From great classical music performances to a classic car show and killer comedy, there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond.
Here is a partial rundown.
Classical picks: Opera in the park; ‘Rigoletto,’ ‘Così Fan Tutte’
The classical music season’s new season takes off this week with a treasured tradition and revivals of two classic operas. Here are three productions music fans should know about.
Opera in the Park: Talk about traditions: San Francisco Opera’s free Opera in the Park celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. On Sunday, opera lovers will flock to Robin Williams Meadow to hear some of the top artists from this season’s productions, as Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducts a program of arias, duets, and more, all sung by some of the stars of the fall season’s masterworks.
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Details: 1:30 p.m. Sept. 7; Robin Williams Meadow, Golden Gate Park; free; www.sfopera.com.
“Rigoletto”: Friday night, San Francisco Opera launches its fall season with a classic: Verdi’s enduring drama, “Rigoletto.” Experience the thrills of the production, which stars baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat; also leading the cast are Adela Zaharia as Gilda and J’Nai Bridges as Maddalena. Jose Maria Condemi directs the opera, and Eun Sun Kim conducts.
Details: Sept. 5-27; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $36-$344; sfopera.com.
“Così Fan Tutte”: Launching its 42nd season at the beautiful California Theatre, Opera San Jose is presenting Mozart’s comedy, with one of the Bay Area’s finest funny men, tenor Alek Shrader, making his directorial debut. It’s a fizzy production built for love and laughs, with a cast including company Artist-in-Residence mezzo-soprano Joanne Evans as Dorabella, tenor Ricardo Garcia as Fernando and soprano Emile Michiko Jensen as Fiordiligi.
Details: Sept. 14-28; California Theatre; $58-$215; operasj.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
3 great gigs for September
Here are three cool concerts worth checking out in September.
Modest Mouse, Flaming Lips: We don’t even know how many times we’ve seen Modest Mouse over the decades. It’s a lot — well over two dozen times. But we are still looking forward to adding to that tally when this terrific alt-rock troupe returns for a co-headlining show with indie-pop stalwarts Flaming Lips at the Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley on Sept. 7. Dehd opens.
Details: 6 p.m.; tickets start at $83; apeconcerts.com.
Jackson Browne: We probably don’t need to point out that this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has a ton of great songs in his arsenal. After all, a batch of top tunes seems to be one of the main prerequisites for getting into the Rock Hall in the first place, right? Yet, the list of songs we’re certainly hoping to hear during Browne’s two-night stand at the Mountain Winery definitely includes “Running on Empty,” “I’m Alive,” “Somebody’s Baby” and “Fountain of Sorrow.”
Details: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8-9; tickets start at $124; mountainwinery.com.
Raphael Saadiq: The Oakland native, who first rose to fame as a member of Tony! Toni! Toné!, is celebrating three decades of hits during his big show at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on Sept. 8. Showtime is 8 p.m. and tickets are $66, apeconcerts.com. The acclaimed vocalist, whose most recent full-length album is 2019’s “Jimmy Lee,” also performs 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at Channel 24 in Sacramento.
Details: Tickets are $75; apeconcerts.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Classic cars come to Orinda
Honk honk! Hey, I’m drivin’ heah!
Actually, make that “I’m appreciatin’ automotive history heah,” at the ever-entertaining Orinda Classic Car Show.
Now in its 21st iteration, this annual event gathers nearly 200 vintage automobiles — some in mint condition, others showing signs of many good years on the road — for aficionados to lovingly appraise, and for members of the public to gawk at while murmuring, “vroom vroom.” The theme for 2025 is American vs. British classics, so be prepared to ogle Aston Martins, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and other cars that’d make James Bond lift an eyebrow.
“When the unbridled roar of American muscle cars collides with the refined performance of British engineering, the result is nothing short of automotive magic,” the fest organizers promise. “It’s more than a head-to-head showdown – it’s a celebration of two automotive cultures at their finest.”
Put on by the nonprofit Orinda Association, the show’s proceeds go toward providing local seniors free transportation around town. Come for the pretty cars, stay for the attending food trucks and beer booth.
Details: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 6; 61 Orinda Way (by the Orinda Classic Car Center), Orinda; free for spectators; orindacarshow.com.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
On the lighter side …
Here are a few places to (hopefully) catch a chuckle or two this weekend.
Jane & Kate show: Emmy Award-winner Jane Lynch (“Glee”) and Kate Flannery (“The Office”) team up for a night of comedy, song, and “unapologetic mischief” (their words, not ours) in a show titled “The Trouble with Angels.”
