Month: August 2016

The Accompanist, this week’s movie at the San Francisco Alliance Française, focuses on the relationship which develops, in wartime Paris, between a young pianist and her employer, a famed opera singer. Based on the novel by Nina Berberova, the film is directed by Claude Miller, and stars Romane Bohringer, Elena Safonova and Richard Bohringer (the…

In 2022, San Francisco Opera celebrates its Centennial – although, according to the Company’s historical notes, the City’s ‘love affair with opera’ began as early as the days of the Gold Rush!  Nearly 5,000 performances took place in 26 different theaters between 1851 and the 1906 earthquake, but it wasn’t until 1923 that San Francisco’s…

Courtesy UniFrance A couple of weeks ago, the San Francisco Alliance Française screened The Illusionist, one of Sylvain Chomet’s two highly acclaimed animated films, the other being The Triplets of Belleville.  Featured in this week’s movie night is Chomet’s first live-action film, Attila Marcel, and it sounds as though a keen sense of humor is…

Since 1998, the City of Cannes has hosted an annual celebration of the artistic creativity of Russia – the Festival de l’Art Russe – which was established to develop the intercultural exchange between Russia and France, marking the historic friendship which exists between the two countries. One of the highlights of the summer season in…

Making a welcome return to UC Berkeley’s Greek Theater this week is world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who brings with him a group of musicians and composers who take the greatest delight in their music-making – the Silk Road Ensemble. Silkroad is the remarkable project founded by Yo-Yo Ma in 2000, which has assembled what…

Bruno Podalydès’ Adieu Berthe is the featured film at the San Francisco Alliance Française movie night on Tuesday. Also known by its English title, Granny’s Funeral, the film was written by the director and his brother, Denis Podalydès – who also plays the male lead, Armand Lebrecq. Armand, a middle-aged pharmacist, always wanted to be…

If you love the music of Cuban jazz pianists, then SFJAZZ is the place to be this week, with a series of concerts by some of the island’s  finest – Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Fabian Almazán, Alfredo Rodríguez, Harold Nussa-López and Aldo López-Gavilán – and each performance features a special guest appearance by Cuban percussion master Pedrito…

If the reviews for Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist are anything to go by, this delightful animated film is a must-see – it screens at the San Francisco Alliance Française on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal referred to its “Exquisite images, poignant humor, echoes of cinema history and a sense of having watched genuine magic”. According…

On Classical KDFC they refer to Sunday evening as “the night that sings” – and this coming Sunday voices will soar, as the Bay Area’s classical music radio station broadcasts San Francisco Opera’s gala concert in honor of the Company’s retiring General Director, David Gockley.  Marking the culmination of Gockley’s 10 years at the helm…