Chorus to perform ‘banned books’

It’s one thing to read a book that’s supposed to be banned, but what about listening to it?

In a unique change for local concertgoers, the Orange County Women’s Chorus will perform “Banned books set to music,” a family-friendly, inoffensive experience where guests listen to notable works of literature through history.

Among the selection, the chorus will sing some of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” songs. Carroll’s famous story was banned in China because of its portrayal of animals.

They will also sing the opening to an entry from “The Diary of Anne Frank” and songs from Sergei Prokofiev, who wrote songs based on banned Russian poetry that recorded life under the Stalinist regime.

Writings from Mark Twain and Walt Whitman will also be among those performed, organizers said.

The chorus will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at Newport Harbor Lutheran Church, 798 Dover Drive. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students with ID. For more information, call (949) 451-8590.

— Joseph Serna