As is traditional, August is one of the lighter months in the performance year, though there is, of course, plenty to occupy you, should you wish to be occupied, before the autumn season gears up.
Theatrical
Shotgun Players at the Ashby Stage present a Summer Salon series from 23 July to 19 August, with one-person shows from Josh Kornbluth (Red Diaper Baby on 23 July, Ben Franklin: Unplugged on 30 July, Sea of Reeds: The Second Parting on 6 August, & The Bottomless Bowl on 13 August), Brian Copeland (Grandma and Me: An Ode To Single Parents on 29 July), The San Francisco Neo-Futurists (The Infinite Wrench on 17 August), the Ashby All-Stars 21+ (a night of stand-up comedy, on 18 August), & Mrs. Winchester, or, A Gun in the First Act – A National Delivery Live Engagement (written & staged by Joe Christiano, performed by Lisa Morse, on 19 August).
BroadwaySF presents Tina – The Tina Turner Musical at the Golden Gate Theater from 1 to 27 August.
BroadwaySF presents Disney's Aladdin at the Orpheum Theater from 2 to 13 August.
The Oakland Theater Project presents J Jha in a one-person adaptation by Geetha Reddy of the Mahābhārata, directed by Michael Socrates Moran; that will be at Z Space from 10 to 20 August.
Golden Thread presents New Threads, a staged reading series, with Black Panthers in Algiers by Tariq Hamami (dramaturgy by Dawn Monique Williams), which is "[i]nspired by the Black Panthers’ residency in Algiers in the 1960s" on 20 August & Alaa by Adam Ashraf Elsayigh (dramaturgy by Salma Zohdi), which is about "British-Egyptian blogger and high-profile political prisoner, Abd El-Fattah" on 27 August; both readings will take place at the Brava Theater Center & are free but registration is strongly recommended as seating is limited.
TheatreFirst presents WMB by Marisela Treviño Orta, directed by Karina Gutiérrez, & here's the description from the site: "When a world-wide virus threatens healthy pregnancies, WMB (pronounced “womb”) clinics are created to provide a virus-free environment for those who can afford the expensive nine-month residency. WMB trainee Claudia faces her final evaluation just as tensions between the have’s and the have not’s reach a boiling point"; that's 25 - 27 August, & you can click here for an update on the theater's uncertain future.
ACT presents Hippest Trip – The Soul Train Musical (book by Dominique Morisseau, choreography by Camille A Brown, directed by Kamilah Forbes) from 25 August to 1 October at the Toni Rembe Theater.
Operatic
West Edge Opera continues its annual summer festival into this month, with Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea (conducted by Adam Pearl, directed by NJ Agwuna, starring Shawnette Sulker as Poppea) on 22 & 30 July & 3 August; Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon), composed by José “Pepe” Martínez to a libretto by Leonard Foglia (conducted by Sixto Montesinos, directed by Karina Gutierrez, starring Efraín Solís) on 23 & 28 July & 5 August; & a double-bill of Stravinsky's Le Rossignol (The Nightingale) & Schoenberg's Erwartung (Expectation) (both conducted by Jonathan Khuner & directed by Giselle Ty, with Helen Zhibing Huang in the title role of the Stravinsky & Mary Evelyn Hangley in the Schoenberg) on 29 July & 4 & 6 August (all performances are at the Scottish Rite Center in Oakland).
In addition to the three main presentations, West Edge will perform a work-in-progress orchestra preview of Dolores, a work it commissioned from Nicolás Lell Benavides (music) & Marella Martin Koch (libretto), based on the life of labor activist Dolores Huerta, & that's 13 August at the Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco.
San Francisco Opera's Merola program finishes its season with the Schwabacher Summer Concert (conducted by Steve White, directed by Omer Ben Seadia) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on 3 & 5 August, when the Merolini will perform "extended scenes from works by Donizetti, Handel, Verdi, and others", followed by the Merola Grand Finale at the Opera House on 19 August (conducted by Kelly Kuo, directed by Tania Arazi-Coambs).
The Lamplighters present Il Ducato, their reimagined version of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, on 12 - 13 August at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 19 - 20 August at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, & 25 - 27 August at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek.
Festival Opera presents Carmen on 18 & 20 August at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, conducted by Robert Mollicone & directed by Michael Mohammed, featuring Taylor Raven in the title role, Dane Suarez as Don José, Hope Briggs as Micaëla, & Young Kwang Yoo as Escamillo.
Choral
Robert Geary's San Francisco Choral Society with the California Chamber Symphony will perform Requiems by Shchetynsky & Mozart (dedicated to the memory of Ukrainian conductor Yuri Kerpatenko) on 18 August in Davies Hall; soloists in the Shchetynsky will be Jessica House Steward, soprano; Stacey Helley, mezzo soprano; :ee Steward, tenor; & Sidney Chen, bass; & for the Mozart, Emily Sinclair, soprano; Shauna Fallihee, mezzo soprano; Michael Jankosky, tenor; & Eugene Brancoveanu, bass.
