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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…

Internationally acclaimed French cellist Gautier Capuçon returns to Davies Symphony Hall this week as the guest soloist with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. He plays the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No 1 in a program which includes Tchaikovsky’s heart-melting Symphony No 6, Pathétique. Known for his profoundly expressive yet spirited artistry, Gautier Capuçon…

In the second concert devoted to the celebration of John Adams’ 70th birthday, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony are joined by violinist Leila Josefowicz for a performance of Adams’ Scheherazade.2, followed by MTT and the Symphony’s Grammy-winning interpretation of a suite from Prokofiev’s gorgeous ballet music for Romeo and Juliet. Known as…

San Francisco Opera opens Season Two of its SF Opera Lab programs this week with a contemporary oratorio, The Source, by composer Ted Hearne – a work which has as its subject the dramatic 2010 release by US Army Private Manning of hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. For the score of this…

Lovers of ballet in San Francisco are to be treated to a new full-length work this week – San Francisco Ballet’s production of Frankenstein, by British choreographer Liam Scarlett. A co-production with The Royal Ballet, Frankenstein was inspired by Mary Shelley’s 1813 Gothic novel, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, and the ballet received its world…

  John Adams, contemporary and ‘post-minimalist’ (his phrase) composer turns 70 this week. One of America’s best known and most frequently performed composers, Adams has enjoyed a long-term relationship with the San Francisco Symphony – the longest partnership he has had with a leading international orchestra during his career, and one which strengthened over the…

Never discuss politics or religion with friends, they say – but if Lucas Hnath’s play, The Christians, is anything to go by, you should avoid discussing the fundamentals of religion in church as well, particularly beliefs and how they’re interpreted! You have to hand it to Playhouse Directors, Bill English and Susi Damilano, they’re not…

San Francisco Ballet’s second program of the new season is every bit as diverse as the first. Another triple bill, it features two works which were seen in the 2016 season – Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas and William Forsythe’s Pas/Parts. Completing the triptych is Optimistic Tragedy, a world premiere by Choreographer in Residence, Yuri Possokhov.…

San Francisco Ballet opened its 2017 season in celebratory style this week, with a program entitled The Joy of Dance.  A triple bill, it features three diverse works – by Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson, by Czech choreographer Jiří Bubeníček and by New York City Ballet’s Justin Peck. The program opener is Tomasson’s…