Events Around The Bay
February 24th through March 5th, 2023
Enjoy a priceless gift of the magnificent 10 performances of Giselle! As the grand finale to his amazing reign as the SF Ballet’s Artistic Director and its brilliant choreographer supreme, Helgi Tomasson is offering the appreciative audiences to see his fabulous production of Giselle which was first presented in 1947, and it was last seen at SF Ballet in 2015.
The ballet includes a story we are all intrigued by of betrayal, love, death, and rebirth and its famous second act featuring a chorus of ghostly maidens. “The whole Act 2 is a work of art like no other—the spirituality of it,” says Tamara Rojo, the newly appointed SF Ballet Artistic Director, who most recently danced Akram Kahn’s Giselle in 2022, about the character’s transformation from human to Willi.
Similarly, Helgi Tomasson danced Albrecht in four productions of Giselle with four companies (and I was fortunate to see him dance this role with the world’s prestigious ballet company in New York!) before creating his own version of SF Ballet in 1999. Giselle premiered at Paris Opera Ballet in 1841 and is considered one of the most significant surviving classical story ballets of all time. The score is by Adolphe Adam, with Tomasson’s Giselle to include the scenic, costume, and lighting design by Danish artist Mikael Melbye. San Francisco Ballet is one of the world’s leading ballet companies. Since its founding in 1933 as the first professional ballet company in the United States, it staged the first American production of Swan Lake to being the first company in the United States to present an annual holiday Nutcracker. Enjoy Giselle as well as every ballet performance this incredible ballet company gifts us with every year!
Information
For tickets: call 415-865-2000 or visit sfballet.org. SF Ballet performs at the iconic War Memorial Opera House on 401 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.
Photos courtesy of SF Ballet
A Conversation With Rita Moreno
February 26 at 3 p.m. at the Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley
Rita Moreno is everywhere! Vibrant and busier than ever Moreno enters her ninth decade while starring in the latest “80 for Brady” fun and Super Bowl timely movie sharing the screen with the legendary Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Fields and Tom Brady himself.
The grand dame of stage, screen and television will share her stories of her fascinating life in Hollywood, her struggles with racism and sexism in the entertainment industry and memorable moments in her personal life.
The trailblazing Puerto Rican actress, who belongs to an elite group of so-called “EGOT” winners who have received entertainment’s grand slam of its most prestigious awards: the Emmy, the Tony, the Grammy and the Oscar for her career-igniting role as Anita in West Side Story. She is a true star power performer and an amazingly remarkable woman.
Information
510-642-9988
Calperfromances.org
University of California, Berkeley
101 Zellerbach Hall #4800 in Berkeley
“The Look of Love”: An Evening of Dance to the Music of Burt Bacharach in Berkeley
February 17 & 18 at 8 p.m.; February 19 at 3 p.m.
Mark Morris’ tribute to Burt Bacharach is very timely. Who knew? The Bay Area premiere by the choreographer Mark Morris “The Look of Love” sadly coincides with the passing of the legendary Pop composer on February 8, 2023 at the age of 94.
“Mark Morris’s tribute to Burt Bacharach is “what the world needs now.” Nothing is as it seems in…[this] witty, wounderful and brilliant new dance production.” —The Washington Post. Following the roaring success of his Beatles tribute production Pepperland, Mark Morris teamed up again with musical collaborator Ethan Iverson for The Look of Love, a fresh and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach.
And we who live in the heart of Silicon Valley adopted his “Do you know the Way to San Jose” performed by Dionne Warwick, composer’s favorite artist, as its new anthem. A towering figure through decades of popular music, Bacharach is known for his soaring melodies embedded in unique orchestrations influenced by jazz, rock, and Brazilian music.”For this new production, Iverson’s lush arrangements are performed live by an ensemble of lead singers with backup vocals, trumpet, and rhythm section” – Morris says, “Always engaging melodically, always surprising rhythmically, with a touch of melancholy and a striving hope, Bacharach’s marvelous music calls out for dancing!” You too are invited to dance at the theater’s isles….
Information
510-642-9988; Calperformances.org
University of California, Berkeley; 101 Zellerbach Hall #4800
Opera San Jose Presents “Falstaff”
February 11 through 26th at California Theater in San Jose
Ready for some rollicking laughter and fun? And who isn’t? Opera San Jose is definitely planning to entertain and cheer you up! Adapted from Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” – the playful women take charge in Giuseppe Verdi’s “Falstaff” – the beloved comedic masterpiece whose production offers a joyful look at one of the opera’s most popular characters including the boisterous knight Sir John Falstaff and his unpredictable misadventures orchestrated (no pun intended) by four witty, creative and adventurous women.
The classic production will feature notable role debuts by some of America’s leading new voices. Stage direction is by José Maria Condemi, Director of Opera and Musical Theatre at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Opera San Jose Music Director Joseph Marcheso conducts. Casting includes Darren Drone as Falstaff, Chanáe Curtis as Alice Ford, Natalia Santaliz as Nanetta, Megan Esther Grey as Dame Quickly, Eugene Brancoveanu as Ford, Shanley Horvitz as Meg Page, Jonghyun Park as Fenton, Marc Molomot as Bardolfo, Andrew Allan Hiers as Pistola, and Zhengyi Bai as Dr. Caius. Falstaff will be sung in Italian, with English and Spanish supertitles. Ahhh… Verdi never sounded better!
Information
(408) 437-4450; operasj.org; photo by: Opera SJ
California Theatre, 345 South First Street, San Jose.
By Lina Broydo
