Cal Performances Announces THE DESDEMONA PROJECT, Mariinsky Orchestra, & More

Matías Tarnopolsky, Director of Cal Performances, the internationally distinguished arts presenter based on the campus of UC Berkeley, announces the 2011-2012 season featuring the United States premiere of the Desdemona project, a new work by Peter Sellars and Toni Morrison, inspired by Othello; a three-concert residency by the Mariinsky Orchestra of St. Petersburg performing the six Tchaikovsky symphonies; and the Cal Performances debuts of actor John Malkovich in The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer, a work that combines theater, opera and music, and countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.

Highlights of the more than 75 performances offered also include Pina Bausch's Danzón; Ojai North! with Leif Ove Andsnes; Mark Morris conducting Dido and Aeneas with Stephanie Blythe; pianist superstar Lang Lang; and jazz legends Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, among many others. First Stage for Families, a series designed to introduce young people and their adults to an array of performing arts, is inaugurated.

Debuts and first appearances will include soprano Sandrine Piau; bass-baritone Eric Owens; contemporary dance company Trey McIntyre Project; New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast; fado singer Ana Moura; comic genius Tomáš Kubínek; and conductors Marin Alsop and Nicola Luisotti. Original compositions and new music which can be heard in the programs of Bill T. Jones, Kirill Gerstein and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra continue Tarnopolsky's emphasis on contemporary music across series.

"The performing arts are alive at Cal Performances. Exciting, relevant and contemporary," comments Matías Tarnopolsky. "We strive to make the arts an essential part of our audiences' lives through innovative, world-class performances, significant residences that transport us deeper into the arts, and education programs designed to instill a lifelong love of culture in our community's young people."

The 2011-2012 Season opens with the second annual Fall Free for All on September 25. More than 13,000 people attended Fall Free for All in 2010, its inaugural year. The organization's commitment to community programs continues in force, bringing more than 20,000 young people to Cal Performances for performances, talks and master classes annually.

Visit Cal Performances website at www.calperformances.org to learn about the full 2011-2012 season.