Chuck's choices for the weekend of April 27, 2012

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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Union Avenue Opera presents Handel’s Acis and Galatea Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, April 27-29. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. The opera is sung in English with projected English text. Union Avenue is a small, young, and adventurous company (they’re doing a reduced version of Das Rheingold later this year!), so it’s always interesting to see what they’re up to. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.

Stray Dog Theatre’s production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America continues this weekend with Part 1: Millennium Approaches. Next week they’ll present Part 2: Perestroika again, with the entire enterprise concluding the weekend of May 17. These are beautifully written plays and the Stray Dog production has gotten strong notices (see Andrea Braun’s reviews of Part 1 and Part 2 at the KDHX site). I’m hoping to catch the final two weekends myself. Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995.

The Black Rep presents August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom through May 13. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. Writing for us at KDHX, Connie Bollinger praised the “convincing, flawless performances” of the principals and the “finessed, punch-to–the-gut impact” of the both the play and the production. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810.

The St. Louis Symphony continues the "Rach Fest" Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 3 PM with performances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1, and the local premiere of Rimski-Korsakov’s colorful Skazka (“Fairy Tale”). Stephen Hough is at the keyboard and the orchestra is conducted by Hans Graf, Music Director of the Houston Symphony. I saw the Friday morning concert (with the Rachmaninoff First Concerto) and was very impressed; you can see my review here. Stephen Hough has both tremendous power and a delicate touch. Hans Graf is a conductor who, while he maintains a disciplined presence on the podium, can nevertheless be passionate and lyrical. Put them together and you have a killer beginning to the "Rach Fest", which concludes the weekend of May 4. Powell Hall is at 718 North Grand; you can get tickets at stlsymphony.org or by calling 314-534-1700.