Michael Morgan dons impresario’s hat
Michael Morgan is best known as the music director and chief conductor of the Oakland Symphony, where he’s introduced Bay Area audiences to a long list of new works and debuting artists. This weekend, though, he’s acting as presenter for an intimate concert and CD release party at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. “Amour sans ailes: Songs of Reynaldo Hahn” features baritone Zacha ary Gordin and pianist Bryan Nies in Saturday program of art songs by the influential French composer, whose friend and lover, Marcel Proust, made Hahn the hero of his first novel. The concert marks the release of Gordin and Nies’ new CD, also titled “Amour sans ailes” (Love without Wings), which includes beloved Hahn songs such as “Fêtes galantes” and “À Chloris.” Coppurchase, ies will be available for and the evening ends with a reception with the artists. Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Piedmont Center for the Arts; $35-$150; eventbrite.com.
‘It’s ‘War’ at Cal Shakes
Artistic director Eric Ting takes center stage in a big way in “The War of the Roses,” the new California Shakespeare Theater production opening this week.
Adapting elements of history plays “Henry VI” and “Richard III,” Ting and Philippa Kelly present a new look at the epochal battle for supremacy between England’s Lancaster and York clans. Full of political maneuvering, tyranny and civil unrest, the show promises a Shakespearean drama that speaks to contemporary times.
“I’ve been hungry to tackle a history play since joining Cal Shakes,” said Ting, who is also directing the play. “At the heart of this production are a series of questions: What makes a tyrant? What combination of circumstances paves the way for tyranny? And how is a society — a nation — culpable?”
The cast features such Cal Shakes regulars as Danny Scheie, Aldo Billingslea and Stacy Ross, and a sure-tobe-striking set design from Nina Ball.
Details: In previews tonight and Friday, main run is Saturday through Sept. 15; Bruns Amphitheatre, Orinda; $20-$92; 510-548-9666; calshakes.org.