Saturday, July 31
West Edge Opera: Cavalli’s Eliogabalo
Never performed during Francesco Cavalli’s lifetime, Eliogabalo didn’t receive a world premiere until 1999 and has grown even more prophetically cathartic and incisive today. An utterly debauched Roman Emperor gets his just desserts when the women he has wronged take matters into their own hands. Gorgeous music on period instruments accompanies riotous comedy, sensual dalliances, and stirring drama to create a work that is rapidly re-entering the opera canon.
Time: Saturday, July 31 @ 8:00PM
Cost: $19–$140
Bruns Amphitheater, Orinda, CA
More information HERE
Ongoing through Sunday, August 1
Valley of the Moon Music Festival—LOVE AND LONGING: Reaching Across the Distance
Inspired by the human desire to connect, the chamber music of VMMF’s 7th Annual Season tells stories of separation, longing, and coming together. From Clara Schumann to the American composer Harry Burleigh, the Festival will also feature a series of beautiful art songs. Their magnificent poetry perfectly expresses this year’s themes. The eight Festival concerts build to a hope-filled Finale, a concert celebrating the joy and optimism of youth and renewal. In keeping with our mission, all Festival musicians will play instruments from the period when the music was composed: gut strings rather than steel, and four different period-specific pianos. As is our tradition, VMMF’s Blattner Lecture Series’ dynamic speakers will place the music into historic and social context. Join us to celebrate music and human connection. *VMMF is closely watching all current restrictions and protocols due to the pandemic. We are doing our utmost to keep both musicians and audiences safe. Masks and social distancing will be required at all times.
Time: Varies (see website for individual event times); PT
Cost: FOR SINGLE TICKETS: $50 for a single live concert (limited capacity seating); $5 reservation fee + $20 suggested donation for a virtual concert. FOR VIRTUAL FESTIVAL SUBSCRIPTION: $35 registration fee + $135 suggested donation.
Online/Hanna Boys’ Center, Sonoma, CA.
More information HERE
Sunday, August 1—Saturday, August 7
American Bach Soloists’ Summer Bach Festival: “The Garden of Harmony”
Our ABS musicians are absolutely overjoyed to be reuniting with our audiences and with each other, so we’ve put together programs that celebrate much of what we’ve missed and can return to now.
The opening program, named after the Giants ballpark’s famous “Triples Alley” features three concertos for three violins by three great Baroque composers: Bach, Telemann, and Vivaldi. The concert—all about teamwork and collaboration—includes a grand slam in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins.
This summer’s “Bach Explorations” concert called “Transformation” features music by Bach and transcriptions of the same works by Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, and Ysaÿe.
“The Devil’s Trill” brings virtuoso violin music front and center in a concert of tour de force works by Bach, Handel, and Tartini featuring some of ABS’s most exciting performers.
We’ve missed the music of our beloved namesake, Bach, over the past year, so we will present “Bach & His World,” featuring captivating works by Johann Sebastian and the composers who inspired his genius.
This special season of ABS’s Summer Festival closes with performances of the marquee event, “The Garden of Harmony,” a sensational program of music about birds, animals, and the harmony of nature. While we were sheltering to protect each other, nature flourished in ways that it hadn’t for many years. This concert celebrates that inspiring part of our shared experiences.
The focus on the best of the Baroque performed by ABS’s brightest stars is always at the core of San Francisco’s Summer Bach Festival, voted “Best of the Bay” by SFCV readers.
Time: Varies by concert
Cost: Regular price—$25-$89 reserved seating: $150 VIP section
Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
More information HERE
