Photos by Shelley Hanson Gearing up for the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra’s “A Night at the Italian Opera” concert on Feb. 11 are, from left, Tecnocap LLC President Paolo Ghigo, symphony Maestro John Devlin and Beth and David Weaver, owners of Wheeling Volkswagen Subaru.

A celebration of Italian culture and an Italy-based company’s 15th anniversary of operating in the Ohio Valley will culminate with dinner and music.

The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra will kick off the new year with Italian-inspired opera as part of its SoundBites series. “A Night at the Italian Opera” is slated for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Capitol Theatre on Main Street in downtown Wheeling.

The optional Italian dinner, for an added cost, will take place at 5 p.m. at the theater’s ballroom.

Sponsors of the event include Italy-based Tecnocap LLC, the Regional Economic Development Partnership, West Virginia Department of Economic Development, and David Weaver, owner of Wheeling Volkswagen Subaru and his wife, Beth Weaver.

Tecnocap LLC President Paolo Ghigo said Monday he wanted to celebrate his company’s 15th anniversary of operating in the United States. Tecnocap makes metal closures for various containers.

Locally, it has a plant in Glen Dale. A fan of the symphony, Ghigo approached Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Maestro John Devlin about holding a concert inspired by Italian culture.

The symphony concert will include four opera singers: Bridgette Gan, soprano; Corrie Stallings, mezzo-soprano; Edward Washington II, tenor; and Scott Johnson, baritone.

“We were seizing the opportunity of 15 years of operations in the United States, to celebrate that. And we were thinking let’s have something related to the Italian heritage. There is a significant Italian-American community here and we wanted to give a gift to the community. So we were thinking, what about music? … The idea came together,” Ghigo said.

Ghigo said when he first moved to the region in 2012 he was impressed with the Capitol Theatre and the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra.

“It’s a beautiful theater and it sounds great and there’s an excellent program,” he said. “It’s not unknown, but it’s something we should put more value on. It’s an asset of the community. It will be nice to have more people experiencing that.”

Concert tickets are $35 each. The cost of dinner plus premium concert seating is $85 per person. To buy tickets, visit wheelingsymphony.com, call 304-232-6191, email boxoffice@wheelingsymphony.com, or visit the Box Office, 1025 Main Street, Suite 811, Wheeling.

The dinner will be catered by Chef Giuseppe Di Gristina of Pastaio Cucina in Wintersville.

“I myself am of half-Italian heritage, with my mother’s grandparents both living in Italy for the majority of their lives before immigrating to the United States,” Devlin said.

“Thus, I truly relish the opportunity to celebrate that heritage, and doing so through opera, a form of music so dear to the Italian people. I especially look forward to sharing the work of two Italian musical heroes — Verdi and Puccini — with our WSO musicians and our incredible soloists.”

Ghigo noted some of his company’s employees will attend the concert along with some special guests from Italy.

“I’m not a musician myself, but when you think about Italian music, you naturally think of the great operas,” he said. “And when you think about music in the Ohio Valley, you naturally think of the Wheeling Symphony.”

RED President Joshua Jefferson said his company is pleased to support and celebrate both the Wheeling Symphony and Tecnocap LLC.

“Tecnocap has been an important driver of economic development in our region and we are proud to recognize the company’s anniversary,” Jefferson said. “Of course, the Wheeling Symphony also plays an important role in attracting employers and development to this area as it greatly enhances the quality of life in the Ohio Valley.”

Jennifer Rohrig, manager of business retention and expansion at WVDED, said her group is happy to support the success of Tecnocap and the symphony.

“West Virginia welcomes employers from the global community to invest in our great state, and cultural institutions like the WSO are an important part of what helps to attract business to our area,” she said.

The Sound Bites series is also supported by the Elizabeth Stifel Kline Foundation.