Theatrical
San Francisco Playhouse presents Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, directed by Jeffrey Lo, from 2 May to 15 June.
Berkeley Rep presents Galileo, which is not Brecht's play but a world-premiere rock musical about the silenced scientist with book by Danny Strong, music & lyrics by Michael Weiner & Zoe Sarnak, & choreography by David Neumann, directed by Michael Mayer, & that's at the Roda Theater from 5 May to 16 June.
At New Conservatory Theater Center, Jonathan Larson's rock musical Tick, Tick... Boom! runs from 10 May to 9 June, & their high school performance ensemble presents The Giver, adapted by Eric Coble from the book by Lois Lowry, directed by Stephanie Temple, from 26 April to 5 May.
The African-American Shakespeare Company gives us The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Giulio Cesare Perrone & L. Peter Callender, from 11 to 26 May at the Marines’ Memorial Theater.
The Lamplighters present The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the Rupert Holmes musical based on Dickens's final & uncompleted novel, on 4 - 5 May at the Douglas Morrison Theater in Hayward, & on 11 - 12 & 17 - 19 May at the Presidio Theater Performing Arts Center in San Francisco; this version is described as a "hilarious whodunit", which the novel emphatically is not (hilarious, that is; it is indeed a mystery, permanently unsolvable), so this adaptation is probably pretty loose; it's done in Edwardian Music Hall style & the audience gets to choose the murderer.
Shotgun Players presents Best Available, a new play by Jonathan Spector, directed by Jon Tracy, about a theater company's search for a new artistic director, & that's at the Ashby Stage from 18 May to 16 June.
Theater Rhinoceros presents All's Well That Ends Well from 24 May to 2 June, adapted & directed by John Fisher; as this is billed as both "by William Shakespeare" & "a world premiere", I think the emphasis is on the adapted.
The Berkeley Playhouse presents Head Over Heels, the unlikely musical mash-up of the Go-Go's & Sir Philip Sidney, directed by Mel Martinez, from 24 May to 30 June.
The much-praised National Theatre & Neal Street Productions presentation of The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power & directed by Sam Mendes, tracing the founding, rise, & collapse of finance company Lehman Brothers, comes to ACT's Toni Rembe Theater from 25 May to 23 June. I have mixed feelings about trigger warnings, but ACT's site cautions us that "This production includes gendered language and references to s**cide and abuse" – "s**cide"? Seeing the "ui" in the word would push someone over the edge, but it's OK with the prophylactic *s inserted? Really?
Theater Lunatico presents The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Lauri Smith, about playwright Olympe de Gouges trying to make" art out of chaos" during the Reign of Terror "by welcoming three influential women of the French Revolution into her study"; it's a "meta-theatrical screwball comedy" & runs at La Val's Subterranean Theatre in Berkeley from 25 May to 9 June.
Talking
Cal Performances presents an Evening with David Sedaris at Zellerbach Hall on 5 May.
Retired Justice Stephen Breyer will discuss his new book, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism, with Sarah Isgur for City Arts & Lectures on 22 May.
Writer & filmmaker Miranda July will appear in conversation with Anna Sale for City Arts & Lectures on 23 May.
Operatic
On 18 May at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, the Wagner Society of Northern California will present West Edge Opera Music Director Jonathan Khuner discussing their upcoming revival of Legend of the Ring.
Music of Remembrance presents the world premiere of Before It All Goes Dark (music by Jake Heggie, libretto by Gene Scheer), about a Vietnam veteran who discovers he is heir to an art collection stolen by the Nazis, on 22 May at the Presidio Theater.
Choral
The Golden Gate Men's Chorus will join with the Peninsula Women's Chorus to perform Puccini's Messa di Gloria & other choral works on 4 May at Mission Santa Clara & on 5 May at Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco.
Sacred & Profane gives us Songs for Solace & Restoration, a program featuring works by Ysäye Barnwell, Eric Whitacre, Shawn Kirchner, Zanaida Robles, Morten Lauridsen, Dale Trumbore, & Dave Malloy, & that's 11 May at Saint Mark's Episcopal in Berkeley & 12 May at Saint Mark's Lutheran in San Francisco.
