Arts & Events

THURSDAY, MAY 8 -more-

In theater,” said that poet and visionary of drama, Antonin Artaud, in The Theater and Its Double, “there is a kind of strange sun, an unusually bright light by which the difficult, even the impossible, suddenly appears to be our natural medium. And [John] Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore is lit by the brilliance of that strange sun.” -more-

Amid the slapstick of aristocrats stashed in packing crates to cheat the guillotine, flashbacks of the genteel antediluvian life signaled by opera singers popping up out of nowhere to sing Mozart and close-ups of those singers’ and comedians’ faces projected on a big screen from a camera in the wings, a wry concept seems to be taking shape from Theatre de la Jeune Lune’s Figaro, onstage at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre. -more-

This Friday Berkeley Opera opened the second opera of its 29th season, with two one-acts from the early 20th century, Béla Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle (A kékszakállú herceg vára) and Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges. Wildly different in tone and intent, the operas nonetheless provided a wonderful program that was evocative and satisfying. -more-

Once upon a time, houses were built with the materials at hand, or those things that could be made using the materials at hand (concrete, for instance). Around here, that tended to be wood and masonry (stone, brick, stucco, and concrete). These days, more and more construction materials are fake. -more-

If you’re like Joe and me, you’re spending as much of this sunny weather as you can outdoors, especially in our handy local parks. The breeding birds are here, and they’re putting on a show as they sing and chase and carry on, establishing territories, picking mates, building nests. The bloom season is at its height, multiple species carpeting outer Point Reyes and interior grassy hillsides. -more-

I had a slight tense phone call with a rather difficult person this morning. Not a great way to start the day, but I guess it goes with the business and I’m lucky to be employed. -more-

THURSDAY, MAY 8 -more-