Durham
Cirque Dreams: Illumination
Durham Performing Arts CenterRemember the old Bravo network? Before it rebranded itself with reality shows centered around artsy professions and real housewives, Bravo was known for airing avant-garde theater productions and a whole lot of Cirque du Soleil. The success of Cirque du Soleil spawned a spate of wildly popular acrobatic shows, including the work of Cirque Dreams, whose new show, Illumination, opens its tour with a premiere tonight at DPAC. Judging from a media preview a few months ago, you should expect lights, intriguing characters and a wide range of bodily contortions. The show stays in town for five days, through Sept. 20. Tickets are $25-$60. For more information, visit www.dpacnc.com. Sarah Ewald
Durham
Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance
The Regulator BookshopMerge Records’ 20th anniversary represented a milestone for the Triangle and for good music in general, and now co-founders (and Superchunk members) Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance unveil its storied history in their new book, Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label that Got Big and Stayed Small, written with John Cook. Not only will they show slides from Merge’s history, they’ll also play some songsand did we mention there’ll be beer and wine? The event starts at 7 p.m.; for more information, visit www.regulatorbookshop.com or call 286-2700. Raleigh residents: McCaughan and Ballance will appear at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh Thursday; visit quailridgebooks.com. Zack Smith
Durham
The Ciompi Quartet
Perkins Library, Duke CampusThis is the first of the season’s three Lunchtime Classics concerts, presented by Duke Performances and performed by Duke’s resident and inveterate classical syndicate, The Ciompi Quartet. The later dates focus on Beethoven and Schubert, but the series begins with one of the six foundational string quartets included in Joseph Haydn’s Opus 20. The pieces of Opus 20 established new guidelines and structures for the form, in large part because they broke so decidedly from convention. Today’s piece, No. 3, did so most stridently, hinging on stark dynamics, shifting rhythms and clipped measures. A preconcert talk will provide context for the 50 free minutes of music that follow, and you’re invited to bring lunch into the beautiful space of the Rare Book Room. One of the Triangle’s best culture treats begins at noon. For more, visit www.dukeperformances.org. Grayson Currin
