The 8 best things to do in L.A. including the Lantern Festival

Arts season is in high gear with Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux” at Los Angeles Opera and Blue13 Dance Company at the Wallis. Simon & Garfunkel get the jukebox musical treatment at the Pantages, and L.A. Dance Project reprises a work by Benjamin Millepied. Dance company Step Afrika! remembers an 18th century slave revolt, and REDCAT presents a multimedia dance work from Japan. For the family: a Lunar New Year celebration at Segerstrom Center.

A royal affair

Soprano Angela Meade, stepping in for an ill Davinia Rodríguez, and tenor Ramón Vargas sing the lead roles in the Los Angeles Opera production of “Roberto Devereux,” Donizetti’s musical drama about England’s Elizabeth I and her much younger lover. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. 7:30 p.m. Saturday; other dates through March 14. $24 and up. (213) 972-8001. LAOpera.org

A time to dance

Blue13 Dance Company, the L.A.-based troupe that mixes modern and traditional Indian dance with ballet and hip-hop, performs three works by artistic director Achinta S. McDaniel. Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Bram Goldsmith Theater, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. $29-$79. (310) 746-4000. TheWallis.org

Feelin’ groovy at the Pantages

The tune-filled, concert-style bio-drama “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” tells the tale of the 1960s folk-pop duo behind “The Sound of Silence” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Hollywood Pantages, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. $39 and up. (800) 982-2787. hollywoodpantages.com

Falling into place with LADP

L.A. Dance Project presents an updated version of “I fall, I flow, I melt,” company founder Benjamin Millepied’s full-length work inspired by the music of Bach. L.A. Dance Project, 2245 E. Washington Blvd., downtown L.A. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, noon and 5 p.m. Sunday; other dates through Feb. 29. $20, $45. LADanceProject.org

A plea for peace

The new multimedia-enhanced show “Afternoon of Peace” uses music, dance and spoken word to tell the survivor stories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Japanese American Cultural & Community Center’s Aratani Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., Little Tokyo. 2 p.m. Saturday. $25, $30. (866) 811-4111. jaccc.org

A fight for freedom

Washington, D.C.-based dance company Step Afrika! presents “Drumfolk,” a full-length work inspired by the true story of an uprising by enslaved Africans in South Carolina in 1739. Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. 3 p.m. Sunday. $36 and up. (818) 677-3000. TheSoraya.org

Take a look around

Japanese visual artist Tabaimo and choreographer Maki Morishita join forces for the U.S. premiere of “Fruits Borne Out of Rust,” a multimedia dance work exploring the hidden world all around us. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. 3 p.m. Sunday. $18, $22. (213) 237-2800. redcat.org

The Lunar New Year

There’s fun for the whole family at this year’s Lantern Festival, an annual Lunar New Year celebration co-presented by Pacific Symphony. The day includes local music and dance groups, plus traditional arts and crafts. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Argyros Plaza, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Free; advance tickets required. (714) 755-5799. PacificSymphony.org