Rigoletto bows at Kay White Hall

Vashon Opera will present Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent “Rigoletto” for two performances only, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 7, in the Kay White Hall of Vashon Center for the Arts.

Daniel O’Hearn will sing the role of the Duke of Mantua. O’Hearn is an emerging full lyric tenor with a powerful Italianate ring. Hailing from Chicago, O’Hearn is currently a resident artist with Pittsburgh Opera in Pittsburgh.

Soprano Ksenia Popova, performing as Gilda, has sung the roles of Gretel (“Hansel and Gretel”) with Pacific Northwest Opera, Josephine (“H.M.S Pinafore”) with Opera Coeur d’Alene, and Adele (“Die Fledermaus”) with Vashon Opera.

And baritone Andrew Krikaka, Vashon Opera mainstay and co-founder, will sing the role of Rigoletto. Hailed by Opera News as an “accomplished performer possessing an attractive, cultivated baritone, with well-honed acting,” Krikawa has sung for numerous companies including New York City Opera and Pittsburgh Opera.

Get tickets at vashonopera.org.

Femme Fatales

“In Defense of the Femme Fatale,” a lecture by renowned Seattle film critic and Vashon resident Robert Horton, will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Horton will delve deep into the heyday of film noir, a cynical genre that nevertheless bedazzled movie-goers with the charms of Barbara Stanwyck (“Double Indemnity”), Rita Hayworth (“Gilda:) and Joan Bennett (“Scarlet Street”).

Elizabeth Shepherd, editor of The Beachcomber, will join Horton after his talk for a discussion on the gendered mayhem of the genre.

Save the last Jam

Don’t miss this Saturday’s final Jam In The Atrium performance, from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Noted jazz bassist and islander Bruce Phares will return to the helm, joining celebrated and multi-award-winning pianist Bill Anschell. To find out more about the performers, visit vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Johann Sebastian Bach

The Salish Sea Early Music Festival will present a May Bach Festival with special guests soprano Maike Albrecht and harpsichordist Hans-Jürgen Schnoor, both from Lübeck, Germany, in Bach’s cantata “Ich Habe Genug” on May 8, and Bach cantatas and concerti with a baroque chamber orchestra at noon on May 22, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit on Vashon. Admission is by a suggested donation of $20 or $25. Those 18 and under are free.

UMO presents “Squeeze”

Vashon’s acclaimed UMO Ensemble invites audiences to witness “Squeeze,” a blend of ensemble mastery with Buster Keaton-inspired clowning, and captivating kinetic choreography, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13, and at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 14, at Open Space for Arts & Community.

Tickets for the show are on sale here. Youth (18 and under) can attend for free.

Welcome to the stage, Bowie/Rex

Bowie/Rex & His Boogie Army will make its debut at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13 at Snapdragon’s Black Cat Cabaret.

Performing a mix of music from David Bowie, Marc Bolan & T-Rex, Roxy Music, The Cars, The Kinks, Talking Heads and more, the band is a supergroup of iconic musicians.

These include Dave Dederer (Presidents of the USA, Duff McKagan’s Loaded) and Tim Dijulio (Lazy Suzan, Flight to Mars) on guitars; Michael Musburger (The Posies, The Fastbacks) on drums; Billy Stover (Dusty 45’s, Victoria Contreras) on keyboards; and Jeremy Lightfoot (Danny Newcomb, Elvez) on bass. The band is rounded out by frontman Martin Feveyear (producer of Brandi Carlile, Presidents of the USA, Duff McKagan of Guns n Roses, and islanders St Ophelia, Kat Eggleston and Gregg Curry) and backing singers, “The Suffragette Sisters,” (Rhiannon Walther and Melissa Feveyear).

The cover charge is $15 until 9:15 p.m. (children are admitted free) and $10 after that, with DJ Rock Point.

Get ready for Arts Studio Tour

Vashon’s twice-annual Studio Art Tour will have its spring edition, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, May 6 to 7 and 13 to 14.

The tour will feature 37 studios, retail spaces, and galleries, displaying the vast breadth of Vashon’s vibrant art scene — jewelry, paintings, fiber works and wearable art, sculpture, prints, photography and other one-of-a-kind works.

For more information and a map, visit vivartists.com. On the website, you’ll also find a directory of local artists and other resources and programs provided by the organization.