Guest conductor Ash Walker leads Chora Nova in music for chorus & organ (featuring organist John Wilson) by Pavel Chesnokov, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Louis Vierne, Brahms, Morten Lauridsen, & Gilbert & Sullivan, at First Congregational in Berkeley on 25 May.
On 30 May at the Scottish Rite Center in Oakland, the San Francisco Girls Chorus School will perform their spring concert, which includes the world premiere of a commission by 2023-2024 Composer-in-Residence Sahba Aminikia.
Vocalists
Lieder Alive! closes its season on 5 May at Noe Valley Ministries, with mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich, cellist Jennifer Culp, & pianist Jeffrey LaDeur performing works by Schubert, Borodin, Schumann, Brahms, Franck, Berlioz, Amy Beach, Rachmaninoff, Greene. & Bernstein.
Soprano Jill Morgan Brenner performs with pianist Paul Dab at Old First Concerts on 31 May; the program has not yet been announced.
Orchestral
Daniel Hope & the New Century Chamber Orchestra will be joined by pianist Awadagin Pratt for Jessie Montgomery's Rounds, for piano and string orchestra, David Diamond's Rounds, for strings, Florence Price's Adoration for violin and strings (arranged by Paul Bateman), & Leonard Bernstein's Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium), on 2 May at First Congregational in Berkeley, 3 May at the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, & 4 May at the Presidio Theater in San Francisco.
David Milnes leads the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra in Reflets de l’ombre by Carmine Cella, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, & Richard Strauss's Alpine Symphony on 3 & 4 May at Hertz Hall on the Berkeley campus.
Donato Cabrera leads the California Symphony in the world premiere of Mishwar (A Trip) by resident composer Saad Haddad, along with Clara Schumann's only surviving Piano Concerto (with soloist Robert Thies), & the Brahms 1, on 4 - 5 May at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek.
Marta Gardolińska leads the San Francisco Symphony in Overture by Grażyna Bacewicz, the Elgar Cello Concerto (with soloist Pablo Ferrández), & the Mendelssohn 3, the Scottish, on 10 & 12 May.
Omid Zoufonoun leads the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (with soloist Ben Chen), Concertstück by Gabriel Pierné (with harp soloist Viviana Alfaro), & the Tchaikovsky 5, on 12 May at the San Leandro Performing Arts Center.
Ryan Bancroft leads the San Francisco Symphony in the American premiere of a Symphony commission, Alaraph ‘Ritus des Herzschlags’ by Unsuk Chin, the Violin Concerto #5 by Henri Vieuxtemps (with soloist Joshua Bell), Earth by Kevin Puts, & La Mer by Debussy, on 16 - 18 May.
Kyle J Dickson leads the Oakland Symphony in Aaron Copland's Canticle of Freedom, Wynton Marsalis's Violin Concerto (with soloist Kelly Hall-Tompkins), & the Beethoven 5, at the Paramount Theater on 17 May.
On 18 May at the Grand Theater in the Mission, the San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Freedom Band will perform music from animated films, anime, & video games, including selections from Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and others (including some sing-along material).
Daniel Stewart will lead the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra in the Mahler 5 at Davies Hall on 19 May.
On 25 May at Herbst Theater, Jessica Bejarano will lead the San Francisco Philharmonic in Glinka's Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila, Dvořák's Romanze for Violin (with soloist Thomas Yee), Saint-Saëns's Phaeton, & the Mendelssohn 3, the Scottish.
Urs Leonhardt Steiner leads the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in a performance celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Beethoven 9th on 26 May at Herbst Theater in San Francisco.
Chamber Music
The Ives Collective performs Germaine Tailleferre's Quatuor, Emilie Mayer's Piano Quartet in G major, & Mozart's String Quintet in C major at Old First Concerts on 5 May.
Berkeley Chamber Performances presents the Telegraph Quartet performing Fanny Mendelssohn's String Quartet, Kenji Bunch's String Quartet #3, & the Dvořák String Quartet #14 at the Berkeley City Club on 7 May.
Chamber Music San Francisco presents the Viano Quartet at Herbst Theater on 7 May, performing Haydn's Quartet in D Major, Opus 64 #5, Smetana's Quartet in E minor: From My Life, & Beethoven's Quartet in E minor, Opus 59 #2.
