All of it, Cormio and Reich note, was written for a much lighter listening experience than people often perceive classical music to be.

“These tunes have done great things with a great audience for a very specific reason,” Reich said. “They’re fun to play, therefore, we want to play them. It’s an equal footing scenario.”

Cormio adds, “We’re showing that those two things can live together in a program.”

The Lexington Chamber Orchestra presents “A Little Night Music with Bridgerton”

When: 7:30 p.m. on May 30

Where: Lexington Opera House, 401 W. Short St.

Tickets: chambermusiclex.org or call 859-233-3535 for tickets and to learn more.

This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 4:50 AM.