Events Around the Bay
“Experience Leonard Cohen” at the CJM in San Francisco
A Series of Four Solo Exhibitions Inspired by the Life and Work of Musician and Writer Leonard Cohen
On August 5, The CJM will open the first two solo exhibitions, George Fok: Passing Through and Judy Chicago: Cohanim, followed by Candice Breitz: I’m Your Man and Marshall Trammell in Residence opening on September 19.
Leonard Cohen is definitely “My Man!” The highly anticipated exhibit about the life and music of the legendary performer Leonard Cohen has reached San Francisco. The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM) will present four solo exhibitions of contemporary art inspired by the legacy of Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), the influential musician, man of letters, and global icon from Montreal, Canada. The exhibitions, installed throughout all of The Museum’s main galleries, will include a variety of artworks ranging from immersive and intimate to rarely-before-seen and personal reflections on the impact of Cohen’s work. Featuring contemporary artists George Fok, Judy Chicago, Candice Breitz, and Marshall Trammell, each exhibition offers its own unique understanding of Leonard Cohen and his expansive oeuvre. Experience Leonard Cohen draws on Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything, organized by the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) and curated by John Zeppetelli, Director and Chief Curator at the MAC, and Victor Shiffman, Guest Curator. “Leonard Cohen is an iconic figure whose work has had a lasting impact on artists and the general population alike,” said Senior Curator Heidi Rabben. “His songs and poetry both reflect the time he was living in and continue to be meaningful today. Comprising immersive video, sound, and visual artworks that range from homage to abstraction, these exhibitions truly offer something for everyone. We can’t wait to welcome visitors to The Museum to celebrate Cohen’s enduring legacy through the lens of these brilliant artists.”
Information
Prices range from $14 to $16
415-655-7800
thecjm.org
Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM)
736 Mission Street in San Francisco
Photos courtesy of CJM
The Rotary Club of Los Altos Presents Fine Art in the Park
August 14 & 15, 10 a.m.- 5:30 p.m.
A spectacular showcase of paintings, sculptures, glass, textiles, woodwork, jewelry and wearable art created by hundred of the Bay Area award winning artists who were meticulously selected by Carol Dabb, the Los Altos Rotary’s distinguished Art Connoisseur and the Artists Chairperson, will present and sell their work at the Fine Arts in the Park, the most prestigious and highly rated outdoor event in California.
Under the brilliant orchestration by Sandy Mingia, the show’s Director and a member of the Los Altos Rotary Club, Fine Arts in the Park’s picturesque setting of downtown Lincoln Park, will create a weekend of cultural enrichment accompanied by the lavish gourmet journey and live entertainment for the visitors, the art collectors and the travelers from near and far who have been eagerly awaiting the upcoming show as it celebrates its 46th anniversary. As a charitable organization Rotary Club supports and funds many needy organizations locally, nationally and internationally and the 170 members of the Los Altos Rotary are extremely generous in supporting multiple important causes. Join the Fine Art in the Park festivities for the entire family, even for your favorite pooch, provided he/she is on the leash.
Stroll downtown Los Altos to view the incredible Veterans Mural painted by the well known local artists Oscar Lopez Guerrero and Jordan Fong and see the colorful Los Altos Bears who are currently on display on the Main and State Streets of Los Altos, also both projects sponsored and presented by the Los Altos Rotary Club. Look for me at the Fine Arts in the Park with Kona, my favorite pooch.
Information
Free admission
losaltosrotary.org
Free parking and shuttle service provided
Location: Lincoln Park at Downtown Los Altos
Photos courtesy of Los Altos Rotary Club
Puccini’s “Tosca” Inaugurates San Francisco Opera’s 99th Season
August 21 through September 5, 2021
Incredibly rich and fascinating program is awaiting the opera lovers as the Italian thriller, long associated with significant moments in San Francisco Opera’s history, will be the first opera staged in the War Memorial Opera
House since the pandemic shutdown. New Music Director Eun Sun Kim will lead the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Chorus and a cast headed by Ailyn Pérez in the title role, tenor Michael Fabiano as Cavaradossi and Alfred Walker as Scarpia. The Company’s lavish production, first unveiled in 2018, is staged by director Shawna Lucey with sets and costumes designed by Robert Innes Hopkins and lighting by Michael Clark.
As Kim takes to San Francisco Opera’s podium on August 21 to lead Tosca, one of opera’s most popular works. it will be her second time conducting Puccini’s 1900 score since leading performances in the composer’s native Italy at the Macerata Festival in 2014. Kim’s inaugural season as San Francisco Opera’s music director will also include Live and In Concert: The Homecoming with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and soloists Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Jamie Barton which will be simulcast with no charge for admission at Oracle Park, home of the World Champions San Francisco Giants (September 10); a new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio (October 14–30), the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows ’The Future Is Now” concert (December 10) and a summer tribute to the music of Giuseppe Verdi (June 30, 2022). Wow! This is a good as it gets for this opera lover. Sung in Italian with English supertitles.
Information
Prices range from $29 to $398
415-864-3330
sfopera.com
War Memorial Opera House
301 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco
Photos courtesy of SF Opera
Goat Rodeo Reunion with Yo-Yo Ma
August 20 at 7:30 p.m.
An astounding group of virtuosos – Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Edgar Meyer on bass, and Chris Thile on mandolin — reunite live at the stunning setting of Stanford University’s Frost Amphitheatre for the first time in nearly a decade. Joined by featured vocalist Aoife O’Donovan, the lively talents of these exceptional artists come together on stage to create a singular sound that’s part composed, part improvised, and uniquely American — music so complex to pull off that the group likens it to a goat rodeo, airplane pilots’ nickname for a situation in which many different things need to go right to avoid disaster. In the words of the Los Angeles Times, this concert presents “unlikely musicians on unlikely instruments in concerts that [are] part blues, part bluegrass and a smidgen of Bach. The group reunites this summer to perform a collection of all-new music, accompanied by the new album that was released in 2020 by Sony Masterworks. These five musicians’ diverse traditions and experiences intersect to create a compelling sound that is at once global and American, a shared voice that speaks powerfully to the American experience.
Information
Tickets start at $35
live.stanford.edu/frost
Frost Amphitheatre at Stanford University
351 Lasuen Street at Stanford
Photo courtesy of Stanford Live
