Allons Enfants

Here comes the Police! Plus, Feist and a little La Bohème in your Pocket (Opera).

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Image credit: courtesy of FAMSF; Marty Sohl WORDS AND MUSIC Love opera but you're tone-deaf to languages? (How in the world are you supposed to enjoy a good tragedy if you can't understand exactly what the characters are moaning about?) The July 13 production of La Bohème by SF's Pocket Opera at the Legion of Honor promises a narration by director Donald Pippin (whose piano stylings also happen to be part of the show's musical instrumentation) and all-English lyrics, proving that Italian isn't the only language of love.

Image credit: Vladimir Surkov; ISTOCKPHOTO.COM; Clayton Hansen UNREQUITED LOVE We're sure that when Dubya coined the term "freedom fries" in 2003, it did little to balance America's one-sided affair with France. We love their pain au chocolat, their Paris, their easygoing views on what you can eat or drink when you're expecting; they disdain our puritanism, our fast food and our high-handedness (internationally speaking). Explore just how both cultures tread that thin line between love and hate at the Commonwealth Club's "Amour Non Partage?" discussion panel on July 14. (That's Bastille Day, bien sûr). American Francophiles Cara Black (author of Murder in the Rue de Paradis) and Georgeanne Brennan (author of the memoir/cookbook A Pig in Provence) explore both sides of the story.

Image credit: Andy Mogg DANCE FEVER Just in case you've got a hankering to see the classic French ballet Les Sylphides, originally intended to be performed in moonlight, we've got the next best thing: ODC's Local Heroes/Big Picture festival is staging choreographer Yannis Adoniou's contemporary version, cheekily called Less Sylphides, at the Project Artaud Theatre on July 17. If you can imagine that phosphorescent lightbulbs are an adequate substitute for moon glow, then consider your craving satisfied.

Image credit: Live Nation; Zach Cordner COMEBACK KIDS When the Police reunion tour came to the Bay Area last year, the dog ate your tickets and you missed the show. Maybe your car got a flat on the 580, or you were unexpectedly sandwiched between two Playboy playmates at Hef's mansion and forgot about your flight back to SF. Whatever the excuse, now that the '80s supergroup is performing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on July 14, you can learn from the past and take necessary precautions to ensure a safe and punctual arrival. Did we mention that Elvis Costello is making an appearance? Things do happen for a reason.

Image credit: Stephanie Michejda FEISTY GIRL You've seen her on the iPod commercials singing "1234"—don't you think it's high time you witness live the phenomenon that is Feist? Though she may have struck the overexposure chord by signing on the dotted line with Apple, we're suckers for vulnerability and melancholy, and we're happy to keep her latest album, The Reminder, on repeat. Catch the Nova Scotia wonder at UC Berkeley's Greek Theatre on July 19.

Image credit: Nathan Kendall/SVSC MOUNTAIN HIGH Got the sea-level blues? We recommend a high-altitude cure at the seventh annual Squaw Valley Summer Festival, a two-day fete featuring the cornerstones of any public celebration: art, wine and music. Drive up early on July 19 to acclimate to the lively atmosphere (local folk-rock star Emily Tessmer is rumored to appear on the music stage) before checking into your suite at the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. Ask for one with an Xbox and the kids won't want to tag along to the afternoon wine tasting in the base village. For a $25 donation (proceeds benefit the Tahoe Forest Hospital and the Tahoe Adaptive Ski School), you'll sample wines from the likes of Grgich Hills Estate and Mokelumne Glen Vineyards. Go easy on the pours: With the altitude, you'll need less to feel the buzz—and besides, how can you enjoy dinner at PlumpJack Cafe if you're snoring in your hotel room?

Image credit: James Prinz MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE Bay Area Now 5, a four-month program organized by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, begins July 19 and features exhibitions (don't miss the interactive "Ground Scores: Guided Tours of San Francisco Past and Personal"), films (the "Midnite for Maniacs" series is dedicated to 1980s cinema) and dance performances (choreographer Erica Shuch delivers After All, Part 1, a series of plays, songs and dances) meant to prove the region's artistic vitality. We didn't even know we had an inferiority complex.

Image credit: courtesy of Universal Pictures FOG DAY EXTRA Mamma Mia opens at the Balboa on July 18—Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and ABBA ... who could ask for anything more?

