The following is a story on the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA filed by Alan Sculley at the Wisconsin State Journal:

Prepare To Be Trans-Fixed: Trans-Siberian Orchestra Lights Up The Madison Stage

By Alan Sculley

daybreak@madison.com

There are those who criticize acts like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for being overblown both musically - with its use of a full orchestra and rock band - and thematically, with its rock opera formats and elaborate storylines.

There are those who view TSO - which performs two shows at the Dane County Coliseum on Sunday (Nov. 19) - as more of a musical concept than an actual group whose specific members are essential to the sound and style of the band. Some wonder if TSO's music would stand up in a live setting without the plethora of special effects used during its concerts.

Say what you will about the TSO music, but there's little room for debate about the ambition of Paul O'Neill, or his desire to deliver the most entertainment bang for the buck. O'Neill is the man who founded the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, writes much of the group's music, has overseen every aspect of recording and touring - and has succeeded to the tune of five million TSO albums sold.

In what has become an annual tradition, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is back on the road, performing music from the group's three Christmas rock operas - and delivering the biggest spectacle of sight and sound to tour at any point in the year.

"The whole machine on the road now is up to 219 people, which is a lot of people," O'Neill said. "Some of those people who work for us used to work for Pink Floyd. It's funny because one of the guys comes up to me and goes 'Paul, there's a reason why Pink Floyd only toured once every five or 10 years. That's because they were giving (us) time to think of new things.'"

For TSO, there is no such luxury. Once touring ends on Dec. 30, work essentially begins right after New Year's Day on that year's holiday tour.

"Basically Jan. 2 we tear apart everything that was put together for the year before and start to build from scratch," O'Neill said. "That kind of forces us to come up with new ideas and new angles. If you keep the initial structure, there's a temptation to get lazy. 'That doesn't look that bad. You know, people won't remember it from last year.' But instead we tear it all apart and you're going to have to put it together anyway so you might as well put it together in a different configuration."

The musical program this year, though, will be similar to the 2005 model. Once again, the first installment of TSO's three-CD holiday trilogy, the 1996 release "Christmas Eve & Other Stories," will be the main rock opera of the evening. The second set of the show will feature selections from the group's other two holiday CDs, 1998's "The Christmas Attic" and 2004's "The Lost Christmas Eve," along with songs from TSO's two non-holiday rock operas, 2003's "Beethoven's Last Night" and "The Night Castle," a new work that should arrive in stores as early as next spring.

"We're finding that people are growing attached to it ('Christmas Eve & Other Stories')," O'Neill said. " It's become a bit of a tradition. So we're going to let the tradition go on for a little while longer."

O'Neill founded the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 1996 around the idea of combining a rock band and symphony to perform, for the most part, rock operas. The cast of musicians of singers would change to suit the needs of each composition. O'Neill recruited Robert Kinkel, Al Pitrelli and Jon Oliva to serve as his songwriting collaborators for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

O'Neill found a niche by centering his rock operas around Christmas themes, before stepping away from the holiday theme for "Beethoven's Last Night," a rock opera based on the dramatic events that framed the late composer's final days. Now the next non-holiday rock opera, "The Night Castle," is nearing completion should be released this spring.

Plans call for TSO to start a new touring production in spring 2007, O'Neill said, that will feature "Beethoven's Last Night" as the primary rock opera and songs from "The Night Castle" - as well as a future third non-holiday album - in the second set.

Of course, O'Neill cautioned fans not to hold him to that timetable.

"I don't think I've ever turned in an album on time. Like 'Night Castle' is actually, I think, three years late as of this point," he said. "It's just basically, we've learned it's better that it be late and perfect, or as perfect as we can make it, than for it to be on time and be like 'Oh, why didn't we do this differently? Why didn't we correct that?'"

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