Freebie(s) of the week: A couple of free events this weekend should appeal to literature fans, including one that promises a unique look at a true classic. First, in the South Bay, the inaugural San Jose Book Festival takes place Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Eastridge Center in San Jose. The event is the brainchild of San Jose city council members, the BookSmart book retailer and such South Bay lit-loving organizations like Local Words and South Bay Writers. The event will feature more than 100 writers, publishers and more. South Bay author Karen Joy Fowler, best known for her novels the “Jane Austen Book Club” and the stunningly creative “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” will deliver a keynote speech at 11 a.m. A complete list of participating authors and other information is available at sanjosebookfestival.org. Meanwhile the impressively creative “Moby-Dick Marathon” runs from noon Saturday through noon Sunday at the San Francisco Maritime Museum at 900 Beach St. Sponsored by the museum and Litquake, the event is pretty much what it sounds like – a 24-hour public reading of one of literature’s most revered and unforgiving masterpieces. The event is free and there may be openings for readers. Check the website, maritime.org/md2026 for details.
The play’s the thing: The theater world faces an uncertain future due to everything from AI to evolving audience preferences. But it will still thrive if Theatre Bay Area has anything to say about it. The organization is marking its 50th year of promoting and aiding local theater companies. One of its best-loved events, Bay Area Theatre Week, returns Sept. 10-20 where dozens of productions by stage companies like Marin Theatre, Center Repertory Company, Lorraine Hansberry and Hillbarn Theatre are presented at a discounted price. These include shows ranging from Jeff Daniels’ comedy “Pickleball” (Hillbarn Theatre) and Tennessee Williams’ classic “The Glass Menagerie” (Center Rep) to Sean Daniels’ comedy/drama about one man’s quest to quit drinking, “The White Chip” (Marin Theatre) to “African Stew,” a world premiere by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre about a couple’s engagement party gone wrong. Even if attendees can’t snag a discount, Bay Area Theatre Week’s website offers a comprehensive roundup of what’s playing on Bay Area stages at www.theatrebayarea.org/
Break out the opera glasses: San Francisco Opera kicks off its 104th season Saturday night at War Memorial with a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra,” starring the renowned Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat in the title role. Verdi’s 21st opera was an unusual misstep for the popular composer, as it bombed when first presented in Venice in 1857. Nearly a quarter century later, he dusted it off and gave it a serious reworking with the assistance of his collaborating librettist Arrigo Boito, and that second version has entered the canon of Verdi masterworks. The action takes place in 15th-century Genoa, where the plebeian Boccanegra becomes the first elected Doge, and the convoluted plot involves political intrigue and rivalry, an abandoned and abducted infant, a lost daughter found, poisoning and more. Go for the magnificent music, which will be conducted by music director Eun Sun Kim. Enkhbat, whom opera lovers will remember fondly for killing it in the title role of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” last season, will be joined onstage by Italian soprano Eleonora Buratto as Amelia/Maria, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Jacopo Fiesco and Mexican American tenor Joshua Guerrero as Gabriele Adorno. Curtain time is 8 p.m., with five more performances scheduled through Sept. 27, including one that will be livestreamed on Sept. 19. Find more information and tickets, $30-$447, at sfopera.com. Note: The production could be delayed if the orchestra musicians and management haven’t settled on a new contract by performance time.
All that S.F. jazz: It’s time to get excited as the new SFJAZZ Center season kicks off Sept. 10-11 featuring Christian McBride, one of the best bassists in all of jazz, paying tribute to another superlative bassist, the late Ray Brown. The occasion – technically speaking – is the 100th anniversary of Brown’s birth. But as McBride notes, he has long been celebrating Brown’s musical legacy, especially after the legendary bassist died in 2002. McBride will be joined by pianist Benny Green and drummer Gregory Hutchinson, both of whom have a rich history of performing with Ray Brown. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday at SFJAZZ Center’s Miner Auditorium. Tickets are $45-$135. On Saturday and Sunday, McBride returns to SFJAZZ Center to perform with his new kick-butt quintet Ursa Major with tickets from $40-$125. Tickets for both shows can be found at www.sfjazz.org.
An unusual collaboration: The Bay Area’s beloved all-male a cappella chorus Chanticleer joins forces this weekend for a theatrical project related to the dozen singers’ newest album, “Machaut,” devoted to the music of the 14th century master of both sacred and secular music, Guillaume de Machaut. Born in 1300 in Reims, France, the poet and composer was much admired and copied in his time, inspiring even the great Gregory Chaucer, and is considered the definitive proponent of the ars nova style of the late medieval period. A fully staged production of Chanticleer’s “The Machaut Project,” guided by the celebrated opera director and librettist Elkhanah Pulitzer, receives its world premiere Sunday in performances at 2 and 5 p.m. at the ODC Theater in San Francisco. Subtitled “Devotion and Desire,” the program explores the medieval world Machaut lived in, including the complexities of courtly love he wrote about so frequently for his noble patrons. Repeat performances take place at ODC, 3153 17th St. in the Mission, at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 17, 2 and 5 p.m. on Sept. 19 and 2 p.m. on Sept. 20. Find tickets, $120, through chanticleer.org.