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LONDON FOR FUN Newsletter: 15 January 2013 Issue No.221

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http://www.londonforfun.com
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1.) Top 10 London events
2.) Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries
3.) How to unsubscribe

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1. Top 10 London events
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1 - 2012 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition - This world-renowned annual exhibition at the Natural History Museum provides a spotlight on the rarely seen wonders of the natural world. The 100 winning images that will be on show are selected from 1,000s of international entries and are beautifully displayed in sleek backlit installations. Until 3 March. www.nhm.ac.uk

2 - Unexpected Pleasures - The Art and Design of Contemporary Jewellery - Bringing together almost 200 objects from around the world, Unexpected Pleasures celebrates the work of contemporary jewellers who have challenged the conventions of jewellery design. Curated by jewellery designer and maker Dr. Susan Cohn, the exhibition offers a survey of contemporary jewellery presented through a number of themes: Worn Out - celebrating the experience of wearing jewellery, Linking Links - looking at the ways in which meaning and narratives are expressed in jewellery and A Fine Line - offering insights into the origins of contemporary jewellery today, highlighting key instigators of the contemporary jewellery movement. The exhibition features prominent UK and international jewellers including Wendy Ramshaw, renowned for her complex geometric designs, Hans Stofer's intricate wire form jewellery, Gijs Bakker’s conceptual adornments and delicate abstract pieces by Dorothea Pruhl. Until 3 March. www.designmuseum.org

3 - Carmen - From the very first note of the much-loved overture to the final tragic chords, the very essence of Spain is brought to life in this acclaimed in-the-round production of the world's most popular opera. The dusty atmosphere of the town square, the cool night air of the smugglers’ mountain hideout and the festivities outside the bullring in Seville are all vividly recreated in this powerful tale of lust, superstition and murder which slowly unravels with fatal consequences. Carmen, a fiery gypsy girl, is arrested for attacking a fellow worker in the cigarette factory but manages to persuade her guard, Don José, to release her on the promise of love. Never satisfied with the love of one man alone, Carmen quickly casts aside the hapless Don José in favour of the glamorous toreador, Escamillo. Consumed by passion and jealousy, Don José pursues Carmen back to Seville leading to the inevitable and tragic conclusion. Bizet's rich and timeless score contains some of opera’s finest arias and best-loved music. Escamillo’s rousing Song of the Toreador, Carmen’s bewitching Seguidilla and tantalizing Habanera and Don José's heartfelt Flower Song never fail to captivate, seducing you with the sensual music and sultry rhythms of Spain. From 21 February until 3 March. www.royalalberthall.com

4 - Juergen Teller: Woo - Considered one of the most important photographers of his generation, Juergen Teller is one of a few artists who has been able to operate successfully both in the art world and at the centre of the commercial sphere. This exhibition will provide a seamless journey through his landmark fashion and commercial photography from the 90s, presenting classic images of celebrities such as Lily Cole, Kate Moss and Vivienne Westwood, as well as more recent landscapes and family portraits. Teller’s provocative interventions in celebrity portraiture subvert the conventional relationship of the artist and model. Whatever the setting, all his subjects collaborate in a way that allows for the most surprising poses and emotional intensity. Driven by a desire to tell a story in every picture he takes, Teller has shaped his own distinct and instantly recognisable style which combines humour, self-mockery and an emotional honesty. From 23 January until 17 March. www.ica.org.uk

