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The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts launches its sixth season with four days of programming led off Oct. 5 by opera diva Kiri Te Kanawa, preceded by the annual Taste of the Season gala.

The next night brings bluegrass legend Doc Watson, and he is followed by China's Shaolin Warriors, a troupe of Buddhist monks from the temple where the martial art known as kung fu originated 1,500 years ago.

The center's opening weekend concludes with the Alexander String Quartet with the first of its three Brahms concerts this season. The details:

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa -- The soprano from New Zealand is on her farewell tour, winding up a career during which she has graced the stages of major opera houses around the world.

Her Mondavi Center program includes works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Kantata: Die ihr des unermesslichen Weltalls, K. 619; Richard Strauss (Ständchen, op. 17, No. 2; Die Nacht, op. 10, No. 3; All mein Gedanken, op. 21, No. 1; Morgen, op. 27, No. 4; Zueignung, op. 10, No. 1) and Giacomo Puccini (Sole e amore). 8 p.m. Oct. 5, Jackson Hall.

Taste of the Season -- This season-opening event, now in its third year, is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Corin Courtyard and Sconyers Plaza outside the Mondavi Center, and in the center's Studio Theatre. The evening's theme is Aotearoa: Land of the Long White Cloud, the name that early Polynesian settlers called the place now known as New Zealand. The theme honors the season-opening star, Te Kanawa, who was born in the island nation.

The black-tie-optional Taste of the Season is billed as a celebration of food and wine from around the region and the world, with an emphasis on the foods of New Zealand, such as lamb and seafood. Café seating will be available, or guests may dine as they stroll. The program also lists a silent auction, featuring trips and wine and more.

Proceeds from the evening go to the Mondavi Center Arts Education Pro-gram. Admission to Taste of the Season is $125 per person. Or, for $214, you can get admission to Taste of the Season and the Te Kanawa concert; a limited number of those packages remained at midweek. Sponsorships also are available, and these also include tickets to the concert. For tickets or more information on sponsorships, contact Christine Vargas, donor event manager, (530) 754-5438 or cmvargas@ucdavis.edu.

Doc Watson -- The legendary guitarist, banjo player and singer performs with storyteller and musician David Holt and guitarist Richard Watson, Doc's grandson, in a concert titled Hills of Home, described as an evening of bluegrass, old-time ballads, country and western, and more, plus mountain wisdom. 8 p.m. Oct. 6, Jackson Hall.

A preperformance lecture by bluegrass writer and historian Jon Fox is set for 7 p.m. in the AGR Room at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.

Shaolin Warriors -- Nearly two dozen monks re-create a day at the Shaolin Temple, from the serenity of morning meditation to the stunning physicality of daily exercises to amazingly choreographed scenes of ritual combat. 7 p.m. Oct. 7, Jackson Hall.

The Shaolin Warriors troupe is scheduled to perform a school matinee at 11 a.m. Oct. 8. Teachers and others interested in tickets should call (530) 754-4689.

Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg -- Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, op. 51, No. 1; and String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, op. 51, No. 2. As part of the concert, Greenberg, an educator and composer, is due to present introductory remarks about Brahms' life and music. Two concerts: 2 and 7 p.m. Oct. 7, Studio Theatre.

The Mondavi Center's complete season information: . Ticket information: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or