Bay Area arts: 6 concerts and shows to see this weekend

There are a lot of cool concerts and shows to see this week in the Bay Area, as the fall classical and stage seasons heat up. Here’s a partial roundup.

Classical picks: Verdi, Bach gems

The classical season is off to a bold start this week with Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” and two performances of Bach’s beloved “Brandenburg” Concertos.

Verdi at SF Opera: Over the past few seasons, San Francisco Opera music director Eun Sun Kim has traced a thrilling journey through the music of Giuseppe Verdi; this month, she brings her musical mastery to “Il Trovatore.” Fueled by deep secrets, passion and revenge, it’s one of the composer’s most powerful dramatic works, and David McVicar’s production is inspired by the dark imagery of Spanish artist Francisco Goya. Directed by Roy Rallo and conducted by Kim, the cast features acclaimed soprano Angel Blue as Leonora, along with Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Manrico, Ekaterina Semenchuk as Azucena, and George Petean as the Count di Luna.

Details: Through Oct. 1, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $26-$414; sfopera.com.

Bach in Lafayette and Livermore: If you’d like to start the season with Bach — always a good choice — consider this weekend’s Pacific Chamber Orchestra performances of the Brandenburg Concertos, which the ensemble under Lawrence Kohl will perform Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church; 3 p.m. Sunday at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore: $25-$65; pacificchamberorchestra.org.

— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent

Loving your legacy

In “Crowns,” the rollicking musical now on stage at Center Repertory Company in Walnut Creek, a young Black Chicago woman named Yolanda is sent to stay with relatives in the deep South, in the heart of a culture with which she is only vaguely familiar. But she winds up getting quite an education. She is taken in by a community of strong-willed women who are first and foremost characterized by the stunning hats they wear to church and special occasions. The crowns in question are a gateway to a deeper understanding of a culture that celebrates its history, traditions and heritage – and music.

Tying the chapters of Yolanda’s journey of discovery together is a celebratory score touching on a history of African American music, ranging from traditional gospel and spirituals to contemporary hip-hop. The show, penned by Golden Globe Award-winning actor/director/playwright Regina Taylor, based on a book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry, premiered in 2004 at the McCarter Theatre Center in New Jersey and, thanks to its dynamic score and roof-raising song-and-dance routines, has gone on to be a popular staple at regional theaters nationwide. Helmed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, Crowns plays through Oct. 6 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek.

Details: $45-$70; www.lesherartscenter.org.

— Bay City News Foundation

All aboard for ‘Train Stories’

For writer-performer Wayne Harris, connecting the past with the present isn’t a quirk in his work, it’s a foundational feature. It informs plays like his jazz-era drama “Jockamo” and helped bring his acclaimed solo show “The Letter: Martin Luther King at the Crossroads” to a Middle Eastern audience of Israeli and Palestinian patrons.

Harris frequently combines his experience as an educator with his skills as a performer to highlight chapters of Black history both well-known and not. This modus operandi and his father’s time as a train dining porter inspired the three-person show “Train Stories,” playing at The Marsh Berkeley.

Set during the segregated U.S. of the 1950s, the play tells the stories of three Black men with connections to the country’s railroad expansion. The trio — one is the mythical John Henry — makes invaluable contributions to the country’s train system even as the men themselves aren’t allowed to partake in its luxuries. The three (played by Harris, Tony Cyprien and Kirk Waller) attempt to reconcile the importance of their work on behalf of a country where the threat of lynching is ever present.

“The original version of ‘Train Stories’ was a solo performance where I portrayed all three roles — which was quite a challenge for me, Harris says. “It was an amazing experience, but I always wondered what it would be like as an ensemble piece and how to present a play that is predominantly told as monologues.”

Details: 7:30 p.m. through Sept. 29; 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley; $25-$100; themarsh.org.

— Bay City News Foundation

Free fun tunes in SF

John D. McLaren Park is the second largest municipal park in San Francisco, after Golden Gate Park, yet many are unaware that this 313-acre gem with rolling hills, a golf course and pool, abundant wildlife, stunning views and lots of hiking trails (including one designated for philosophers) awaits visitors in the southeastern flank of the city. It’s named for the legendary Scottish-born horticulturist and park designer (1846-1943) who developed Golden Gate Park and served as the city’s parks superintendent. He is credited with planting some 2 million trees during his lifetime and famously insisted that no park under his jurisdiction would ever post a “keep off the grass” sign.

One of the other major attractions at McLaren Park is a nifty amphitheater constructed in 1970. In 2006, it was named the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in honor of Grateful Dead singer-songwriter and guitarist who grew up near the park. The venue recently underwent a $1.5 million renovation and is a lovely spot to hear music – which is exactly what city parks officials want you to do this weekend, when the Due South free concert series returns to the amphitheater. Sponsored by the SF Parks Alliance and the Noise Pop music festival, Due South this year is hosting four free concerts at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, including one this Saturday, Sept. 16, from 2-6 p.m. The headliner is the Portland, Oregon, Latin/indie-pop/experimental band Y La Bamba, fronted by singer, guitarist and San Francisco native Luz Elena Mendoza. The band this year dropped its seventh album, “Lucha.” Also in the lineup are Marinero and Loco Bloco.

Details: The park is at 100 John F. Shelley Drive, San Francisco; free, but reservations are recommended; www.eventbrite.com (search for Due South) or via SF Parks Alliance, sanfranciscoparksalliance.org, which has more information about the event and how you can grab reserved seats.

— Bay City News Foundation

Flora and fauna in song

Contralto Sara Couden joins forces with soprano Aléxa Anderson and accompanist Derek Tam on piano for a program of vocal music that takes inspiration from animals and nature. So at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek, we’ll be hearing pieces such as Telemann’s “Canary Cantata,” which was commissioned from the Baroque composer, we kid you not, from a wealthy patron in Hamburg who was in mourning for his cat-slain bird and bore the original full title “Cantata of Funeral Music for an Artistically Trained Canary Bird Whose Demise Brought the Greatest Sorrow to His Master.”

Also on the program are selections from Zachary Wadsworth’s “The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts” (set to verses from Hilaire Belloc’s 1896 children’s book), the “Flower Duet” from Delibes’ “Lakme” and some nature-themed music by Schubert.

Details: 1924 Trinity Ave., Walnut Creek; suggested donation $10-$20, either to attend in person for the live-stream; stpaulswc.org/concert-series.

— Bay City News Foundation