Michael Zwiebach

The San Francisco Opera has front-loaded its season, and coming up this week is Renee Fleming's appearance in the title role of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia.

At the Napa Symphony season opener this week, the sister act Christina and Michelle Naughton play a pair of duo piano concertos, one by Mozart and one by Poulenc.

A favorite wind quintet of mine, the Quinteto Latino, which is dedicated to bringing you the music of Mexico and South America, is playing two of the great standards of the repertory at Old First Church on Friday.

This weekend the men's chorus Chanticleer opens the season with a tour of some of the great music written about love – a topic that could fill a few years worth of concerts.

This weekend, Les Graces Baroque ensemble brings that culture to life, showcasing the music of songwriters like Carolus Hacquart the flutist and carilloneur Jacob van Eyck, and the organist Jan Pierterszoon Sweelinck.

It will never be “same old, same old,” if you organize your concert calendar around these new and unusual concerts.

Pretty much the pick of this week's concerts is the San Francisco Choral Society's full-scale production of Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah.

In recital at Old First Concerts this weekend, cellist Robert Howard (San Francisco Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque) and his duo partner Elizabeth Dorman offer a variety of interesting music beginning with one of my personal faves, Toru Takemitsu (Orion).

Le Jazz Hot Quartet plays French Gypsy Jazz, naming themselves after (and playing some of the repertoire of) the pioneering French combo of guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli and their Quintette du Hot Club du France. The string ensemble (Hot Club of San Francisco is their touring name) has been playing these tunes for 11 years, and they make a pair of appearances at Yoshi's San Francisco in October, among other gigs. But on August 18, they bring Paris to Palo Alto, playing a set for free at the Stanford Shopping Center. Sure, there's an American swing to this group, but that's all to the good. Bring your dancing shoes.

And this Sunday Dolora Zajick sings for free as part of the San Francisco Opera's performance at Stern Grove. That's right: $100 a ticket to see her in the opera house, free at Stern Grove. And then there's this: even if you arrive late – heck, even if you picnic in the parking lot – you'll still hear her loud and clear.