Arts & Events

While I acknowledge that Wager’s Lohengrin has quite a lot of beautiful music, though also quite a lot of what may be called filler, in which the composer stretches out indefinitely and inordinately the basic drama he is depicting. And this drama, in case you hadn’t noticed, is Wagner’s contention that a woman in love must never question her lover about his name, where he is from, or anything of his past. Oh, at the opera’s end, Wagner offers the lame excuse for Lohengrin’s insistence on anonymity by having him reveal that he is a knight of the Holy Grail. As such, says Lohengrin, he must always remain anonymous, even when, as in this case, he falls in love with Elsa. By virtue of his ‘higher’ calling, says Lohengrin, he must insist on anonymity. As usual, Wagner over-reaches. Lohengrim stretches out this meagre plot for four hours and 24 minutes. -more-

b On Saturday, October14, Museo Italo Americano at Fort Mason presented a one-day symposium on the many ways the history of opera in San Francisco is intertwined with the city’s Italian community, which was largely responsible for making San Francisco a major opera center in the USA and worldwide. Also featured at the Museo Italo Americano was, and still is, a wonderful exhibition entitled BRAVO illustrating the participation of so many illustrious Italian singers, conductors and composers who have thrilled San Francisco audiences with their performances here. Both the one-day symposium and the BRAVO exhibition were the work of a team that included Bianca Friumdi, Curator of Museo Italo Americano; Kip Cranna, Dramaturg Emeritus at San Francisco Opera; and a whole host of others, all of whom were graciously thanked by Bianca Friundi in her welcoming remarks at the start of the symposium. -more-

Judging by the wildly enthusiastic applause I heard at the War Memorial Opera House on Sunday, November 5, at the close of the new opera Omar by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, it would seem that political correctness is all you need these days to win the approbation of opera audiences. I wish to express my extreme disapproval of this tendency. While I gladly acknowledge that the opera Omar, which relates the story of a West African Muslim brought to America as a slave at age 37, mounts an effective plea for respect and tolerance to be granted to this slave’s Muslim faith, I seriously question both Omar’s quality as an opera, which I find rather dubious, and its inability to think in more profound terms than mere political correctness. -more-

Worth Noting:

There are only four (November 14, 28, December 5, 12) more scheduled City Council meetings before Winter Recess - December 13, 2023 – January 15, 2024

Recommended Go To meetings are bolded:

• Monday:
  • At 10 am United Against Hate Week launches at Civic Center Park.
  • At 10 am the Health, Life, Enrichment, Equity & Community meets in hybrid format on animal welfare at the racetrack.
  • At 12 pm CCCC meets online. At 2:30 pm the Agenda Committee meets in the hybrid format.
  • From 4:30 – 6:30 pm in-person film on Not in Our Town.
  • At 4:30 pm City Council meets in closed session.
  • At 6:30 pm the Youth Commission meets in person.
• Tuesday:
  • At 4 pm City Council meets in the hybrid format on San Pablo safety enhancement plan.
  • At 6 pm the City Council meets in the hybrid format with the Southside Plan as 13 under Action.
• Wednesday:
  • At 1 pm there is a webinar online on preparing RFPs.
  • At 1:30 pm the Commission on Aging meets in person on bicycles on sidewalks.
  • At 2 pm the FITES Committee meets in the hybrid format on bicycles on sidewalks.
  • At 7 pm the Commission on the Status of Women meets in person.
  • From 7 – 8:30 pm Councilmember Hahn sponsors an in person meeting on public safety.
  • No agenda is posted for the 7 pm Commission on Labor meeting.
• Thursday:
  • At 10 am the Budget Committee meets in the hybrid format on financial forecast and mid-year budget adjustment (AAO#1).
  • At 7 pm the Transportation and Infrastructure Commission meets in person.
  • The Design Review Committee is cancelled.
• Friday: From 9 am – 12 pm CEMTF meets online on Climate and Accessibility
• Saturday:
  • From 9 – 11 am is the Shoreline Cleanup.
  • From 11 am – 2pm is the Pandemonium Color Run for grades K-5

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/

Directions with links to ZOOM support for activating Closed Captioning and Save Transcript are at the bottom of this calendar.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS -more-