This weekend we want to go to...

New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill is regarded as one of the best in the business; now he's touring with the NZ Symphony Orchestra.

Auckland Town Hall: New Zealander Simon O'Neill has been hailed as one of the finest tenors on the international stage, frequently performing with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House and with orchestras all over the world. Now, he joins the NZ Symphony Orchestra to perform Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, five pieces of music which Wagner wrote to poems by his muse and lover Mathilde Wesendonck while working on his opera Tristan und Isolde. O'Neill has recorded Wesendonck Lieder but never sung the song cycle with an orchestra so these NZ appearances are rare and special performances. It's complemented by the NZSO performing Wagner contemporary Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4. Known as the "Romantic Symphony", it is one of Bruckner's most popular works and his first symphony to achieve significant public acclaim.
An Evening with Simon O'Neill and the NZSO, Claudelands Arena (Hamilton), Friday and Auckland Town Hall, Saturday

Cross Street Markets: These are steadily becoming one of the best inner-city hotbeats for artists and creatives. The monthly event runs Thursday-Sunday with clothes, food, art, plants, trinkets and a whole array of artisanal goods. Late night Thursdays and Fridays also feature DJs spinning the vinyl. The markets are the perfect opportunity to pick up some independent art, jazz up your wardrobe or buy a gift that's truly meaningful. It's worth stopping by alone just to soak up the vibe and stop for a chat with the interesting stallholders.
Cross Street Markets, Sunset Tattoo, today and tomorrow midday -8pm; Saturday and Sundays, 10am — 5pm

Chris Parker reprises his show Camp Binch at the Basement Theatre Studio.

Basement Theatre:

Three of the Comedy Festival's most acclaimed shows have been hand picked for a return season, offering last-ditch laughs just as winter really hits. Brynley Stent & Rhiannon McCall's sex education show

Why Does This Feel So Good

kicked things off but this weekend, Chris Parker follows with his Fred award-winning

Camp Binch

while Leon Wadham returns with

Giddy

, which reportedly received a standing ovation on its opening night. Parker offers a three-night run, starting tonight, while Wadham performs Friday and Saturday.

Comedy Festival encore performances, Basement Theatre Studio, Tonight — Saturday

Bruce Mason Centre: What happens to American Idol contestants who don't make it past the semifinals? Probably not a lot — unless they've got the gumption to work social media. Singer, songwriter, dancer, theatre-maker and costume designer Todrick Hall made sure he had all bases for future employment covered after being eliminated from Idol in 2010. He then took to YouTube, where his videos of flash-mob dances became viral video sensations. Now he's got around 3 million YouTube followers, has written and starred in his own MTV series, choreographed for the likes of Beyonce and RuPaul and appeared in award-winning Broadway musicals Kinky Boots and Chicago. Not bad for someone who didn't make the top 13. He performs in Auckland, part of an Australasian tour, which features song, stories and stunning costumes.
Todrick Hall American: The Forbidden Tour, Bruce Mason Centre, tomorrow

The Don Juan cast are ready to party and perform once again to get to Scotland.

Q Theatre:

When the world's biggest and most successful arts festival happens in Edinburgh in August, NZ performers will be among the action. Theatre company A Slightly Isolated Dog want to be there, too, with its chaotic comedy about the world's greatest lover,

Don Juan

. The most audacious of men, Don Juan lives big and loves big but he needs a little help to succeed with his ultimate conquest, getting to the Edinburgh Fringe. So, the interactive performance-party, thrown by five charmingly "French" performers, is back at Q for a fundraising cabaret-style season. Expect twisted pop songs, brilliant physical comedy and plenty of sass.

Don Juan, Vault at Q Theatre, until Saturday