Ramon Estrada
Dita: such a tease.
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Burlesque/Glamour
Dita Von Teese
It's not often that a lady who makes her living dancing provocatively in the darker hours of the night, clad in not much more than lace and leather, is considered a classy dame—but as for Dita Von Teese, who was dubbed a "burlesque superheroine" by Vanity Fair, it's hard to consider her anything but. She seduces the crowd—man, woman, gay, straight, bi, and anyone in between—twisting and twirling her way across the stage in elegant vintage corsets and lingerie. (Girl knows her stuff: She studied historic costuming in college and does all of her own styling.) Those lucky enough to take in her signature show feast their eyes on a captivating, raven-haired, and ruby-lipped Von Teese, who splashed sexily in a giant martini glass last time she was at the Triple Door. The sensory delights she panders leave many drooling, and with her recent split from goth-rocker Marilyn Manson, they just might have a chance. Even if it is one in a million. With the Atomic Bombshells. Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, www.thetripledoor.net. $25 adv./$30. 21 and over. 7 and 10 p.m. (Also Sat., Feb. 10.) AJA PECKNOLD
Sound & Vision
David Kwan
As an outgrowth of Jack Straw Productions (a U District resource center for audio arts that offers residencies in sound and writing), the New Media Gallery has showcased and supported artists working with visual and installation art since 1999. This month their guest is Bay Area artist David Kwan, whose audio-visual work Terminus is a multichannel installation of paintings inspired by the majestic landscapes of Puget Sound. The evolving images of water and landforms are merged with sound clips Kwan collected at roadways and rail lines. The collected data, from South Seattle to Orcas Island, are looped in uneven lengths to make an ever-shifting amalgamation of color, shape, and sound. An accomplished exhibitor in California, this Oakland native interprets—and transforms—our familiar surroundings in ways that are sure to make us see them in a new light. Jack Straw New Media Gallery, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 634-0919, www.jackstraw.org. Reception: 7 p.m. Artist lecture: 11 a.m. Sat., Feb. 10. Gallery Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon.–Fri. RACHEL SHIMP
Opera
The Coronation of Poppea
One of the earliest operas, and considered by most the first great one, Claudio Monteverdi's elegantly decadent 1642 tale of vice rewarded includes adultery, forced suicide, and a tender, melting love duet—between the two villains. (Call it "Desperate Empresses.") Back when the whole concept of combining instrumentally accompanied vocal music, secular theater, and stagecraft was fresh, Monteverdi in Poppea hit on a balance between songful expressiveness and intimate drama that's rarely been matched, much less surpassed. The Early Music Guild will present a fully staged version, directed by Theodore Deacon and utilizing the services of just about all the top-name period-instrument players in Seattle. It's the first in a serendipitous string of Baroque opera productions this spring that will continue with Seattle Opera's Julius Caesar (see "Woman of Valor"), opening Feb. 24, and the UW School of Music's Dido and Aeneas, by Henry Purcell, opening May 23. Intiman Playhouse, Seattle Center, 325-7066, www.early musicguild.org. $35–$100. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 9–Sat., Feb. 10; and Fri., Feb. 16–Sat., Feb. 17. GAVIN BORCHERT