Details: 8 p.m. Sept. 6; Bankhead Theater, Livermore; $100-$125; livermorearts.org.
SF Comedy Competition: The annual competition featuring a boatload of funny wannabe stand-up stars continues through Sept. 20. Contests are held in Walnut Creek, Livermore, Menlo Park, Saratoga and locations throughout the Bay Area.
Details: Tickets run $49-$224; find tickets and more information at sanfranciscocomedycompetition.com.
Desi Banks: Three years after the stand-up performer’s 50-city sold-out tour, he’s back at it again, with a trek that lands at Tommy T’s in Pleasanton.
Details: Five shows Sept. 5-7; $41-$51; tommyts.com.
Godfrey: The New York comedian is known for his podcast (“In Godfrey We Trust”), co-hosting the Fox gameshow “Bullseye,” and his gigs at the New York’s Comedy Cellar club. But now he’s the road and headed for the San Jose Improv.
Details: Five shows Sept. 5-7; $31.14-$101.65; improv.com/sanjose.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Freebie of the week
Heads up, Bay Area bibliophiles: As they have every year since 1981, the volunteer book reviewers and editors who comprise the Northern California Book Reviewers will be honoring the authors from these parts who have published works in the past year with the Northern California Books Awards for fiction, poetry, nonfiction and children’s literature. The ceremony, which takes place at 2 p.m. Sept. 6 in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library with a reception to follow, also celebrates the achievements of translators in prose and poetry and singles out two distinguished authors for special recognition. This year, the Fred Cody Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service goes to Marin author, activist and historian Rebecca Solnit, and the NCBA Groundbreaker Award will be bestowed on Paul Yamazaki, who has been the head book buyer for the legendary City Lights Books in San Francisco for more than 50 years. The Library and the organization Poetry Flash are co-presenters of the event; books will be available for sale at the reception.
Details: For more information, including a list of all nominees, and a link to secure free tickets, go to www.poetryflash.org.
Anthony Wilson in the spotlight
When you perform with such A-List stars as Paul McCartney, Diana Krall and Norah Jones, and your father was a legendary musician and bandleader, it’s understandable that you might have some challenges making a name for yourself. Anthony Wilson has not had that problem. The son of revered L.A. trumpeter and bandleader Gerald Wilson — who did music arrangements for pretty much anyone who was anyone in the jazz world during the second half of the 20th century — Anthony Wilson wasted little time in establishing his own credentials.
Shortly after graduating from Bennington College in Vermont, he captured the Thelonious Monk International Composer’s Competition. His first album, a self-titled release, was nominated for a Grammy. He has since released 14 albums under his own name and has contributed to more than 30 others as a guest artist. He appears on several of his father’s recordings and, since 1986, has performed with his father’s Gerald Wilson Orchestra. The versatile fretman is comfortable with a variety of band settings, including the quartet (which he featured in his most recent album, 2024’s “Hackensack West”) and the nonet, which is what he is bringing to SFJAZZ Center Thursday and Friday for four concerts. Regardless of what kind of band he’s in or who he’s playing with, however, Wilson is regarded as one of the finest jazz guitarists on the planet. He and his band perform at 7 and 8:30 p.m. Sept. 4 and 5 at SFJAZZ Center’s Joe Henderson Lab (the early show Sept. 4 is listed as sold out).
Details: Tickets are $35-$45; go to www.sfjazz.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Just a loverly musical
San Francisco Playhouse is the midst of presenting a string of classic productions – with “Noises Off,” “Into the Woods” and “M. Butterfly” in the offing in the company’s 2025-26 season. But through Sept. 13, you can catch the utterly hummable classic “My Fair Lady” at the company’s 450 Post St. theater. The musical is an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion,” about a haughty professor utterly lacking in empathy waging a bet that he can pass off a Cockney flower girl as an upper-class woman by teaching her to speak in a more upper-class manner. Through the grueling process, the professor, Henry Higgins, and the flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, form a bond that is deeper than either could have expected.
The story has its issues — Professor Higgins’ self-centered ways read more like misogyny by today’s standards — but “My Fair Lady” is worth seeing for the exceptional collection of first-rate songs: “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “With a Little Bit of Luck,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “On the Street Where You Live,” and several other classics. Created by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) the tunes hold their own against any song lineup in any musical that we can think of. “My Fair Lady,” directed by S.F. Playhouse co-founder and artistic director Bill English, has 15 performances left before closing.
Details: Tickets are $52-$135; go to www.sfplayhouse.org
— Bay City News Foundation