On 24 May at 405 Shrader in San Francisco, the Friction Quartet will perform Janáček's String Quartet #2: Intimate Letters, along with other pieces to be announced.
On 25 May at Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, there will be a 40th anniversary celebration of the Crowden School, featuring faculty, alumni, & current students; the program includes violinists David McCarroll & Nora Chastain leading a work commissioned for celebration from Samuel Adams, the Catalyst Quartet performing the Mendelssohn Octet, a cello ensemble led by Bonnie Hampton, the Friction Quartet performing Carrot Revolution by Gabriella Smith, Audrey Vardanega performing pieces by Piazzolla, a composition to be announced from school benefactor Gordon Getty, the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams, & a John Adams Young Composers Program student premiere, performed by The Crowden School Lower School Orchestra.
A chamber ensemble of San Francisco Symphony musicians will perform pieces by Durwynne Hsieh, Krzysztof Penderecki, Edgar Meyer, & Tchaikovsky in Davies Hall on 26 May.
Instrumental
Jonathan Biss completes his Echoes of Schubert series for San Francisco Performances on 2 May at Herbst Theater, where he will perform the Impromptu in B flat Major, #3 & the Sonata in B flat Major, paired with a new work by Tyshawn Sorey.
The San Francisco Symphony presents a solo recital by pianist Evgeny Kissin in Davies Hall on 7 May, when he will play Beethoven's Piano Sonata #27 in E minor, the Nocturne in F-sharp minor & the Fantaisie in F minor by Chopin, Four Ballades by Brahms, & the Piano Sonata #2 in D minor by Prokofiev.
Chamber Music San Francisco presents violinist Mayuko Kamio with pianist Noreen Polera at Herbst Theater on 12 May, performing works by Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Elgar, Dvořák, Ponce, Dinicu, Monti, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler, & Rachmaninoff.
Chamber Music San Francisco presents pianist Bruce Liu at Herbst Theater on 17 May, performing Haydn's Sonata in B minor, Chopin's Sonata #2, Nikolai Kapustin's Variations, Opus 41, Rameau's Six Pieces, & Prokofiev's Sonata #7.
Harpist Kaitlin Miller performs at Old First Concerts on 19 May; the program has not yet been announced.
Alasdair Fraser and the San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers will perform traditional tunes at Freight & Salvage on 19 May.
Early / Baroque Music
Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson piano plays Bach's Goldberg Variations in Zellerbach Hall for Cal Performances on 4 May.
The Cantata Collective continues its traversal of Bach's cantatas with its 26 May performance at Saint Mary Magdalen's in Berkeley of Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit, BWV 111 & Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BWV 135, featuring soloists Michele Kennedy (soprano), Heidi Waterman (alto), Kyle Stegall (tenor), & Harrison Hintzsche (bass).
Modern / Contemporary Music
Gabriel Kahane returns to Herbst Theater & San Francisco Performances on 3 May, after his PIVOT Festival appearances earlier this year (my write-up is here); this time he is joined by violinist Pekka Kuusisto, & the program has not been released yet but will contain "the world premiere of a collaboratively written song cycle exploring the joys and griefs of life in the 21st century, around which Kuusisto and Kahane have built an eclectic program ranging from Bach and Nico Muhly to Scandinavian folk music and songs from Kahane’s catalog".
On 3 May at Old First Concerts, Duo HaLo (Andrew Harrison, saxophone & Jason Lo, piano) will play Imaginary Folksongs for Saxophone and Piano, featuring Stephen Lias's Imaginary Folksongs, Florence Price's Three Negro Spirituals (arranged by Harrison), Lori Laitman's Journey, Ryota Ishikawa's Rhapsody on Japanese Folksongs, & Jennifer Jolley's Lilac Tears.
On 10 May at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Martin West will lead the SFCM Orchestra (along with members of the SF Ballet Orchestra) in the Conservatory's Concerto Winner's Concert, featuring Leo Brouwer's Guitar Concerto #4, Concerto de Toronto, with soloist Juan Samaca (2022 Guitar Concerto Competition Winner) & Jeremy Beck's Death of a Little Girl with Doves, with soloist soprano Rayna Campbell (2023 Voice Concerto Competition Winner).
