SUMMER SPLASH II : WEEK 1, May : 5/27 - 6/2

Tears for Fears returns to Southern California with a performance at the Irvine Meadows

Amphitheatre.

Monday, May 28

With last year's "Crossroads" album, Tracy Chapman solidified her role as pop's conscience for the '90s. She'll appear at the Open Air Theatre in San Diego, then at the Pacific Amphitheatre on July 7.

May 29

The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform with conductor Yuri Temirkanov at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 8 p.m. Also Wednesday.

Thursday, May 31

Brian Friel's drama, "The "Aristocrats," with John Larroquette, will be performed at the Mark Taper Forum through July 1.

The Philadelphia Orchestra will be at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Yuri Temirkanov conducts.

The 10-day Kingston Hotel Mainly Mozart Festival gets under way through June 9 in San Diego's Balboa Park. Information: (619) 238-5582.

"Women's Work," a performance series through June 18, begins at Highways in Santa Monica. San Francisco choreographer Nina Wise (May 31-June 2) and New York choreographer Suchi Branfman (June 7-9) are included in a five-program, interdisciplinary series on sexual and other kinds of oppression. (Other participants: actress Maria Fiorentino, performance artist Linda Carmella Sibio and poet Meri Nana-Ama Danquah.) Information: (213) 453-1755.

Friday, June 1

The annual Ojai Festival, traditionally a gathering place for followers of avant-garde and contemporary music, opens at locales around Ojai, but mostly in Festival Bowl, downtown. Through Sunday. Information: (805)646-2095.

Experimental Puerto Rican choreographer Viveca Vazquez brings her company to Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions through June 3. Included is "Malad Justed," a group work commenting on the devastation of a small island by Hurricane Hugo. Vazquez is a noted activist-artist in San Juan.

Saturday, June 2

"Pops to Broadway" concert featuring Tony Bennett with the Master Chorale of Orange County. At the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 8 p.m.

WEEK 2: JUNE

6/3 - 6/9

Sunday, June 3

Baroque Music Festival, in Corona del Mar; the 10th season runs though June 10. Opening event is a concert at St. Michael & All Angels Church, at 8 p.m. Information: (714) 549-7175.

June 5

"Persistent Themes: Notable Photography Acquisitions, 1985-1990," a collection of 45 works by artists including Cameron, Cunningham, Fenton, Strand, Talbot and Weston, opens and runs through Sept. 2 at the John Paul Getty Museum, in Malibu.

Wednesday, June 6

The musical "Peter Pan," starring Cathy Rigby, begins at the Pantages Theater through July 1.

"Man of La Mancha" will be performed at the California Music Theatre at Pasadena Civic Auditorium, starring Ken Howard and Marilyn McCoo. Through June 24.

Thursday, June 7

"Generator Eight Dance Festival" runs through Sunday with additional shows on June 14, 15, 16 and 17 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, downtown. Participants in this showcase of new Southern California choreography (mostly with commissioned scores) include Rene Olivas Gubernick with Martha Kalman; Pacific Dance Ensemble; L.A. Modern Dance and Ballet Company; the companies of Loretta Livingston, Tina Gerstler, Rose Polsky, and Sarah Elgart; and solo performances by Young-Ae Park, Shel Wagner and Fred Strickler. Information: (213) 627-6500.

Los Angeles Music Center Opera double bill: Oliver Knussen's "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Higgelty, Piggelty, Pop!" Through June 17 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Friday, June 8

David Mamet's, "Speed-the-Plow" opens at the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, running through July 15.

Don Henley, chronicler of "The End of the Innocence," at the Forum at 8 p.m.

Fleetwood Mac makes its only scheduled Southern California appearance at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. Repeats Saturday. The concert aims to hype the group's first post-Lindsey Buckingham album, "Behind the Mask."

Saturday, June 9

Derek Walcott's "Viva Detroit," a play about cultural collision that results when two Caribbean islanders fall for an American woman, debuts at the Los Angeles Theatre Center with Robert Gossett, Moses Gunn and Gates McFadden. Through July 29.

WEEK 3: JUNE

6/10 - 6/16

June 12

An exhibit of "Dutch and Flemish Drawings" opens at the John Paul Getty Museum in Malibu. Works by major 17th-Century masters include Rubens, Rembrandt and Van Dyck. Through Aug. 26.

Thursday, June 14

David Byrne, the head of the Talking Heads, brings his Brazilian influence to the Hollywood Palladium, and to the Greek Theatre Friday in a solo performance.

Friday, June 15

"Little Shop of Horrors," the stage musical by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, the writers of "The Little Mermaid" score, opens at the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in Solvang. Runs through Sept 16. Information: (805) 928-7731.