<< July 6—July 12   |   Full Summer Calendar   |   July 20—July 26 >>

FOR MORE HAPPENINGS, SEE THIS WEEK'S CALENDAR OF EVENTS

<<

>>

Image credit: courtesy of FAMSF; Marty Sohl WORDS AND MUSIC Love opera but you're tone-deaf to languages? (How in the world are you supposed to enjoy a good tragedy if you can't understand exactly what the characters are moaning about?) The July 13 production of La Bohème by SF's Pocket Opera at the Legion of Honor promises a narration by director Donald Pippin (whose piano stylings also happen to be part of the show's musical instrumentation) and all-English lyrics, proving that Italian isn't the only language of love.

Image credit: Vladimir Surkov; ISTOCKPHOTO.COM; Clayton Hansen UNREQUITED LOVE We're sure that when Dubya coined the term "freedom fries" in 2003, it did little to balance America's one-sided affair with France. We love their pain au chocolat, their Paris, their easygoing views on what you can eat or drink when you're expecting; they disdain our puritanism, our fast food and our high-handedness (internationally speaking). Explore just how both cultures tread that thin line between love and hate at the Commonwealth Club's "Amour Non Partage?" discussion panel on July 14. (That's Bastille Day, bien sûr). American Francophiles Cara Black (author of Murder in the Rue de Paradis) and Georgeanne Brennan (author of the memoir/cookbook A Pig in Provence) explore both sides of the story.

Image credit: Andy Mogg DANCE FEVER Just in case you've got a hankering to see the classic French ballet Les Sylphides, originally intended to be performed in moonlight, we've got the next best thing: ODC's Local Heroes/Big Picture festival is staging choreographer Yannis Adoniou's contemporary version, cheekily called Less Sylphides, at the Project Artaud Theatre on July 17. If you can imagine that phosphorescent lightbulbs are an adequate substitute for moon glow, then consider your craving satisfied.

Image credit: Live Nation; Zach Cordner COMEBACK KIDS When the Police reunion tour came to the Bay Area last year, the dog ate your tickets and you missed the show. Maybe your car got a flat on the 580, or you were unexpectedly sandwiched between two Playboy playmates at Hef's mansion and forgot about your flight back to SF. Whatever the excuse, now that the '80s supergroup is performing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on July 14, you can learn from the past and take necessary precautions to ensure a safe and punctual arrival. Did we mention that Elvis Costello is making an appearance? Things do happen for a reason.

Image credit: Stephanie Michejda FEISTY GIRL You've seen her on the iPod commercials singing "1234"—don't you think it's high time you witness live the phenomenon that is Feist? Though she may have struck the overexposure chord by signing on the dotted line with Apple, we're suckers for vulnerability and melancholy, and we're happy to keep her latest album, The Reminder, on repeat. Catch the Nova Scotia wonder at UC Berkeley's Greek Theatre on July 19.

Image credit: Nathan Kendall/SVSC MOUNTAIN HIGH Got the sea-level blues? We recommend a high-altitude cure at the seventh annual Squaw Valley Summer Festival, a two-day fete featuring the cornerstones of any public celebration: art, wine and music. Drive up early on July 19 to acclimate to the lively atmosphere (local folk-rock star Emily Tessmer is rumored to appear on the music stage) before checking into your suite at the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. Ask for one with an Xbox and the kids won't want to tag along to the afternoon wine tasting in the base village. For a $25 donation (proceeds benefit the Tahoe Forest Hospital and the Tahoe Adaptive Ski School), you'll sample wines from the likes of Grgich Hills Estate and Mokelumne Glen Vineyards. Go easy on the pours: With the altitude, you'll need less to feel the buzz—and besides, how can you enjoy dinner at PlumpJack Cafe if you're snoring in your hotel room?

Image credit: James Prinz MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE Bay Area Now 5, a four-month program organized by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, begins July 19 and features exhibitions (don't miss the interactive "Ground Scores: Guided Tours of San Francisco Past and Personal"), films (the "Midnite for Maniacs" series is dedicated to 1980s cinema) and dance performances (choreographer Erica Shuch delivers After All, Part 1, a series of plays, songs and dances) meant to prove the region's artistic vitality. We didn't even know we had an inferiority complex.

Image credit: courtesy of Universal Pictures FOG DAY EXTRA Mamma Mia opens at the Balboa on July 18—Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and ABBA ... who could ask for anything more?

<< July 6—July 12   |   Full Summer Calendar   |   July 20—July 26 >>

FOR MORE HAPPENINGS, SEE THIS WEEK'S CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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