Arts & Events

In the Muslim world, the tale of the inspired but tragic love of Layla and Majnun holds a place in the popular imagination similar to that held in western culture by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. However, the tale of Layla and Majnun, which originates way back in oral tradition in the Arabian peninsula, predates Shakespeare’s play by more than a thousand years. The ill-fated lovers Layla and Majnun have been celebrated by Turks, Arabs, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis and Afghans; but perhaps the most influential version of this story was a Persian one by Nezami Ganjawi (1140-1209 BCE). Another influential setting of this story was by Azerbaijani poet and philosopher Muhammad Fuzuli (1483-1556), whose work was later set to music by Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli (1885-1948) in an opera, Leyli and Majnun, which premiered in Baku in 1908. Since then, this opera has opened every season at the Azerbaijani State Opera and Ballet Theatre; and it is a source of immense pride to all Azerbaijanis. -more-

Opens September 30 at the Shattuck Landmark

Cameraperson, filmmaker Kirsten Johnson's self-styled "memoir," is like an album of old photos (or a family member's summer vacation slideshow—anyone old enough to remember those?) but enhanced with sound and the added dimension of time.

The title, Cameraperson, is Johnson's jibe at yet another male-centric industry. All too often, "cameraman" is the title that women filmmakers are forced to bear. This film will help change that.

"The joys of being a documentary cameraperson are obvious and endless," Johnson writes, "I get to share profound intimacy with the people I film, pursue remarkable stories, be at the center of events as they unfold, travel, collaborate, and see my work engage the world."

Over the past 25 years, Johnson has racked up an impressive resume, providing cinematography for films like Michael Moore's Farhrenheit 9/11 and CItizenfour, the powerful, award-winning documentary profiling NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

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In San Francisco Opera’s new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, which opened Wednesday, September 28, an old codger, one Don Pasquale, gets his world turned topsy-turvy when he foolishly weds, or thinks he weds, a much younger woman. However, the wedding itself is a mock ceremony designed by Don Pasquale’s physician, Dr. Malatesta, to trick Don Pasquale and demonstrate to the old codger that he is better off not getting married at his advanced age. There, in a nutshell, is the basic plot of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, an opera buffa composed late in Donizetti’s illustrious career. -more-

The Castro Theater's celebration of Anna Magnani, the dazzling diva of Italian film, has now crossed the Bay to Berkeley's new art museum/film house. -more-