Prague is a Mecca for the performing arts during the summer. The unmatched Prague Castle has been host to the summer-long Shakespeare festival for fourteen years. The Dance Festival is the most important dance event in the city, running between June 1 and 27 this year. Its main venue is the Ponec Theatre which was refurbished in 2001 and has been hosting the festival ever since. Outside Prague, festival performances are being held in Brno, Hradec Králové and Olomouc. The Prague Quadriennale, an international exhibition of scenography and theatre architecture, will celebrate the 41st anniversary of its foundation this year. Every Quadriennale has a central topic through which the participating countries can present their national cultural and theatrical heritage and current activities.
James Bond in London
How was the figure of James Bond developed? The Imperial War Museum in London seeks to find the answer with its For Your Eyes Only exhibition. Ian Fleming, creator of the legendary James Bond figure worked for the intelligence services during the Second World War. In September 1940, he devised a brilliant plan which could be considered an imaginary precursor to the missions of the later 007. Codenamed Operation Ruthless, the plan aimed at seizing the Germans’ cipher material. The idea probably served as an inspiration for the Bond story From Russia with Love.
Fleming had earlier worked as a journalist and stock market broker. However, he got so heavily involved in wartime activities that once peace arrived, he used his wartime memories in his writings, transplanting them to a cold war environment. His first James Bond book was Casino Royale, which was followed by another eleven Bond novels before his death in 1964. The exhibition, open until March 1st 2009, sets out to explore the relationship between Fleming’s life and his James Bond stories.
Tutankhamun Arrives in Vienna
Tutankhamun, The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs will run until September 28 at the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna, the sole European location for an exhibition devoted to the special objects that belonged to Egypt’s rulers. A record number of tickets (50,000) were sold even before its opening; it will travel back to the United States once it closes in Vienna. It is the second event organised by the National Geographic Society, devoted to the treasures of Tutankhamun and ancient Egyptian culture. It focuses on displaying special objects that once belonged to Egyptian rulers, presenting visitors the inconceivable luxury they lived in. More than seventy of the items on display come from Tutankhamun’s tomb and another seventy-five come from the tombs of other rulers. The objects at the exhibition include the golden sandals prepared for the young pharaoh to be used in the afterlife. Also in the tomb, the archaeologists found a sepulchral urn decorated with gold and jewels which contained the mummified internal organs of the pharaoh. Another object of key importance on display at the exhibition is a large, three-metre statue of Tutankhamun, showing the pharaoh as a young man. Another fascinating item is Tutankhamun’s shabti funerary figurine, which was expected to act as a substitute for the deceased, should he be called upon to do manual labour in the afterlife.
Musical Evenings at the Budapest Zoo
Lovers of jazz, dixieland, klezmer and light classical music can now listen to live concerts in an unusual environment. The Budapest Zoo hosts events that feature some of the best musicians around. Symphonic orchestras will perform works by Strauss, Rossini, Offenbach and Liszt.
The concerts are held at some of the most atmospheric places, including a stage between the Palm House and the Great Lake, and in the Japanese Garden. Concerts start at 20:30 but visitors can enter the zoo at 19:00 in order to take a walk around and see the beautiful listed buildings. You can also enjoy a coffee and some ice cream from the confectionary in the palm house which offers an amazing view over the gardens. The zoo operates a restaurant where you can have dinner under the old sycamore trees before the concert or have a candle-lit supper after the concert.
Dominik Skutecky Permanent Exhibition Opens in Banská Bystrica
The Museum of Central Slovakia in Banská Bystrica has opened a permanent exhibition devoted to the renowned Slovak painter in a villa named after him. The 160th anniversary of Skutecky’s birth will be celebrated in 2009. He is considered one of the greatest figures of Slovak painting, associated with the beginnings of modern art in Slovakia. Born in the village of Gajary, Skutecky (1849-1921) finished his studies in Vienna and Venice. While on a study trip in Munich, he met Gustav Courbet who was a leading figure in the new school of painting at the time. This meeting determined Skutecky’s art for the rest of his life. His painting entitled 1872 Pri Zohore, is considered the first example of Slovak realism. He further developed his style in Vienna and Italy but from 1889, he lived and worked in Banská Bystrica. He was one of the most famous citizens of a city which proudly remembers the painter.
Dance Events at the Carmelite Yard of the National Dance Theatre – July 29 to August 15, 2008
Kavala kúttu: Indian dance cavalcade with Sivasakti Kalánanda
Tango Argentino: authentic tangos from the Hungarian performers Johanna Kulik, Tamás Gellai and the Quartet Escualo
Las Flamencas: Andrea Lippai and her daughter
Mezõség: selection of folk dances presented by the Honvéd Dance Theatre
Spring Wind: Duna Art Ensemble – in the language of folk dance
Dancing Hungarians: with the world-famous Hungarian State Folk Ensemble
Dance Intoxication: with the Botafogo Dance Group
The performances are followed by dance instruction with live music.
