There is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond, from holiday shows and concerts to a photo exhibit on Black cowboys.
Here is a partial roundup.
Holiday dance: 2 revered ‘Nutcrackers’
Here are two time-honored productions of “The Nutcracker” available this weekend.
San Francisco Ballet: The fledging San Francisco Ballet Opera (as San Francisco Ballet was originally known) presented the first full-length American production of “The Nutcracker” in 1944, and it’s entirely fitting that Helgi Tomasson’s version has become an institution itself since premiering in 2004. Set in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights around the conclusion of World War I, the ballet employs Tchaikovsky’s complete score in the composer’s intended sequence. It’s a showcase for the company’s exceptional dancers, but the entire production is an irresistible confection, with lavish décor, sets and costumes that are a marvel unto themselves.
Details: Through Dec. 30; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $25-$565; www.sfballet.org.
Oakland Ballet: Company artistic director Graham Lustig drew on the original E.T.A. Hoffmann short story in retelling the uncanny tale, which he set in fin de siècle Vienna. The production premiered with New Jersey’s American Repertory Ballet in 2000, but it has fully blossomed amidst the Paramount Theatre’s Art Deco finery. With the Oakland Symphony and the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir joining the orchestra for the Snow Scene, the graceful production features more than 40 young Bay Area dancers (aged 7 to 17) performing alongside the company’s professionals as snowballs, mice, soldiers and candies.
Details: 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday; Paramount Theatre, Oakland; $26.50-$126.80; oaklandballet.org.
— Andrew Gilbert, Correspondent
East Bay funk for the holidays
Tower of Power is bringing its Holidays and Hits 2023 Tour to the Bay Area.
The East Bay funk masters perform two shows this weekend See to support the group’s newly released seven-song EP, “It’s Christmas.” The outing features a half-dozen Christmas classics — such as “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “Silver Bells” and “O Holy Night” — as well as the original composition “It’s Christmas (A Long Way from Home).”
But it is a CD exclusive, so don’t try and listen to it on your favorite streaming site. Fans can order it via the band’s website (towerofpower.com) or pick it up in person at one of the group’s shows.
Besides celebrating the Christmas season, the band is also marking 55 years since it was founded in 1968 in Oakland.
“Fifty-five years have flashed before us in the blink of an eye, and this year has been extraordinary,” says Emilio Castillo, co-founder and bandleader for Tower of Power. “2023 has been a monumental year for Tower of Power — from a sold out European tour to performances with world-renowned symphonies and shows that have attracted fans from every era of Tower of Power’s history.”
Details: 8 p.m. Friday at the Fox Theater, Oakland; 8 p.m. Saturday at the Heritage Theatre, Campbell; $60.50-$100.50 for Fox show, $86-$244 for Heritage show; towerofpower.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
A different take on Cowboy life
Cowboys, ranchers and the like have long made for iconic images reflecting America’s frontier spirit, or a rugged sense of individualism that’s associated with an uncompromising way of life. And, for the most part, the people in these images have been White. Bay Area photographer Charles Lee is out to change that with his first solo exhibit, now on display at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. “Sweat + dirt,” showing at SF Camerawork, is a collection of images chronicling Black rodeo and cowboy cultures. The mostly black-and-white images focus on Black ranchers, cowboys, trail riders, ropers, equestrian performers and trainers and more, both at work and at rest. Some of the most expressive images are simple portraits of the Black men and women who define 21st-century Western culture. The photos, taken in Louisiana and several locations in Northern and Southern California, are intriguing in their own right, and collectively they offer a rebuttal to the standard image of Westward migration and the notion of manifest destiny, as well as the idea that rural lands are the domain of Whites and urban life is for Blacks. As Lee puts it: “All of this is with the intention to further the discussion about what it truly means to be ‘American.’”
Details: Exhibit runs through Feb. 3 at SF Camerawork, Building A, Fort Mason Center off Marina Boulevard, San Francisco; noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; free; sfcamerawork.org.
Classical picks: Choral Project; ‘Messiah,’ more
Here are four holiday concerts classical music fans should know about.
Seasonal voices: The Choral Project joins the San Jose Chamber Orchestra this weekend with “Winter’s Gifts: Journeys,” a program featuring music of the season, including works by Emmy Award-winning and Cabrillo Festival commissioned composer John Wineglass and “Everest” composer Joby Talbot, along with music by composers Téodora Gines and Conrad Susa.
Details: 7:30 Dec. Saturday at Valley Presbyterian Church, Portola Valley; 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Mission Santa Clara de Asís, Santa Clara; $15-$40; choralproject.org.
“Messiah”: For many music lovers, Handel’s great 1741 oratorio is a must this time of year. Led by Jeffrey Thomas, American Bach Soloists are presenting two performances in Grace Cathedral.
Details: 7:30 p.m. today and Friday; Grace Cathedral, San Francisco; $20-$130; Americanbach.org.
“Christmas Ornaments”: New Century Chamber Orchestra has Baroque masterworks and holiday classics on its program, featuring the U.S. debut of French trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary. Daniel Hope conducts.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday at First Congregational Church, Berkeley; 3 p.m. Dec. 16 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Tiburon; 3:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco; $30-$70; ncco.org.
“Holiday Spectacular”: More than 100 voices strong, the always-fabulous San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus comes to Cal Performances with its always-polished program of Christmas carols, classic choral works, and more.
Details: 5 p.m. Sunday; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $38-89; calperformances.org
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Holiday jazz: Cressman and Faquini, Adam Schulman
Here are two holiday concerts jazz fans should know about.
Natalie Cressman and Ian Faquini: The exquisite Brazilian jazz duo of vocalist/trombonist Natalie Cressman with Brazilian-born guitarist/vocalist Ian Faquini just released the EP “An Old Fashioned Christmas” in partnership with the Nancy Langhorne Foundation to raise funds for the Virginia-based cancer research nonprofit. They’ll be playing some of the new arrangements at the Sound Room, including the premiere of an arrangement setting Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” to a samba groove.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Friday; The Sound Room, Oakland; $26-$31; www.eventbrite.com (search for Natalie Cressman)
Adam Shulman Trio: Over the past decade pianist Adam Shulman has become the primary keeper of the Vince Guaraldi “Peanuts” flame, performing the irresistibly swinging score from the beloved 1965 television special “It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas” every year. His trio features bassist John Wiitala and drummer James Gallagher.
Details: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco; $45-$105; www.sfjazz.org.
— Andrew Gilbert, Correspondent
Herzog gem plays in Berkeley
Among this year’s highlights for Bay Area movie buffs was the November appearance of acclaimed 81-year-old director Werner Herzog at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive as part of the PFA’s extensive retrospective on his versatile career. The good news is that “Infinite Horizons: The Films of Werner Herzog,” extends through the end of February, including a screening on Friday.
And it’s a doozy. The director’s famed “Fitzcarraldo” answers the question what does it take to bring an opera house to a jungle in Peru? How about a big riverboat and an obsessed fat cat (Klaus Kinski) backing it and orchestrating the whole crazy deal? Herzog’s renowned 1982 epic, based on actual events, features one of the most intense action sequences ever put on film: an actual riverboat getting tugged over a mountain. Prepare to chew those fingernails. Herzog amazingly did it without special effects, a radical spectacle that’s breathtaking and audacious and renders you speechless, particularly in this day of overused computer effects. Also 1987’s “Cobra Verde,” a lesser-known entry from the Herzog and Kinski partnership, screens 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Details: 7 p.m. Friday and Wednesday; Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; $10-$14; bampfa.org.
— Randy Myers, Bay City News Foundation
