UPCOMING EVENTS
Ballet, Music & More!
La Jolla Music Society (LJMS) is pulling out all the stops in February, showcasing the wide variety and depth of artistic offerings carefully curated each season by Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal.
• Appearing for the first time ever in San Diego, the world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company performs top-notch ballet that’s also uproariously funny! Famed for performing en travesti and on pointe, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo’s program spoofs some of your favorite works with virtuosity and technical prowess. These dancers amaze even as they exaggerate the foibles, accidents and underlying incongruities of serious dance. They celebrate their 50th anniversary this year with their first ever San Diego show, in the Dance Series on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Balboa Theatre.
• The Balourdet Quartet brings its stellar excellence to the Discovery Series on Feb. 4, at 3 p.m. in The Baker-Baum Concert Hall.
• On Feb. 10, the Blue Note 85th Anniversary Celebration Tour comes to town starring The Blue Note Quintet at 7:30 p.m. in The Baker-Baum Concert Hall as part of the Jazz Series.
• It’s truly a special event in February when America’s greatest living soprano, Renée Fleming, makes her LJMS debut, accompanied by LJMS SummerFest Music Director Inon Barnatan on the piano, in The Baker-Baum Concert Hall. On Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, these two musical luminaries will perform an all-new program inspired by Fleming’s 2022 Grammy Award-winning album “Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene.” For the performance’s second half, the National Geographic Society provides an original video, with awe-inspiring glimpses at the creatures, plants and landscapes of our planet to accompany the musical selections.
• The Arod Quartet returns to La Jolla after their sensational Discovery Series debut in 2022. The quartet performs on Feb.17, at 7:30 p.m. in The Baker-Baum Concert Hall as part of the Revelle Chamber Music Series.
• The newly named artistic director of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance, Ambrose Akinmusire, has paradoxically situated himself in both the center and the periphery of jazz throughout his career, masterfully weaving inspiration from other genres, arts and life in general into compositions that are as poetic and graceful as they are bold and unflinching. Catch this phenom with his trio in their local debuts on Feb. 23 at 6 and 8:30 p.m. in The JAI.
• Experience the wonder of our underwater world through riveting stories by Emmy Award-nominated director, Nat Geo photographer and accomplished musician Andy Mann. “Making Waves: Summit to Sea,” a Changemaker Production, comes to The Baker-Baum Concert Hall as part of the Speaker Series on Feb. 29, at 7:30 p.m.
Details and tickets are available at the La Jolla Music Society box office by phone at (858) 459-3728. The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center is at 7600 Fay Ave.
JANUARY 26
‘The Cocktail Hour’
Trinity Theatre Company presents “The Cocktail Hour, running through Feb. 4 at Trinity Theatre in Mission Valley, 1640 Camino Del Rio North, Suite 128. This witty, perceptive play blends mordant humor with moments of affecting poignancy. The time is the mid ’70s, the place: a city in upstate New York. John, a playwright, returns to his family’s house, bringing with him a play he wrote about them. He hopes to obtain their permission to proceed with production, but his wealthy, proper parents are cautious. John’s sister is concerned that her character has such a minor role. Their confrontation takes place during the ritual of the cocktail hour, and as the martinis flow, so do the recriminations and revelations, both funny and poignant.
‘Fun Home’
New Village Arts presents “Fun Home,” based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, Jan. 26-March 3. This will be a fully staged musical presented on the newly named Ray Charles Stage in the Conrad Prebys Theatre at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center. The storyline follows the journey of Alison as she reflects on her upbringing and grapples with her relationship with her enigmatic father. The narrative unfolds through different stages of Alison’s life, seamlessly blending humor, heartache and poignant moments as it explores themes of acceptance and understanding.
JANUARY 27
Concurrent jewelry exhibition
The La Frontera exhibition explores the complexity of the U.S.-Mexico border as a physical reality, geopolitical construction and state of being through the medium of jewelry – an object repeatedly used for communication throughout human history. Mingei International Museum presents this traveling exhibition in conjunction with a concurrent La Frontera exhibition at CECUT- Centro Cultural Tijuana. Exhibition dates: Mingei International Museum, Jan. 27-Aug. 4. CECUT-Centro Cultural Tijuana, Feb. 6-June 9.
‘A Splendid Decennium’
The Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House is thrilled to announce its new exhibit, “A Splendid Decennium: Victorian to Vanguard.” The exhibit will infuse the House with works from internationally-acclaimed fiber artist Marty Ornish, exploring a decade of political, environmental and feminist perspectives through textile art. This is a retrospective exhibit in two parts, uniting the Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House and the Villa Montezuma Museum. The exhibition will span both properties and can be viewed separately, but guests are encouraged to visit both for a comprehensive experience of Ornish’s work. Exhibit runs Jan. 27-April 27. Davis-Horton House, 410 Island Ave. (619) 233-4692.
FEBRUARY 8
‘The Age of Innocence’
The Old Globe announces the Globe-commissioned world premiere of “The Age of Innocence,” based on Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic. “The Age of Innocence” is set in 1870s Gilded Age New York City, where high society clashes with love. When the glamorous Countess Ellen Olenska sweeps into town, she upends the lives of everyone around her, especially the dashing lawyer Newland Archer. “The Age of Innocence” plays at the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, from Feb. 8 to March 10, with the official opening night on Feb. 15.
FEBRUARY 9
Art lecture by Elliott Hundley
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) presents a lecture featuring Elliott Hundley. Known for his dense multimedia compositions that reference both art history and mythology, Hundley’s work weaves together scenes from the past with familiar imagery taken from the contemporary world. Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m., Jacobs Hall at MCASD La Jolla, 700 Prospect St.
FEBRUARY 17
Knife sharpening
Seven Oaks Woodworking Club in Rancho Bernardo will sharpen knives, serrated knives, scissors and non-powered gardening tools on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 16789 Bernardo Oaks Drive. Pick up same day or Monday, Feb 19.
7oaksrb.com/info.php?pnum=358fe8075e148e
‘Don Giovanni’
San Diego Opera presents Don Giovanni, Feb. 2 and 4. Based on the story of legendary womanizer Don Juan, Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” is a tale of seduction and doom featuring some of the most iconic operatic music ever written.
The San Diego Opera’s unique production will be a contemporary take on the classic featuring the San Diego Symphony Orchestra on-stage, modern costumes and state-of-the-art theater lighting and projections for a complete and stunning visual and auditory experience.
Considered to be a perfect opera, this tale features stunning visuals and the orchestra on stage, heightening Mozart’s glorious music. Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” features some of the greatest operatic music ever written. This special version showcases Mozart’s incredible score by placing the singers, chorus and San Diego Symphony front and center. The singers and chorus will be fully staged and costumed, accompanied by state-of-the-art theater lighting and projections, for a complete and stunning visual and auditory experience.
San Diego Opera’s Principal Conductor Yves Abel returns to lead the action, which features the exciting house debut of baritone Germán Enrique Alcántara in the title role.
The two performances in February will be at the San Diego Civic Theatre, both sung in Italian with English and Spanish text projected above the stage.