The holiday season brings so many wonderful opportunities to see and hear arts events of all kinds that we cannot possibly list them all. In Daybreak this week and next, we'll give a brief selection with the hope that you will call and/or consult websites for more information and for tickets.

Dickens for All

A.C.T.'s annual presentation of Charles Dickens' beloved classic A Christmas Carol gets better and better. It is indeed one of the Bay Area's most cherished holiday traditions. Dickens wrote it in two weeks: it was an instant success and for 150 years his story of redeeming love and forgiveness has been making spirits bright.

Performed without intermission in the festively decorated Geary Theatre, the show lasts only 100 minutes, so a matinee at 2 p.m. or an evening performance at 7:30 can be wrapped very pleasantly into a downtown family shopping trip.

Children are always enthralled by the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and by watching how he is transformed by the four spirits who visit him on Christmas eve, and adults will find that this version rivets their attention, too. In the cast are 16 Bay Area children from the A.C.T. Young Conservatory who dance and sing and play all kinds of roles, from little Cratchits to Dark Angels.

Raye Birk as Scrooge is wonderful, as are the Fezziwigs, Marley's Ghost and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future; Will Huddleston as Bob Cratchit, and the whole Cratchit family -- in fact all 36 cast members -- are very good. The show is directed brilliantly by Candace Barrett, and the original music score is by Lee Hoiby.

A.C.T.'s A Christmas Carol runs at the Geary through December 27 (no performance Christmas Day.) An ASL-Interpreted performance will be held Saturday, December 12 at 2 p.m. Yuletide parties for the whole family featuring cast members, keepsakes, refreshments, and carolers will be held after the performances of December 19, 20, 22, 23, and 24. Tickets at Geary Theatre Box Office and by calling 749-2228; also at BASS outlets or online at www.act-sfbay.org .

Music Notes

Holidays mean Exsultate Jubilate, literally Exult and Be Joyful. That's the title of a heavenly Motet by Mozart that is part of Philharmonia Baroque's December programs. Nicholas McGegan's superb ensemble will also perform Mozart's Symphony No. 34 in C, and his Mass in C minor with solo singers and the Philharmonia Chorale directed by Bruce Lamott, who is also chorus director at the Carmel Bach Festival.
   
Philharmonia Baroque audiences are very special: they meet only once a month and may not know each other's names but everyone there immediately feels welcome as though joining a group of warm friends who gather to share their enjoyment.
   
Mozart program will be given in various Bay Area locations. The San Francisco concert is at 8 p.m. on Friday, December 18, at the Herbst Theatre in Civic Center. Charge by phone 495-7445; fax 495-7473.

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More Jubilation with the San Francisco Bach Choir at its traditional Candlelight Christmas Concert featuring music for multiple choirs by Praetorius, Buxtehude & Gallus, with bells, processions, & carols resounding in the Gothic church of St. Dominic, Steiner & Bush Streets. Concerts at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13. Tickets 441-4942; www.sfbach.org

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Old First Concerts bring the acclaimed Piedmont Choirs, directed by Robert Geary, from the East Bay to sing Brahms, Britten, and SF composer Kirke Mechem's Christmas the Morn at 8 p.m., Friday, December 11.

Christmas music for guitars by faculty and students of the SF Conservatory of Music at 4 p.m., Sunday, December 13.

Ellis Island, Old World Folk Band celebrates Hanukkah with Jewish dance music and songs brought to America from Eastern Europe, 4 p.m., Sunday, December 20. Old First Church (which has great sound), Van Ness & Sacramento. Call 474-1608 (also for parking info;) fax 474-6533; www.oldfirstconcerts.org .

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SF Symphony presents a wealth of holiday programs starting with the marvelous Grammy-winning SF Symphony Chorus singing festive music of the season, including carols from many lands, and inviting the audience to join in. Two concerts on Sunday, December 13 at 3 and at 7:30 p.m.
   
The Colors of Christmas with Pop stars Peabo Bryson, Melissa Manchester, Christopher Cross, and Oleta Adams come to life December 14, 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. (Members of the UCSF gospel choir will join members of two other choirs in backing up the singers.)
   
And of course, Handel's Messiah to raise the Davies Hall roof, sung by the SF Symphony Chorus and first-rate soloists. December 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. All concerts in Davies Hall. Tickets 864-6000; fax 554-0108; www.sfsymphony.org .

Dance Notes

Smuin Ballets/SF will celebrate the holidays with its popular family production of The Christmas Ballet as Tony- and Emmy-Award winning choreographer Michael Smuin's lighthearted holiday entertainment returns for its fourth season. Dance critic Octavio Roca wrote that "if the Chronicle's Little Man were in the habit of showing up in dance reviews he'd be jumping out of his chair clapping for The Christmas Ballet."

Divided in two parts, the Smuin program's "The Classical Christmas" features music of Bach, Corelli, Mozart, and Palestrina, as well as Russian Hanukkah music and selections from Spain and Czechoslovakia. In the l998 edition will be a new pas de deux set to music of the great l7th-century composer Monteverdi.

"The Cool Christmas" takes a different direction with popular holiday songs performed by Linda Ronstadt, The Chieftains, Leon Redbone, and with Eartha Kitt's saucy rendition of "Santa Baby." Two gifted young dancers aged 10 and 11 will reprise their show-stopper tap dancing to "Randy Lynn Rag."

Smuin Ballets/SF Christmas Ballet runs from December 4 through December 27 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, which has excellent sightlines from all seats, 700 Howard Street between Mission and Howard. Box Office 978-2787.

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The Velveteen Rabbit is a delightfully different SF holiday dance favorite, especially for children. ODC/San Francisco performances are being given during the day at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. so children of all ages and their families can enjoy this magical tale of a boy whose love for his stuffed rabbit miraculously brings the animal to life.

Choreographed and directed by ODC's gifted k t nelson, The Velveteen Rabbit will be performed only four more times, December 9 through 12, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, near BART and MUNI. Parking at Fifth & Mission Garage. Call 978-2787 for tickets. 

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