5 - Barber of Seville - Two centuries after its premiere – and now universally accepted as the composer’s comic masterpiece – Rossini’s prequel to The Marriage of Figaro remains as tuneful, ironic and uproariously funny as ever. Set in an elegant comic-opera vision of 18th-century Seville, Jonathan Miller’s Tiepolo-inspired staging brilliantly intercuts the traditions of the Italian commedia dell’arte and the Whitehall farce to create what, at its last revival, one reviewer called ‘an evening of unalloyed pleasure, insight and subtlety of characterisation’. The talented flautist-turned-conductor Jaime Martin, here making his operatic debut, brings an authentic Hispanic touch to bear on this 25th anniversary revival. Bronze-voiced baritone Benedict Nelson, star of the 2011/12 season, Billy Budd, is Figaro; charismatic young lyric soprano Lucy Crowe returns as the feisty Rosina, following sensational debut appearances in 2007’s Agrippina and The Coronation of Poppea, and Andrew Shore, ENO’s Olivier Award-nominated buffo baritone, reprises his ‘classic portrayal’ (The Guardian) of Doctor Bartolo, the poor girl’s pompous old fool of a guardian. From 25 February until 17 March. www.eno.org

6 - A Bigger Splash: Painting after Performance Art - This exhibition will take a new look at the dynamic relationship between performance and painting since 1950. Contrasting key paintings by Jackson Pollock and David Hockney, the exhibition considers two different approaches to the idea of the canvas as an arena in which to act: one gestural, the other one theatrical. The paintings of the Vienna Actionists or the Shooting Pictures of Nikki de St Phalle will be re-presented within the performance context that they were made, and juxtaposed with works by artists such as Cindy Sherman or Jack Smith that used the face and body as a surface, often using make-up in work dealing with gender role-play. The exhibition proposes a new way of looking at the work of a number of younger artists whose approach to painting is energised by these diverse historical sources, drawing upon action painting, drag and the idea of the stage set. Until 1 April. www.tate.org.uk

7 - Light from the Middle East: New Photography - presents work by artists from across the Middle East (spanning North Africa to Central Asia), living in the region and in diaspora. The exhibition explores the ways in which these artists investigate the language and techniques of photography. Some use the camera to record or bear witness, while others subvert that process to reveal how surprisingly unreliable a photograph can be. The works range from documentary photographs and highly staged tableaux to images manipulated beyond recognition. The variety of approaches is appropriate to the complexities of a vast and diverse region. Until 7 April. www.vam.ac.uk

8 - The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein - The 15th and 16th centuries were a time of dramatic change in Northern Europe. Monarchs vied for territorial power, religious reformers questioned the central tenets of the church and scholars sought greater understanding of their world. Against this backdrop, artists produced works of extraordinarily diverse subject matter and superb technical skill. This exhibition brings together over 100 works by the greatest Northern European artists of the period. Among the highlights are prints and drawings by Albrecht Dürer, mythological paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder, and preparatory drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger displayed alongside the finished oil portraits. Until 14 April. www.royalcollection.org.uk

9 - Manet: Portraying Life - The exhibition will examine the relationship between Manet’s portrait painting and his scenes of modern life. By translating portrait sitters into actors in his genre scenes, Manet guarantees the authenticity of the figures that populate his genre paintings and asserts a new, more potent relationship between Realism and Modernity. Manet: Portraying Life will include over 50 paintings spanning the career of this archetypal modern artist together with a selection of pastels and contemporary photographs. It will bring together works from both public and private collections across Europe, Asia and the USA. From 26 January until 14 April. www.royalacademy.org.uk

10 - Light Show - Light Show explores the experiential and phenomenalnature of light, bringing together sculptures and installations that use light to create specific conditions. The exhibition showcases artworks since the 1960s in which light itself is used as material to sculpt and shape space, often creating evocative environments and sensory works that operate at the edges of the viewer’s perception. Light has the power to affect our states of mind as well as alter our perceptions, and Light Show will include some of the most visually stimulating artworks created in recent years as well as rare works not seen for decades and re-created specially for the Hayward Gallery. From 30 January until 28 April. www.southbankcentre.co.uk

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2. Other Events, Theatre listings, Museums and Galleries:

Events listing:
http://www.londonforfun.com/events-in-London.htm

Theatre listings:
http://www.londonforfun.com/London-theatres.htm

Museum listing:
http://www.londonforfun.com/London-museums.htm

Galleries listings:
http://www.londonforfun.com/galleries-in-London.htm

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