Theatrical
42nd Street Moon presents the Kander-Ebb musical (with book by David Thompson) The Scottsboro Boys from 4 to 21 May.
SF Playhouse gives us David Henry Hwang's Chinglish, directed by Jeffrey Lo, about an American businessman in China discovering the differing & difficult levels of translation, from 4 May to 10 June.
Cal Performances presents Parable of the Sower, created by Toshi Reagon & Bernice Johnson Reagon, based on the novels Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler, co-directed by Eric Ting & Signe V Harriday, at Zellerbach Hall on 5 - 6 May.
The New Conservatory Theater Center presents The Confession of Lily Dare, by the great Charles Busch, directed by Allen Sawyer, from 12 May to 11 June.
The African-American Shakespeare Company presents Romeo & Juliet, adapted & directed by L Peter Callender, at the Marines Memorial Theater from 12 to 26 May.
Berkeley Rep presents Let the Right One In, a stage adaptation by Jack Thorne of the Swedish film, a combination vampire & coming-of-age story, directed by John Tiffany (associate director/movement by Steven Hoggett), from 20 May to 25 June.
From 20 May to 18 June, Shotgun Players presents Yerma, which is apparently not Lorca's play but something "based on" Lorca's play, adapted & translated by Melinda Lopez (& directed by Katja Rivera), & though I will of course go in with an open mind, I wish I had known before subscribing that this wasn't going to be, you know, Lorca's play.
BroadwaySF brings the Tony-award winning musical The Book of Mormon to the Orpheum from 23 May to 18 June.
Theater Rhinoceros presents an adaptation of Shakespeare's Pericles by John Fisher outdoors at Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco on 26 - 27 May.
Berkeley Playhouse gives us Becoming Robin Hood, an origin story with music & lyrics by Phil Gorman & book by Laura Marlin, from 26 May to 25 June.
The Oakland Theater Project presents Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, directed by Michael Socrates Moran, from 26 May to 18 June.
Talking
Film-maker/writer/provocateur John Waters will be interviewed by Aubrey Plaza for City Arts & Lectures on 9 May; all tickets include a copy of Waters's book Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance.
On 17 May at the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco, Michael F. Moore will be discussing his new translation of the great 19th century Italian novel, Manzoni's The Betrothed (I promessi sposi).
BroadwaySF presents philosopher & animal-rights activist Peter Singer at the Curran Theater on 30 May.
Operatic
The Lamplighters offer the world premiere of a work they commissioned, By Georges!: A Day in the Life of the Legendary Chevalier de Saint-Georges, with book & lyrics by James D Sasser & music & lyrics by Charles Vincent Burwell (music direction by Earplay's Mary Chun, stage direction by Ars Minerva's Céline Ricci), & that's 5 - 7 May at the Presidio Theatre Performing Arts Center in San Francisco & 20 - 21 May at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music presents the Ravel/Colette opera L'enfant et les sortilèges on 4 & 5 May.
On 24 May at the Presidio Theater, Music of Remembrance presents a Jake Heggie/Gene Scheer double-bill: Another Sunrise, with soprano Caitlin Lynch, a portrait of an Auschwitz survivor, & For a Look or a Touch, with bass-baritone Ryan McKinny & actor Curt Branom as two gay men sent to a camp by the Nazis; both operas are directed by Erich Parce & conducted by Joseph Mechavich.
Choral
The Golden Gate Men's Chorus celebrates its 40th anniversary on 6 - 7 May at Mission Dolores Basilica with "timeless classics and beloved favorites from across the decades", including Vaughn Williams's Five Mystical Songs, featuring guest soloist Timothy Murray.
Volti gives us a world premiere from their resident composer, Mark Winges, along with pieces by Trevor Weston, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (an American premiere), Caroline Shaw, & Eric Tuan, on 13 May at Saint Paul's Episcopal in Walnut Creek & 14 May at the Kanbar Performing Arts Center in San Francisco.
Sacred & Profane offers Shalom: Music of the Jewish Tradition, featuring works by Italian Renaissance composer Salamone Rossi as well as current composers, including Karen Siegel, Stacy Garrop, Jacob Mühlrad, & David Ludwig, & that's 13 May at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco & 14 May at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life in Berkeley.
Slavyanka Russian Chorus will present the American premiere of Konstantin Shvedoff’s Liturgy on 19 May at Saint Mark's in Berkeley, 20 May at First Lutheran in Palo Alto, & 21 May at Star of the Sea in San Francisco.
Chora Nova presents an all-Brahms program – Begräbnisgesang & Ein Deutsches Requiem – on 27 May at First Church in Berkeley.
Vocalists
Cécile McLorin Salvant & her Quintet visit the SF Jazz Center from 5 to 7 May with music from her new album, Mélusine.
On 7 May in Zellerbach Hall, Cal Performances presents soprano Nina Stemme with pianist Magnus Svensson in a program of Wagner (the Wesendonck Lieder), Wagner arranged by Liszt, Sigurd von Koch, Mahler (the Kindertotenlieder), & Kurt Weill.