On 3 - 4 August at the Strand Theater, Opera Parallèle joins with The Transgender District to present Expansive – A Showcase of Transgender and Non-Binary Classical Artists, hosted by Afrika America & featuring singer Katherine Goforth, harpist & multidisciplinary artist Ahya Simone, & mezzo-soprano Nikola Printz, who will incorporate aerial work into their performance, with accompaniment by Taylor Chan.
Chamber Music
On 11 August at Old First Concerts, the Bridge Music Collective (Jessica Folson, violin; Sarah Hooton, viola; Carlos Valdez, double bass; T Colton Potter, oboe; Caleb Rose, clarinet) gives us Prokofiev: Explored, in which they use the Russian's Quintet as a springboard for sound exploration in works using similar instrumentation by Rebecca Clarke, Daniel Chiva Sanz, Randall Thompson, & David DeBoor Canfield.
On 13 August at Old First Concerts, you can hear Unfretted: Indian Strings in Conversation, featuring Sruti Sarathy (Carnatic violin), Vishaal Sapruram (chitravina), & Akshay Anantapadmanabhan (mrdangam), with a program of Carnatic, Hindustani, & original compositions.
Instrumental
The 6th Annual San Francisco International Piano Festival will take place from 18 to 26 August, featuring Master Classes led by Tanya Gabrielian, Sharon Mann, Kathleen Riley, & Garrick Ohlsson, & performances by Tanya Gabrielian, Sarah Yuan & the Aveta Trio, Festival Founder & Artistic Director Jeffrey Ladeur, Alvise Pascucci, Parker van Ostrand, Stephen Prutsman, & the Telegraph Quartet (the quartet will be joining Prutsman in performing his original score to Buster Keaton's College); you can check out the full schedule here.
Early / Baroque Music
American Bach Soloists will present two concerts at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music featuring the faculty from their summer Bach Academy (Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; Corey Jamason, harpsichord; Steven Lehning, violone; Robert Mealy, violin; Sandra Miller, flute; Debra Nagy, oboe; & Kenneth Slowik, violoncello): on 5 August you can hear music by Castello, Bach, Couperin, Philidor, & Janitsch, & on 11 August by Boismortier, Telemann, Couperin, Bach, Matteis, & Baltzar.
On 13 August at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Jeffrey Thomas will lead the American Bach Academy orchestra & singers in Bach's Magnificat in D Major & the cantatas Jesu, der du meine Seele (Cantata 78) & Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl (Cantata 198).
Modern / Contemporary Music
Nat Evans appears at the Center for New Music on 12 August, when "he presents an evening of new works for percussion, gentle textures from combinations of amplified household appliances, and field recordings. Interwoven with these sounds will be spacious works for guitar played by Giacomo Fiore from Evans’ albums Coyoteways and Flyover Country".
Jazz
The SF Jazz Center gives us the great Taj Mahal from 3 to 6 August in a Savoy Ballroom Tribute with the John Simon Orchestra, Maria Muldaur, & others; these concerts are "the world premiere performances of material from his forthcoming album Savoy — a jazz-inflected tribute to the music of his childhood and the legendary Harlem ballroom of the 30s, 40s, and 50s, . . . The project has special meaning for Mahal — his parents met at the Savoy during an Ella Fitzgerald concert . . ." I had to include that part about the Fitzgerald concert because it's so charming.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, with special guest vocalist Tarriona "Tank" Ball & multi-instrumentalist Norman Spence II, will visit the SF Jazz Center from 17 to 20 August.
Dance
ODC/Dance presents a State of Play festival from 3 to 13 August, featuring premieres as well as works-in-progress from local and national dance-makers; check out the full schedule here.
Art Means Painting
Drawing the Line: Michelangelo to Asawa, an exhibition of drawings from their collection, will be at the Legion of Honor from 5 August to 25 Febuary 2024.
The East West Bank Art Terrace, "featuring a rotating selection of large-scale contemporary sculptures and commissioned installations", will open at the Asian Art Museum on 24 August.
Cinematic
BAM/PFA presents The Art of Animation: Storytelling in the Digital Age, featuring works from Pixar, Studio Ghibli, & others, including some free outdoor screenings, launches on 3 August & runs through the 31st.
For the finale of the San Francisco International Piano Festival, pianist Stephen Prutsman will be joined by the Telegraph String Quartet in Prutsman's original score to Buster Keaton's College; before the movie, Prutsman will perform works by Rachmaninoff, including his Second Sonata, to commemorate the composer's 150th year; that's at Old First Concerts on 26 August.
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