Cal series has some Radical offerings
Extended visits by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Riccardo Muti and the Mariinsky Orchestra of St. Petersburg under Music Director Valery Gergiev, the beginning of a five-year collaboration with the Joffrey Ballet, appearances by flutist Clare Chase, pianist Olli Mustonen and soprano Julia Bullock, and a broad survey of four generations of African American choreographers are among the highlights of the 2017-18 season for Cal Performances.
The season, announced by Executive and Artistic Director Matías Tarnopolsky, marks the third year of the programming initiative dubbed Berkeley Radical, an attempt to integrate the organization’s traditions of innovation and interdisciplinary presentation with the values of its hometown.
Among the season’s genrebending offerings, presented under the rubric “Blurring Boundaries,” are a visit by the
National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela led by Gustavo Dudamel and an acrobatic staging of Monteverdi’s opera “The Return of Ulysses” by the Australian performance troupe Circa.
Dance programming includes “Moses(es),” an evening-long work by Reggie Wilson with Fist and Heel Performance Group, new work by choreographer Camille A. Brown, a residency by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and a collaboration between choreographer Donald Byrd and playwright Anna Deavere Smith.
Other notable events on the schedule include “State of Siege,” a treatment of Camus by Théâtre de la Ville of Paris; a new oneman work by stage director Robert Lepage; vocal recitals by soprano Dorothea Röschmann and tenor Simon O’Neill; and orchestral programs by the Seattle Symphony and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Full schedule details are at www.calperfor mances.org.