San Francisco Performances presents baritone Benjamin Appl with pianist James Baillieu on 10 May at Herbst Theater, where they will perform works by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Reynaldo Hahn, Arthur Somervell, Vaughan-Williams, Schumann, William Bolcom, Roger Quilter, Ivor Gurney, Brahms, Schoenberg, Hugo Wolf, Grieg, Ilse Weber, & James MacMillan.
Orchestral
Kyle J Dickson conducts the Oakland Symphony music by John Williams as a 90th-birthday tribute to the composer on 4 May at the Paramount Theater.
Thomas Wilkins leads the San Francisco Symphony in a jazzy program on 4 - 6 May, featuring Bernstein's Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, Erwin Schulhoff's Hot-Sonate (with saxophone soloist Branford Marsalis), John Williams's Escapades (the latter two pieces are SFS premieres), & Duke Ellington's Harlem.
Rafael Payare leads the San Francisco Symphony on 11 - 13 May in William Grant Still's Darker America (an SFS premiere), the Brahms Violin Concerto (with soloist Hilary Hahn), & Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben.
Daniel Hope leads the New Century Chamber Orchestra in Points of Origin, featuring Jessie Montgomery’s Banner, Nico Muhly’s song cycle Stranger (with tenor soloist Nicholas Phan), Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Britten’s Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge, & the world premiere of Hannah Kendall’s …I may turn to salt, & all that can be heard 11 May at First Congregational in Berkeley, 13 May at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco, & 14 May at the Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael.
Omid Zoufonoun leads the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra in Jessie Montgomery's Starburst, Josef Suk's Scherzo Fantastique, the third movement of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, & selections from Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet, & that's at the San Leandro Performing Arts Center on 14 May.
On 18 - 20 May, Philippe Jordan conducts Britten's War Requiem with the San Francisco Symphony, the Symphony Chorus (joined by Ragazzi Boys Chorus, led by Kent Jue), & soloists Jennifer Holloway (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), & Iain Paterson (baritone).
Music Director Donato Cabrera leads the California Symphony in Berlioz's Roman Carnival, the William Walton Symphony 1, & the world premiere of a new piano concerto by Composer-in-Residence Viet Cuong (with soloist Sarah Cahill) at the Lesher Center on 20 - 21 May.
The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, led by Daniel Stewart, plays a 40th anniversary concert on 21 May, when they will perform Huan-zhi Li's Spring Festival Overture, Gershwin's An American in Paris, & Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.
On 25 & 27 May, Giancarlo Guerrero leads the San Francisco Symphony in Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade & then, joined by the Lorelei Ensemble, the west coast premiere of an SFS co-commission, Her Story by Julia Wolfe.
The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra's new Music Director, Cosette Justo Valdés, makes her debut with the group leading performances of Frank Martin's Concerto for Seven Winds, Timpani, Percussion and Strings, Sumi Tonooka's Sketch at Seven (world premiere for chamber orchestra, co-commissioned by SFCO with the NEA & the Emerging Black Composers Project), the Mendelssohn 4, the Italian, & Evelin Ramón's Petite Toccata, & you can hear all that on 26 May at Saint Mark's Lutheran in San Francisco, 27 May at First United Methodist in Palo Alto, & 28 May at First Congregational in Berkeley.
Chamber Music
Violinist Daniel Dastoor & pianist Jonathan Lee play violin sonatas by Beethoven, Ravel, & Brahms for Noontime Concerts at Old Saint Mary's on 2 May.
The San Francisco Symphony presents Alexander Barantschik (violing), Peter Wyrick (cello), & Anton Nel (piano) at the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor on 7 May, performing works by Mozart, Grieg, & Brahms.
Ben Simon leads a small group of players from the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra in their fourth annual program of viola quintets (including works by Mozart & Brahms) at Classical at the Freight (that would be Freight & Salvage in Berkeley) on 8 May.
On 14 May at Davies Hall, a small ensemble of players from the San Francisco Symphony will perform chamber works by Morton Gould, Heinrich von Herzogenberg, & Brahms.
Chamber Music San Francisco presents cellist Alisa Weilerstein & pianist Inon Barnatan playing works by Beethoven, Britten, de Falla, & Rachmaninoff on 14 May at Herbst Theater.
Berkeley Chamber Performances presents Ensemble SF at the Berkeley City Club on 16 May, performing works by Mozart, Polina Nazaykinskaya, Shelley Washington, & Dvořák.
Members of the Berkeley Symphony perform chamber pieces by Carlos Simon, Amy Beach, & Borodin at the Piedmont Center for the Arts on 21 May.
On 28 May at Noe Valley Ministry, Lieder Alive! presents cellist Oliver Herbert, pianist Carlos Ágreda, & special guest soprano Esther Rayo performing songs by Hector Villa-Lobos & other South Americans, arranged by Ágreda for cello & piano (& soprano).
Instrumental
San Francisco Performances presents pianist Víkingur Ólafsson performing music by Galuppi, Mozart, CPE Bach, Cimarosa (arranged by Ólafsson), & Haydn on 9 May at Herbst Theater.
