Month: March 2017

We all enjoy a good laugh, and if the object of our mirth is frothy, fun and completely ridiculous, so much the better.  Michael Frayn’s Noises Off has arrived at the San Francisco Playhouse, to deliver just that sort of escapist lift – and deliver it certainly does.  Having originated at London’s Old Vic in…

MTT & San Francisco Symphony play Mahler This week, Michael Tilson Thomas and the Symphony present an all-Mahler program, featuring the lovely Adagio from his unfinished and final Symphony No 10, and his Symphony No 1 – the composer’s love of nature evident throughout the work.  MTT is known to adore the music of this…

© Fidélité Films – uploaded by UniFrance This week’s movie at the Alliance Française is François Ozon’s 2002 dark comedy, 8 Women, featuring a galaxy of eight legendary female stars – the crème de la crème of the French film industry – Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart, Fanny Ardant, Virginie Ledoyen, Ludivine…

Comedy at the San Francisco Playhouse Previewing at the San Francisco Playhouse this week is Michael Frayn’s hugely successful British comedy, Noises Off – a play within a play, depicting the drama and hilarious goings-on behind the scenes during the production of a farce by a touring theater troupe. There’s a barrel of laughs in…

As part of its Great Performers series, the San Francisco Symphony welcomes back to Davies Symphony Hall the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra with Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Yuri Temirkanov. Maestro Temirkanov leads the Orchestra in two programs – the first featuring selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and his Violin Concerto No 2 –…

In a relatively rare performance outside of Europe, Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci stars in SF Opera Lab’s second presentation this season – La Voix humaine (The Human Voice) which has just opened at the Taube Atrium Theater. Performing one of her most celebrated roles, she sings Elle in Francis Poulenc’s 1958 monodrama, based on…

San Francisco Ballet’s second triple bill of the week takes the title Contemporary Voices, and it’s just that – a program which gives a voice to three contemporary choreographers – Yuri Possokhov, Arthur Pita and Liam Scarlett, all of whom created the featured works specifically for the Company. Possokhov’s Fusion and Scarlett’s Fearful Symmetries were…

In a program with the arresting title Must-See Balanchine, San Francisco Ballet almost challenges you not to miss out on three very different facets of the versatility of George Balanchine – the choreographer who was recognized as a genius during his lifetime, still is to this day, and probably will be for all time. This…