With a passion — and under the care of artistic director Nuvi Mehta — the 14th festival was scheduled to open with a gala Wednesday night and, before it closes May 10, will feature 10 eclectic concerts at various Ventura venues.

"Festival 2008: Appassionata!" is the theme, celebrating Europe at the turn of the 19th century — a time, the festival planners note, "ignited in the French and American revolutions," when "the common man became the subject of art with all emotions, beautiful or not, as long as they were real. We wore our hearts on our sleeves."

The following is the lineup, along with per-person ticket prices. (For additional information and tickets, call 648-3146 or visit http://www.venturamusicfestival.org.)

May 2

3 p.m.: The Festival Brass Quintet presents "Tea & Trumpets" at Nona's Courtyard Cafe, 67 S. California St.; $60 includes English high tea.

7-9 p.m.: Concertante, composed of six virtuosos, performs at the First United Methodist Church, 1338 E. Santa Clara St.; $35-$45.

May 3

8-9:30 p.m.: Italian pianist Giuseppe Albanese performs a romantic program featuring Beethoven's "Appassionata Sonata," Schubert's "Wanderer Fantasy" and Liszt's virtuoso "Reminiscences of Norma" at the Ventura Missionary Church, 500 High Point Drive; $15-$45.

May 4

2 p.m.: Celebrate "Sunday in the Park" with Pink Martini — bring picnic lunches and lawn chairs — at Ventura College, 4667 Telegraph Road; $15-$45, with $75 family four-packs available.

May 5

7:30 p.m.: "Rising Stars!" features pianist Sara Daneshpour and guitarist Gonzalo Arias Contreras at the First United Methodist Church, 1338 E. Santa Clara St.; $15-$25.

May 6

7:30 p.m.: Violinist Leila Josefowicz performs, with accompaniment by John Novacek on piano, at Community Presbyterian Church, 1550 Poli St.; $30-$50.

May 8

7:30 p.m.: The Concorde Ensemble, featuring six virtuosos accompanied by two instrumentalists, will perform a baroque program titled "Battle of the Sexes" at San Buenaventura Mission, 211 E. Main St.; $30-$40.

May 9

3 p.m.: The Festival Brass Quintet presents "Tea & Trumpets" at Nona's Courtyard Cafe, 67 S. California St.; $60 includes English high tea.

8 p.m.: The Turtle Island String Quartet fuses classical aesthetics with American jazz in its performance of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" at Community Presbyterian Church, 1550 Poli St.; $35-$45.

May 10

8 p.m.: Ventura native and world-class soprano Nicole Cabell and tenor David Lomeli close the festival with a series of arias and duets from the world of opera at the Ventura High School Theater, 2 Catalina St.; $15-$35.