The San Francisco Symphony presents violinist Bomsori with pianist Thomas Hoppe in concert at Davies Hall on 10 May, where they will perform music by Henryk Wieniawski, Debussy, Szymanowski, & Sibelius.
On 12 May at Old First Concerts, violinist Patrick Galvin with piainist Connor Buckley will play music by Prokofiev, Korine Fujiwara, Grażyna Bacewicz, Pablo de Sarasate, Amy Beach, & Schumann.
Early / Baroque Music
American Bach Soloists, led by Jeffrey Thomas, presents Harmonious Love, a program made up of Handel's Apollo & Dafne & Rameau's Pygmalion, featuring sopranos Mary Wilson, Amy Broadbent, & Morgan Balfour, tenor Matthew Hill, & bass-baritone Mischa Bouvier, & that's 5 May at Saint Stephen's in Belvedere, 6 May at Saint Mark's Episcopal in Berkeley, 7 May at Saint Mark's Lutheran in San Francisco, & 8 May at David Community Church in Davis.
Paul Flight leads the California Bach Society in Heinrich Biber's Requiem & Agostino Steffani's Stabat Mater on 5 May at Saint Mark's Lutheran in San Francisco, 6 May at All Saints' Episcopal in Palo Alto, & 7 May at Saint Mark's Episcopal in Berkeley.
On 14 May at Saint Mary Magdalen in Berkeley, the Cantata Collective performs Bach's Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats BWV 42 & Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden BWV 47 with soprano Morgan Balfour, alto Sara Couden, tenor Brian Thorsett, & bass Paul Max Tipton.
Old First Concerts presents Simone Vallerotonda on baroque lute on 21 May, playing works by Charles Mouton, Robert de Visée, Jacques Gallot, Pierre Dubut le fils & le pére, Germain Pinel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, & Valentin Strobel.
Modern / Contemporary Music
On 5 May at Old First Concerts, the Friction Quartet (with mezzo-soprano Melinda Martinez Becker as guest) will give us world premiere music from Nicolás Lell Benavides, Gilberto Parra, & Raymundo Pérez y Soto (the latter two arranged by Martinez Becker), as well as several works by Caroline Shaw.
Pianist/composer Gabriel Zucker & drummer Aaron Edgcomb will create soundscapes for you on 6 May at the Center for New Music.
On 11 May at Herbst Theater, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players close their season with a concert featuring music by Miya Masaoka, Aiyana Braun, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, & Tyondai Braxton.
Other Minds presents Ghost Ensemble on 18 May at Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal in San Francisco.
On 15 May at Old First Concerts, Mary Chun leads Earplay in world premieres by Wyatt Cannon & Byron Au Yong as well as recent works by Andrea Portera, Jihyun Kim, & Brian Banks; the concert is preceded by a composer dialogue.
On 19 May Old First Concerts along with New Arts Collaboration presents pianist Ting Luo in Cosmic Cliffs – Multimedia Piano Concert, featuring world premiere pieces by Aries Mond, Cole Reyes, Xuesi Xi, Sarah Wald, & Dylan Findley, a west coast premiere from Emily Koh, a recent piece by Juhi Bansal, & audio programming by Joo Won Park; the concert combines projections & electronic sounds with the piano.
Jazz
Violinist Mads Tolling & his Trio will be at the SF Jazz Center on 27 - 28 May.
The SF Jazz Center presents The Music of Miles Davis: A Celebration from 25 to 28 May: on 25 May you can hear the early years of hard bop with Kind of Blue: The Acoustic Quintets, featuring Patrice Rushen, Javon Jackson, Donald Harrison, Eddie Henderson, & Lenny White; on 26 May you can hear the orchestral jazz he made with Gil Evans in Sketches of Miles, featuring Keyon Harrold, Robert Sheppard, Carol Robbins, Gil Goldstein, Ryo Takanega, Lenny White, & a string quartet to be named later; on 27 May you can hear Miles from India, an exploration of the subcontinent's musical influence on Davis, featuring Javon Jackson, Tim Hagans, Raman Kalyan, Rez Abbasi, Adam Holzman, Alphonso Johnson, Lenny White, Taku Hirano, & Salar Nader; & on 28 May you can hear his later fusion jazz with Miles Electric Band, featuring Keyon Harrold, Antoine Roney, Robert Irving Ill, Darryl Jones, Alexis Lombre, Vince Wilburn, Munyungo Jackson, Abbos Kosimov, Marco Villareal, & DJ Logic.
Art Means Painting
Frank Bowling: The New York Years 1966–1975 opens at SFMOMA on 20 May & runs through 10 September.
Cinematic
Terms like "iconic" get tossed around too easily these days, but here it applies: the iconic Louise Brooks as Lulu in GW Pabst's Pandora's Box may be seen in full-screen splendor at the Paramount Theater in Oakland on 6 May, accompanied by the Club Foot Orchestra with students from the SF Conservatory of Music, presented by the invaluable San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
The CAAM (Center for Asian-American Media) Fest 2023 runs at the Castro Theater from 11 to 14 May & continues at the Roxie from 13 to 20 May.
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