SEATTLE SYMPHONY
The Viva la Música festival's nod to new music includes an appearance by exceptional duo-guitarists Sérgio and Odair Assad, and works by Osvaldo Golijov, Marlos Nobre, and Maximo Flügelman. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave & Union St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $16-$55.
MONSTER DEFIANCE HEADQUARTERS
This is what punk rock should have become: an anguished cry of Dionysian anarchy at sea in hypnotic waves of noise. Riffs, notes, tones, and tunes poke through splashes and sprays of distortion. 2nd Avenue Pizza, 2015 Second Ave, 956-0489, 8 pm, free.
FRIDAY MAY 16
THE BARTERED BRIDE
Set in a mid-19th-century Bohemian village, this comic opera by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana features a wily marriage broker, eager young lovers, a stuttering bridegroom, and a traveling circus. Back then composers crafted operas from folk tales. Right now I'm waiting for an opera based on Blind Date or any of those other dating shows that herald the fall of Western Civilization. Sung in English. Also Sun May 18 at 3 pm. Meany Theater, UW Campus, 543-4880, 7:30 pm, $10/$20.
FIDELIO
The Seattle Opera stages the great Jane Eaglen in Beethoven's only opera. Eaglen, whose voice thrilled me in Tristan und Isolde several years ago, tackles the title role of Leonore, who disguises herself as a man to rescue her husband in prison. To give Eaglen's formidable pipes a rest, Caroline Thomas sings Leonore in an additional Saturday, May 17, performance. Mercer Arts Arena, 305 Harrison St, 389-7676, 7:30 pm, $15-$109.
SEATTLE PRO MUSICA
Promising glorious antiphony (and quite likely to deliver), the choral group Seattle Pro Musica and organist Joseph Adam present sacred music from Venice, the Middle East, and Asia. On the program: works by Monteverdi, Gabrieli, and other Venetian composers for multiple choirs, organ, and brass, along with contemporary works by Chen Yi, Naji Hakim, and Franghiz Ali-Sade. Also Sat May 17 at 8 pm. St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 781-2766, 8:15 pm, $10-$21, students pay as able.
SATURDAY MAY 17
DEGENERATE ART ENSEMBLE
The DAE fuse jazz, punk, noise, and general sonic anarchy with Butoh-inspired dance. Composer and conductor Joshua Kohl leads this aggregate in music for guitar, bass, two drummers, viola, sax, trumpet, and voice. CoCA, 1420 11th Ave, 728-1980, 4 pm, $6.
SUNDAY MAY 18
PROSPETTIVA PLURAL
Lurking behind an Italian title, this month's Prospettiva Plural serves up the rarest of jazz gigs, the solo drum performance. Three noted drummers, Matt Jorgensen, Greg Campbell, and Matt Crane, seek out the orchestra that lurks in every drum kit. CoCA, 1420 11th Ave, 728-1980, 4 pm, $8 suggested donation.
TUESDAY MAY 20
BAVARIAN RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Since we're not in New York, visiting orchestras come to town all too infrequently. Lorin Maazel, new music director of the New York Philharmonic, is on tour with his other orchestra, the renowned Munich-based BRSO. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave & Union St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $26-$80.
