On Stage and in Song

THEATER IN SYDNEY
French puppeteer Philippe Genty is a master of theatrical spectacle, bringing together mime, illusion, dance and giant puppets to create surreal, often baffling productions. In La Fin des Terres (Lands End), which shows in Sydney from Aug. 27-Sept. 6 (www.sydneytheatre.org.au) before moving on to Adelaide on Sept. 10, the characters read and discard a series of letters that come to life with unsettling results. Scenes unfold in a bizarre, seemingly free-associative sequence, making them both endlessly surprising and mysteriously evocative. Genty likens the effect to that of a dream: you may not understand what the show is saying, "but, at the same time, you feel it is telling you things." — by Liz Keenan

OPERA IN FLORENCE
What happens when you mix the exuberance of maestro Zubin Mehta, the rich chromaticism of Richard Wagner and the outrageous fantasy of contemporary Catalan performance troupe La Fura dels Baus? From Nov. 20-29, Florence's Teatro Comunale (www.maggiofiorentino.com) hosts a 21st century production of Siegfried, the third of the four operas in the Ring cycle, with Russian tenor Leonid Zakhozhaev in the title role. The sets and costumes include acrobats, video backgrounds and levitating platforms — it's Wagner for the Star Wars generation. — by Mimi Murphy

DANCE IN BERKELEY
When Sergei Prokofiev first wrote the score for his famed ballet Romeo and Juliet, he had the star-crossed lovers survive. "Living people can dance," he said. "The dead cannot." But Soviet officials vetoed his twist on Shakespeare — when the ballet premiered in 1938, Romeo and Juliet duly died. Seventy years later, Prokofiev's original version has finally been produced. Performed by the renowned Mark Morris Dance Group, Romeo and Juliet: On Motifs of Shakespeare begins its world tour in Berkeley, California, on Sept. 25 (www.lovelives.net). Here's to a happy ending. — by Jeff Chu