Cal Performances announces 2024-25 season

Music by Olivier Messiaen and George Frideric Handel, a new stage work by South African artist William Kentridge and the debut of the Brazilian dance company Grupo Corpo are planned to contribute to a theme of “Fractured History” as part of Cal Performances’ 2024-25 season.

The UC Berkeley presenter’s lineup of music, dance, theater and spoken word events also includes a weekendlong, three-concert visit by the Vienna Philharmonic, a Diamond Jubilee program by Twyla Tharp Dance, a world premiere by Berkeley-born composer Gabriella Smith performed by the chamber ensemble yMusic, and “This Land Is Our Land,” a celebration of immigrant communities in the United States by singer-songwriter Martha Redbone, Executive and Artistic Director Jeremy Geffen announced Tuesday, April 16.

The season is scheduled to open Sept. 27, with Messiaen’s song cycle “Harawi,” in a staged version by the American Modern Opera Company directed by Zack Winokur. It continues through May 9-11, 2025, with a revival of “Pepperland,” the Beatles extravaganza by the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Soprano Julia Bullock is scheduled as the series’ artist-in-residence, singing “Harawi” and returning Jan. 19, for a concert of Baroque music with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Kentridge, whose “Sibyl” had a triumphant U.S. premiere in March 2023, returns March 14-16, with “The Great Yes, the Great No,” a chamber opera set on a 1941 sea voyage from Marseille to Martinique.

The season also includes “Slam!” (Oct. 4-6), billed as “a theatrical wrestling show” created by Cirque Flip Fabrique in collaboration with Ex Machina/Robert Lepage.

The visit by the Vienna Philharmonic (March 5-7) features music by Mahler, Beethoven, Schubert and others, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with piano soloist Yefim Bronfman.

Complete season details are at www.calperformances.org.