Best Bets / November 7-13, 1999

Museums

The art of African music and its impact on other musical forms is explored in “Music in the Life of Africa” opening today at UCLA’s Fowler Museum. The last of three citywide exhibitions (including “Rhythms of the Soul: African Instruments in the Diaspora” at the California African-American Museum and “Music for the Eyes: The Fine Art of African Musical Instruments” at LACMA) will look at 10 African music ensembles and more than 150 musical instruments and other objects related to performance.

Theater

Tony Abatemarco and others perform in a rare staged reading of the landmark 1986 adaptation of “Plato’s Symposium,” translated by the late Paul Schmidt. The series of funny, provocative contemporary monologues about “love” will be directed by the collaborative project’s initiator, David Schweizer. Friday at the Getty Center.

Music

Opera Pacific begins its season at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with a new production of Verdi’s “La Traviata,” conducted by John Mauceri. Elizabeth Futral and Cassandra Riddle alternate in the role of Violetta, with, respectively, tenors David Miller and Andrew Richards. Performances are Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday, and next Sunday at 2 p.m.

Dance

Ballet-vaudeville returns to its local home at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts with a company billed as “Stars of the Russian Ballet” featuring the Kirov’s Farukh Ruzimatov, Yulia Makhalina and its newest sensation, Diana Vishneva. On view from Thursday to next Sunday, Ruzimatov and company offer classical excerpts galore on two programs.

Pop Music

Hang on to your bonbons--the Ricky Martin carnival makes its way to Southern California, touching down at Staples Center on Saturday and the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim on Nov. 20. Expect an extravaganza from the singer, whose vida has gone loca since his breakthrough performance on the Grammys show earlier this year.

Jazz

Jazz violinists have always been a rare breed. Octogenarian Johnny Frigo (one of the very best around today) spent much of his career as a studio bassist, returning to his original instrument 15 years ago. A masterful swing stylist, Frigo leads a quartet at the Jazz Bakery this Monday and Tuesday.

Video

Italian superstar Roberto Benigni took America by storm with his comedy-drama “Life Is Beautiful,” in which he plays an Italian Jew who goes to extreme and often touching lengths to save his young son from the horrors of the Holocaust. Benigni won the best actor Oscar, and the movie also took home Academy Awards for best foreign-language film and musical score. The international box-office hit arrives Tuesday on video.