‘Rusalka,’ Lilac Days, and Composers Cookoff: 15 things to do this week

This week’s entertainment options vary widely and offer not only several types of events, but a variety of regions as well. Spending the weekend in Astoria? We’ve got a concert to check out. Driving through the Columbia River Gorge? The spring arts open studios tour may just fit the bill. If you’re staying around Portland, we’ve got entertainment close by as well including two staged opera performances

Although the statewide indoor COVID-19 mask mandate has lifted, some venues or artists still have restrictions in place. Check venue websites for information on specific COVID safety requirements.

Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour

This annual tour, now in its 17th year, features 40 local artists showcasing diverse works that include paintings, ceramics, jewelry, textile art, woodworking, photography, and glass. Meet the artists in their spaces and learn how the work is created. A map showing the route to all the studios that range through all the mid-Columbia counties is available at the website.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Sunday, April 21-23, various locations; free; gorgeartists.org

Seffarine

Lamiae Naki and her ensemble Seffarine channel a deep knowledge of the music of both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar, where African, Middle Eastern and European cultures come together. Expect a mix of classical Arabic and European Renaissance music during this show at the Reser Center.

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 21, Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 S.W. Crescent St., Beaverton; tickets $25-$35; thereser.org/event

“The Magic Flute”

Portland State Opera performs Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” at the Lincoln Performance Hall stage the next two weekends. Linda Brovsky directs this full-scale, mainstage opera together with PSU’s full Voice program participants set in a mystical world of fantasy filled with dragons, mischievous fairies and charming forest animals.

7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Sunday, April 21 and 23, also 7:30 p.m. April 29, 3 p.m. April 30, Lincoln Hall, PSU campus, 1620 S.W. Park Ave.; tickets $20-$45; portlandstate.universitytickets.com/?cid=171

Battle Ground Art Alliance Spring Art Show and Sale

Yes! Another spring art show. If you’re shopping for a Mother’s Day gift or just want to spruce up your pad, the Battle Ground show offers 20 southwest Washington artists’ work, including art in paint, mixed media, sculpture, jewelry and textiles. The event also includes an interactive component with live demonstrations on the creative process. Ask questions and get started on your own artist journey.

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 22, Battle Ground Community Center, 912 E. Main St, Battle Ground, Wash; free; bgartalliance.org

Lilac Days

The Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens will host Lilac Days 2023 in Woodland, Wash., beginning this Saturday. The historic gardens not only offer a display of beautiful blooming lilacs (weather permitting) but will also offer an exhibit titled “Hats from the Past” showcasing the many hats from the museum’s collection. The Klager house will reopen this year and tours will be offered through the season. Buy a quilt raffle ticket, or purchase some plants during the annual sale.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily Saturday, April 22, through Sunday, May 14, Lilac Gardens, 115 S. Pekin Road, Woodland; $5 general, ages 12 and younger free; lilacgardens.com/info/lilac-days/

Salmon-Safe IPA Festival

Hopworks Brewery is hosting its second festival of spring beers made with certified Salmon-Safe hops and grains. Sip some IPAs and help support a healthy, robust watershed on Earth Day. Some of the proceeds go to the work of Oregon Wild toward protecting and restoring Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife and waters. The festival is split into two sessions, a family-friendly afternoon and a 21+ session in the evening.

Noon -9 p.m. Saturday, April 22, Hopworks, 2944 S.E. Powell Blvd.; admission $30 includes mug and 10 tickets; merctickets.com/events/

“Rusalka”

Portland Opera continues its 2022/23 season with its first ever performance of the Antonín Dvorák work. The centuries-old Czech folktale “Rusalka” speaks to the timeless themes of love, sacrifice, and self-discovery. The story follows a water nymph who falls in love with a prince and seeks the help of a witch to make her dreams of being human come true. Although the plot certainly fueled Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” this opera is rated PG-13 and not recommended for young children. In addition to principal artists, the production features the Portland Opera chorus and full orchestra. “Rusalka” is sung in Czech with live English captions.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22, and Friday, April 28; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.; tickets start at $50; portlandopera.org

