THEATER

SINGING BIRTHDAY The Amas Musical Theatre company celebrates its 39th anniversary with a performance and award ceremony featuring actress Phylicia Rashad, who is currently starring in the Broadway musical “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Ms. Rashad will receive the Rosie Award, named after AMT’s founder, Rosetta LeNoire. The performance features songs from the musical “Mama, I Want To Sing,” which AMT first performed in the 1980s. Other performers include Maurice Hines and Capathia Jenkins. Tonight, 7 p.m., New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-744-1048, $125–$500.

DANCE

EN POINTE The world-renowned Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia, returns to New York for a three-week engagement. Under the artistic direction of Valery Gergiev and the creative director of the ballet, Makhar Vaziev, the 200-year-old Russian dance company performs a wide range of works, including classical pieces such as Marius Petipa’s “The Kingdom of Shadows” from “La Bayadere”; Michel Fokine’s “Scheherazade” and “Chopiniana,” and Alexander Gorsky’s “The Grand Pas de Deux” from “Don Quixote.” The show features performers Uliana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, and Leonid Sarafanov. Tomorrow through Sunday, April 20, Tuesday–Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., New York City Center, 130 W. 56th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-247-0430, $15–$110.

FOOD & DRINK

TOUR DE BORDEAUX The wine director of New York’s Cookshop restaurant in Chelsea, Richard Luftig, presents an evening of wine tasting that focuses on the Bordeaux region. This event is part of the French Institute Alliance Française’s “A Wine Tour de France,” a series that takes place once a month and focuses on a new French wine or brandy. A wine educator, Mr. Luftig explains the essential characteristics of Bordeaux while leading a tasting session with six wine selections. Tonight, 7 p.m., French Institute Alliance Française, Le Skyroom, 22 E. 60th St. at Madison Avenue, 212-355-6100, $115 general, $95 FIAF members.

MUSIC

VERDI’S HIDDEN TREASURE The Metropolitan Opera presents “Ernani,” one of Verdi’s first operas, last performed at the Met more than 20 years ago. This infrequently performed opera is based on Victor Hugo’s play, “Hernani,” and contains what many consider one of Verdi’s finest comedic ensemble scenes, as John of Aragon escapes a murderous rival and falls in love with Donna Elvira. Acclaimed Italian tenor Marcello Giordani stars in the title role, with Roberto Abbado conducting. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 5, 8 p.m., Thursday, April 10, 7:30 p.m., Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera House, 150 W. 65th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, 212-362-6000, $15–$295.

READINGS

FAME AND STANZAS Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep and a host of celebrities read their favorite poems by some of America’s best-loved poets at the sixth annual “Poetry & the Creative Mind,” a benefit for the Academy of American Poets. Other participants include the anchor of “CBS Evening News” Katie Couric, gossip columnist Liz Smith, jazz singer Dianne Reeves, and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. Event proceeds are used to provide free classroom materials to more than 200,000 schools across America during April, which is National Poetry Month. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, Broadway and 65th Street, 212-721-6500, $40–$75.

LAHIRI’S STORIES A Pulitzer Prize-winner and author of “The Namesake,” Jhumpa Lahiri, reads from her soon-to-be-published and highly anticipated second collection of short stories, “Unaccustomed Earth.” A British-Indian actress, Rita Wolf, performs “Hell-Heaven,” one of the short stories from Ms. Lahiri’s upcoming collection. Following the reading, Isaiah Sheffer, co-founder and artistic director of Symphony Space, leads a conversation with Ms. Lahiri about her work. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Symphony Space, Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $26.

TALL TALES The Moth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustaining the art of storytelling, presents an evening of stories about the city, hosted by author Mike Daisey. The storytellers include a contributor to the New Yorker magazine and author Adam Gopnik, author A.J. Jacobs, a 14-year-old student at the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School for Law, Advocacy and Community Justice, Tavar McKenzie, and a graduate of the MothSHOP’s Community Program, Ann Quintano. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at Irving Place, 212-868-4444, $20.

THEATER

CLASSIC CHEKHOV The Classic Stage Company presents Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” starring Scottish actor Alan Cumming and Academy Award-winning actress Dianne Wiest. The artistic director of the Moscow New Drama Theater, Viacheslav Dolgachev, directs this famous play, which dissects artistic and romantic conflicts. CSC, an off-Broadway operation, is known for its dedication to staging international classics in a manner appealing to contemporary American audiences. Through Sunday, April 13, Tuesday–Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Classic Stage Company, 136 E. 13th St. between Third and Fourth avenues 212-677-4210, $70–$75.

PHOTOGRAPHY

FOUND AND SHOT The Aperture Gallery presents a pair of exhibits that depict two very different approaches to photography: “In Almost Every Picture,” by Erik Kessels, features found photographs that Mr. Kessels bound into three volumes, and collected in a book of the same name. Photographs in these volumes include an array of twins photographed across Europe during the 1940s, and shots of a couple in Spain during the 1950s and ’60s. In “Ten Series,” Matthew Sleeth captures on film details of daily life in Japan. Selections from this exhibit include “Kawaii Baby #15 [Tokyo]” (2006), above. Through Thursday, May 15, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Aperture Gallery, 547 W. 27th St., 4th floor, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-505-5555, free.

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