Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

COMING UP WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK BY DAVID WIE GAND POP MUSIC HAIL, CESARIA The big question on our minds is how Cesaria Evora's habit of smoking cigarettes onstage is going to go over in Berke- ley. No matter: Most likely, the audience will be so car- ried away by her incompara- bly smoky voice, no one will mind. Evora is truly a one-of- a-kind performer. She grew up on Cape Verde and began singing classic Portuguese mornas as a teenager. After a couple of releases, she gave up music for several years. Fortunately, she returned to her career in 1985 and made a big name for herself in Lisbon and Paris. Her 1995 album, "Cesaria," was a hit in the United States, as was its follow-up, "Cabo Verde." Her latest, "Cafe Atlantico," finds her voice as captivating as ever and is also graced with Cuban and Brazilian motifs. Smoking or not, the lady is on fire. She'll appear in Berkeley and San Francisco next week. CESARIA EVORA, 8 p.m. Saturday, Zellerbach Hall, University of California at Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, tickets $20-$32. (510) 642-9988, www.campers.berkeley.edu 7p.m. September 13, Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, tickets $30, (415) 474-0365, www.ticketweb.com OPERA MASK-MAKING POP MUSIC TROPICALISMO Beatriam mais HEAT WAVE those with longer memo ries, Gilberto Gil is a true giant. Born in 1942 in the northeast city of Salvador, Brazil, he was a protege of bossa nova singer-guitarist Joao Gilberto. He scored his first big hit in the mid-'60s and be- came one of the leaders of the Tropicalismo movement in Brazilian music. Over the years, Gil has continued to push the musical enve lope, teaming up with performers such as Yes, Jimmy Cliff and Pink Floyd. He took a nine-year break to serve on the Salvador City Council but, fortunately, returned to music in 1992. He's still active in politics, as well as en- vironmental issues, but he's able to balance all of that with music - in- comparable music, which Bay Area audiences can hear for themselves when Gil performs at Masonic Auditorium this week. GILBERTO GIL, Bp.m. Friday. Masonic Audito- rium 1111 California St., San Francisco, tickets $25-$45, (415) 392-4400 century with one of Verdi's most popular operas, "Un Ballo in Maschera," starring Carol Vaness (right) as Amelia. The composer had a rough time getting the work off the ground, since its focus on the assassination of Sweden's King Gustavus III drew fire from Roman censors, who forced Verdi to change the locale of the story and "demote" the king to a mere noble. No matter, once it premiered in 1859, "Un Ballo" went on to become one of Verdi's greatest hits, and most subsequent produc- tions returned to the composer's original concepts. Vaness, a graduate of the Opera's Merola program, was last seen here in "Norma" last year. She will be joined in the cast by mezzo Elena Zaremba as Madame Arvidson, tenor Richard Margison as the king and baritone Sergei Leiferkus as Anckarstrom. Music director Donald Runnicles will conduct the Opera Orchestra. And to keep the opera party rolling, don't forget the annual Opera in the Park concert next Sunday. It's free, it's fun and it's loaded with great singers per forming opera's greatest hits. Among the singers scheduled to perform are Tracy Dahl, Marcello Giordani, Jerry Hadley, Vladimir Chernov, Sam Ramey and Leiferkus. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA by Giuseppe Verdi, 7p.m. Saturday (sold out). 8 p.m. September 14,23,25 and October 1, 2p.m, Sep- tember 19, 7:30p.m. September 23 and October 6, staged by the San Francisco Opera, War Memorial Opera House, 401 Van Mess Ave, San Francisco, tickets $22-$145, (415) 864-3330 OPERA IN THE PARK, 1:30-3:30p.m. next Sunday, Sharon Meadow, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, free,(415) 777-7770 DANCE FOLK LEGENDS For those who have picked up on the Few folk dance companies have lasted as long as Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. More to the point, few can point to so many years of sold-out houses. The company now bears the name of its founder, Amalia Hernandez, as it returns to the United States for its 47th an- niversary tour with two U.S. premieres and the world premiere of a 14-member chorus. The two premieres are "Aztecs," which interprets the Aztec myth of creation, and "Tarascos," celebrating the culture of the people who live on the edge of Lake Patzcuaro and maintain their pre- Columbian traditions. From its beginnings as a company of only eight dancers, Ballet Folklorico has grown to become one of the most important folk dance and music performing organizations in the world. The company performs both in San Jose and Berkeley. BALLET FOLKLORICO DE MEXICO DE AMALIA HERNANDEZ,8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 3p.m. next Sun day, San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose, tickets $20-$45, (BBB) 433-8497;8p.m. September 14, Zellerbach Hall, University of California at Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, tickets $20-$32, (510) 642-9988 M Company opens Carin Theatre its 1999-2000 season on an up note. The com- pany will stage Rodgers and Hart's Broadway classic "Pal Joey" at its Mill Valley theater. The show, which went on to become a successful Frank Sinatra film, features classics such as "My Funny Valentine," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" and "The Lady Is a Tramp: "Pal Joey," based on a novel by John O'Hara, tells the sto- ry of Joey Evans, a real lounge lizard who is involved with both wide-eyed young Linda and a wealthy, older Vera. The Marin cast, directed by Albert Takazauckas, features Rudy Guerrero in the title role and screen veteran Kathryn Crosby as Vera. The show will be choreographed by Richard Gibbs. PALJOEY, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, in previews 8pm. Thursday-Saturday and 2 and 7p.m. next Sunday, opens 8 p.m. Septem- ber 14 and continues through October 10, Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miler Ave, Mill Valley tickets $24-$40 (415) 388-5208 THEATER WHAT A PAL Howard Swain and Julie James in "Pal Joey."