Innocence Meets Irony in Mark Morris’s Idea-Rich “Pepperland”

In a fascinating coincidence, La Jolla Music Society presented two dances this season by a noted choreographer using music from the 1960s, and the two couldn’t have been more different. Paul Taylor’s vapid “Changes,” shown here in January, used music by the Mamas and Papas (seriously?) and reduced the 60s to hippie chicks and bell-bottoms. “Pepperland,” in happy contrast, is a work of substance, a celebration of the youthful creativity and idealism of the 1960s … and a profound, important reflection on what became of those dreams.

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Lise Lindstrom and Greer Grimsley Easily Exceed the Billing of ‘One Amazing Night’ for San Diego Opera

Let no one claim that San Diego Opera does not know how to have a good time! The Saturday, May 5, concert–“One Amazing Night”–at the Balboa Theatre featured opera stars soprano Lise Lindstrom and bass-baritone Greer Grimsley accompanied the San Diego Symphony in a program that ranged from arias and scenes from grand opera to Viennese operetta and American musical theater.

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Guest Conductor Fabien Gabel Takes San Diego Symphony to New Heights

Under the astute baton of guest conductor Fabien Gabel, Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma and the San Diego Symphony gave a rapturous account on Friday, May 4, of Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade,” a violin concerto written for no less a violinist than Isaac Stern in memory of the composer’s early mentor, Boston Symphony Music Director Serge Koussevitsky.

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Litvak Dance Makes Stunning Debut

Litvak Dance may be a newborn, but there were no tentative baby steps in the repertory company’s sold-out debut concert last weekend. Litvak exploded onto the stage at UCSD’s Molli and Arthur Wagner Theatre with assured dancers performing work by four choreographers, shifting deftly between styles. And the closing piece by artistic director Sadie Weinberg was so glorious and theatrical, it begs to be shown on a larger stage.

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