Goings-on Feb 24. Part II
4 exhibitions, 3 operas and 3 ballets in Paris, Hamburg, Amsterdam and The Hague
I must admit that I'm proud of keeping up with publishing Goings-On every Wednesday. Even more, I’m still very much excited about making these selections and dream of reaching a thousand subscribers soon…. Professional bloggers keep saying that ‘content is the king’ (why not the queen, by the way? shouldn’t we make it less sexist?) and I do my best to improve my newsletter by diversifying the selection geographically. Hamburg appears here for the first time, and I truly appreciate how the German cultural agenda is spread throughout the country rather than being concentrated in the capital. The upcoming letters will give evidence to this point. The second part of February’s Goings-On covers 4 cities and explores 10 events. Some of them I’ve already seen, others are selling out quickly, some shows would be a miracle to attend, some will be repeated later this year.
PARIS
Feb 2-25 / Opera/ Giuseppe Verdi, La Traviata by Simon Stone / Opéra Bastille
I already mentioned this show in theJanuary digest, but luckily Opera Bastille performs it quite frequently this month. This production also deserves an extra mention, as I plan to attend it myself.
Feb 2-22 / Opera/ Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte by Dmitri Tcherniakov / Chatelet
Just a gentle reminder that in February there are three more shows of Cosi Fan Tutte just around the corner (I mean in Zurich). With all due respect I personally prefer Tcheniakov's.
Feb 7-29 / Ballet / Sadeh21 by Ohad Naharin / Palais Garnier
Until 7 Apr / Exhibition / Fashion and Sport / Musee des Arts Decoratif
I did have high expectations for this exhibition, considering the curator Sophie Lemahieu’s credentials as a fantastic researcher and author of the recently published book S'habiller en politique: Les vêtements des femmes au pouvoir. 1936-2022, but in vain. To be fair the theme is too broad, so a clear visual statement may be quite difficult to achieve. The exhibition is dedicated to the 2024 Olympics, and it is no surprise there is another show to celebrate the upcoming event along with Fashion on the Move.
In addition, Anthony Gormley at Musee Rodin (till March 3rd) and Mark Rothko at Fondation Louis Vuitton (till April 4th) are still available for a visit.
THE HAGUE & AMSTERDAM
Holland Dance Festival takes place throughout the whole month in The Hague. I’m thrilled to mention that my close friend, and the major partner in all cultural affairs, Lisa Rozov is now in charge of this fantastic event.
Feb 2, 3 & 4 / Ballet / An Accident by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Theater aan het Spui
Lisa saw the rehearsals and said that it’s a must. I trust Lisa, and hope you will do too.
Feb 8-10 and 27-29 / Ballet / From Here Now Far by Simon McBurney & Crystal Pite, Sharon Eyal and Gabriela Carrizo /Amare
+ Feb 14-16 in ITA, Amsterdam
The show consists of three pieces: the first is absolutely sensational Jakie (2023) by Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar. I had a chance to attend it in Paris during Art Basel week, it still very much embodies Eyal’s iconic style but brings it to a completely new level. The second is La Ruta (2022) by Gabriela Carrizo; finally there’s a premiere collaboration between Simon McBurney and Crystal Pite. And it may be difficult to even imagine what exactly this team may be capable of creating!
Until Feb 25 / Exhibition / Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian / Kunstmuseum den Haag
Last summer I saw this show in London. It was a rediscovery of my favorite artists and I felt ashamed that I knew so little about them before. I have some experience of visiting the same exhibitions in different cities while they are on tour, and I can say that they are never identical but surely keep the core of artworks. My notes from London:
Until Mar 3 / Exhibition/ Cosmism / Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
The show opened last weekend, it explores an amazing theme of Russian art, which is not much talked about within international context. Worthy, worthy, worthy!
HAMBURG
Feb 22-23 / Opera / Philip Glass’s H 100 Seconds to Midnight by Robert Wilson / Thalia Theater
After more than 20 years and many successful Thalia productions, Robert Wilson is making a comeback. But this time he’s not putting on a musical theatre production – he’s going back to his avant-garde roots in New York Minimalist Art instead. He is collaborating with two partners from the early days of his career, composer Philip Glass and choreographer Lucinda Childs.
Until Mar 3 / Exhibition / Cindy Sherman, Anti-Fashion / Falckenberg Collection
Most of my colleagues, curators who have worked with Cindy have either felt compelled to write a novel, or seek therapy after this experience. They share this knowledge with each other in very low voices. Therefore, despite Sherman’s incredible talent, I have a great respect and empathy for the curator and an institution behind her exhibition.
Shows from January newsletters that are still on:
Until 4 Feb / Exhibition / Anish Kapoor, Untrue Unreal / Palazzo Strozzi, Florence
14-28 Feb / Ballet / Hammer by Alexander Ekman / Goteborgs Operan
While preparing this digest, I made a huge wish-list of the most anticipated books of 2024, and in the meanwhile started to read The Mossad Amazons by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal and watch The Power, based on the bestselling science fiction novel by Naomi Alderman. The series provides an interestingly twisted answer to the question ‘What if the power suddenly was held by women?’.
If you need to entertain yourself this weekend, you can always find Book Now events on Instagram.
I hope that TJD is a great help to you in having a good time!
Yours,
Miri