On 16 May at the Berkeley Piano Club on Haste Street, the Friction Quartet will perform Dan Becker's Vanishing Point, Jörg Widmann's String Quartet #3: Jagdquartett, Caroline Shaw's Three Essays for String Quartet, Paweł Malinowski's I <3 Franz, & Toru Takemitsu's A Way A Lone (I assume this title is a Finnegans Wake reference).
Violinist Sarah Saviet plays Xenakis’ Miika, a new work by herself, & two recent works by Lisa Streich & Tim McCormack at the Center for New Music on 17 May.
At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on 18 May, composer Jeff Gao will present the world premieres of his Sonata for Alto Saxophone & Piano & his Lenny's Defiance, along with Elinor Armer's Romantic Duo, the Brahms Clarinet Sonata #2, & Paganini's Moto Perpetuo (the concert will feature Wenbo Yin on alto saxophone & Jenny Ma on piano).
The Alchemist Quintet plays at the California Jazz Conservatory on 18 May.
On 19 May at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Valérie Sainte-Agathe leads the San Francisco Girls Chorus Premier Ensemble in a concert with special guest percussionist Haruka Fujii, featuring new music, including a commissioned work from Fujii.
On 20 May at Old First Concerts, Earplay gives us the world premiere of a new work for sextet & voice by Erin Gee (commissioned for Earplay), along with Sami Seif's Syriac Fugato for violin and viola, George Walker's Perimeters for clarinet and piano, & a new work by Byron Au Yong for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano
On 30 May at the Brava Theater, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players joins with Volti to present the Bay Area premiere of Elliott Carter's Asko Concerto, the world premiere of Richard Festinger's Worlds Apart, & a set of new music for Chamber Choir; the program will feature soprano soloist Winnie Nieh & is preceded by one of SFCMP's How Music Is Made discussions, this time with Festinger.
Dance
The San Francisco Ballet presents Swan Lake from 30 April to 5 May.
The Oakland Ballet presents Lustig Live! at Laney College on 3 - 4 May, featuring the world premiere of Faun, inspired by the life of Nijinsky, with music performed by flutist Arturo Rodriguez & pianist Hadley McCarroll, as well as the Oakland Ballet premieres of Uncertain Steps, with William Skeen on Baroque Cello, & Dialogues, with musical performances by soprano Shawnette Sulker & pianist Hadley McCarroll, & Heartbreak Hotel, with Hank Maninger on vocals & guitar & Leor Beary on vocals and drums.
Smuin Ballet presents Dance Series 2, featuring the world premiere of Tupelo Tornado by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Broken Open by Amy Seiwert (composer/cellist Julia Kent will play live 3 - 5 May), Untwine by Brennan Wall, & Starshadows by Michael Smuin, from 3 - 12 May at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.
Art Means Painting
SFMOMA opens The Art of Noise on 4 May & it runs through 18 August; this looks like another attempt to cash in on boomer-rock nostalgia, & is part of the museum's on-going disregard of any modern music that isn't pop- or rock-based, but, you know, maybe I'm wrong. (I eagerly await their programming celebrating the Schoenberg sesquicentennial.) Also, 28 May is your last day to experience the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Rooms; they are quite enjoyable, but it's a much lighter experience than I expected; I know some who have been disappointed, but in my view "fun" & "enjoyable", even on a strictly time-limited basis (2 minutes in each room), is not to be dismissed lightly.
American Beauty: The Osher Collection of American Art, showcasing American art from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, opens at the de Young on 18 May & runs through 20 October.
Cinematic
On 1 May at Davies Hall, Constantine Kitsopoulos leads the San Francisco Symphony as they play along with The Wizard of Oz; I'm normally pretty dubious about these Symphonic replacements of a film's existing soundtrack (silent films are a different matter), but . . . it's the great & powerful Wizard of Oz.
What is described as the Final Cut of Coppola's Apocalypse Now, an adaptation of Heart of Darkness to the jungles of Vietnam, will screen at the Roxie on 19 May.
No comments:
Post a Comment