fun stuff I may or may not get to: September (OK, second half of September)

Yes, I realize the month is half over, but here goes anyway. There were a couple of reasons I didn’t post this sooner: first, for some reason my energy level tends to drop in September. I’m not sure exactly why: changing seasons? bad allergies and debilitating allergy medications? more hot days? accumulated lack of time off? Some combination of the above? Fortunately for me I decided long ago that “watching DVDs” counts as “getting something done” – that Netflix queue isn’t going to arrange itself – so I don’t feel completely worthless.

The second reason is that for a long time there didn’t seem to be anything much going on this month, which is weird, since September is usually crammed. But some of the major presenters (Cal and San Francisco Performances in particular) are starting later than usual, and some other major presenters (San Francisco Opera and Symphony) have fairly unexciting seasons, so I currently have only one ticket for the whole month:

That would be Werther at the Opera, with an excellent cast featuring Ramon Vargas and Alice Coote.

But some other stuff has come up as well:

Next Saturday, September 18, at 8:00, Old First Concerts presents Heidi Melton (accompanied by John Parr) in a tasty array of songs by Berg, Wagner, Barber, and Richard Strauss.

The Berkeley Symphony opens its season on Thursday, September 23, at 7:00, and I feel I should go just to encourage more such sensible start times, but the program is also enticing: the violin concertos by Beethoven and John Adams, with Jennifer Koh as soloist (I heard her last March in her SF Performances recital, and she was excellent).

The New Century Chamber Orchestra opens its season with music by Rossini, Bottesini, Mahler, and Shostakovich, featuring this year's resident artist, bass player Edgar Meyer. That's September 23-26, in various locations, with an open rehearsal on the 20th.

And we have the Bay Area premiere of Jerry Springer: The Opera. The show was a big hit in London several years ago, and there was some talk it would tour out here, and I was quite excited and defended the concept against the denunciations of a co-worker of mine, who considered the title alone as proof that Western Civilization had, once again, Fallen and was unable to get back up. I suggested to her, among other things, that she might want to review the libretto for L’Incoronazione di Poppea. OK, then I ordered the CDs from England, and have to admit I was disappointed – except for some baroquey choruses, the music is much more Phantom of the Opera than actual opera. And it’s sure to be amplified. But I’m starting to hear rumors that this is a good production, so I may try to fit it into my busy schedule of staring at the floor wondering why one lone man can’t keep even a single goddam room clean. It’s presented by Ray of Light Theater at the Victoria Theater, which I understand is right by the 16th Street BART station, and it runs through October 16.

That’s it so far – if you know of anything else, please pass the word on. I’m hoping to do some random season previews before I plunge back too deeply into the maelstrom.