Both the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera open their new seasons this week.

Tomorrow, the symphony kicks it off with a gala, celebrating three anniversaries: Michael Tilson Thomas's, aka MTT, 10th anniversary at the baton, Shostakovich's 100th birthday next year, and the 25th anniversary for Davies Symphony Hall. Yo-Yo Ma at the cello would be our second best choice to perform Shostakovich's first cello concerto for tomorrow's performance. The first choice of course would be Mstislav Rostropovich, the soloist for whom the concerto was written. Well, guess what? He will be on deck later this season, conducting more Shostakovich in March, this time two symphonies and two concerti, for violin and for piano.

The whole symphony program promises to be amazing. MTT and the SF Symphony will continue their critically acclaimed recordings of Mahler's symphonies, with the 5th later this month. Kurt Masur, Itzahk Perlman, Vladimir Ashkenazy are some of the living legends who will visit Davies. Young and coming performers like Midori or Joshua Bell on violin, Lang-Lang on piano, will dazzle everyone. Other outstanding performers not to miss: Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Richard Goode, the Labeque sisters. Each concert program is carefully designed to mix some more classical stuff with some more challeging music. Come for Beethoven's 5th Symphony (you know, pom-pom-pom-pom) and discover Hindemith's piano concerto for the left hand. So that everyone at Davies would have a great time. We know we will.

The Opera opens Saturday with the Italian in Algiers, a romantic comedy of an opera, which will starts things were we left them off, as like Cosi, this opera also got relocated to the 1920s, according to the production notes. Rodelinda, a baroque opera by Haendel, got shifted to the 40s and a film noir atmosphere. The sets might be slightly anachronic, and definitely less stuffy, but the music will stay stellar.

The big event of the season is the WORLD PREMIERE of Doctor Atomic, an opera about the development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos laboratories based on Robert Oppenheimer's life. Go to the link to check out some funky mp3s and try to imagine how a choir would sound singing them.

There is no better place to enjoy a preview of the Opera season than Opera in the Park, which is coming up this Sunday in Golden Gate Park. Bring your chardonnay, your blanket and please, please, take some time to rehearse the lyrics to the closing song -- you'll impress your friends to no end, and your neighbors will love you.