“That’s Entertainment”

The Oregon Symphonic Band presents a concert for all ages. The program includes music by Ira and George Gershwin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Williams, and Rimsky-Korsakov. The band will wrap up the evening performing the Broadway Showstoppers Overture.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22, Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 S.W. Crescent St., Beaverton; tickets $19-$24; oregonsymphonicband.com/events

Trio Mediaeval

The Friends of Chamber Music welcome this Grammy-nominated trio founded in Oslo in 1997. The program includes “Lumen de Lumine” Medieval motets from England, Scandinavian traditional hymns, and contemporary works written for Trio Mediæval.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22, St. Philip Neri Church, 2408 S.E. 16th Ave.; tickets $32-$57; focm.org

“An American in Paris” Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s spring concert showcases father and son guests Maestro Gerard Schwarz and internationally recognized cellist Julian Schwarz. Maestro Schwarz will lead the orchestra in a program of all American composers, including George Gershwin, Samuel Jones, Valerie Coleman and Howard Hanson. Julian Schwarz will perform the solo in Jones’s “Cello Concerto” and Gerard Schwarz’s “In Memoriam.”

7 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, April 22-23, at Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 N.W. 139th St., Vancouver; tickets $41; app.arts-people.com

North Coast Symphonic Band

Terry Dahlgren of Warrenton conducts the North Coast Symphonic Band in a program of jazz, pop, rock and other music featuring selections from Dixieland and blues to the music of The Beatles.

2 p.m. Sunday, April 23, Liberty Theatre, 1203 Commercial St., Astoria; free; northcoastsymphonicband.org

Miller Family Portland Art Museum Free Day

Enjoy free admission all day in celebration of youth arts and the partnership between the Museum and Portland Public Schools HeART of Portland: K-12 Student Arts Showcase. Special programs for the day will include artmaking and student performances in the galleries. Current exhibits include “Nature Vive,” an intimate exhibition celebrating the work of Paul Missal through the lens of his playful and symbolic still-life paintings and prints. Guests can reserve free admission tickets online beginning the Wednesday prior to the free day. A limited number of tickets are also available for walk-in visitors Sunday.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, April 23, Portland Art Museum, 1219 S.W. Park Ave.; free; portlandartmuseum.org

Composers “Cookoff”

Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble welcomes music lovers to the annual Composers Cookoff fundraiser, an “Iron Chef” sort of event where composers face off creating the tastiest work. This year’s event features composers Gordon Lee, Christopher Brown and Caroline Miller, charged with creating a yummy performance using the secret ingredient of Tommy Wolf’s tune “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most.”

4 p.m. Sunday, April 23, The 1905, 830 N. Shaver St.; $35; pjce.org

Bailamos!

Spanish dancer/choreographer David Romero joins Espacio Flamenco for two nights of flamenco music and dance at the Imago Theatre. Romero began dancing at a very young age. He said in an interview he started dancing flamenco professionally in Barcelona in a tablao when he was underage, and had to run and hide when the authorities would show up. Feel the passion of this celebrated dance form.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, and Friday, April 28, Imago Theatre, 17 S.E. Eighth Ave.; tickets $25 advance, $30 day of; brownpapertickets.com/event

Live wire radio with Timothy Egan

Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello host a Live Wire event in Beaverton featuring interviews and performances by author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Timothy Egan, award-winning poet José Olivarez, stand-up comedian Mohanad Elshieky, and Portland’s own The Decemberists multi-instrumentalist Jenny Conlee.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 S.W. Crescent St., Beaverton; tickets $25-$35; livewireradio.org/events/20230427

– If you have events you’d like to see highlighted at OregonLive.com or in the weekly printed A&E section of The Oregonian, please email submissions to events@oregonian.com at least three weeks prior to the start of your event. Digital images or links to videos are helpful.

— Rosemarie Stein

503-221-4376, events@oregonian.com; @trafficportland

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