Tenores di Bitti bring to life ancient vocal polyphonic music. (COURTESY)
To make your day a bit more relaxing don’t miss the Body, Mind and Spirit Fair organised by the International Women’s Association of Prague at the Aventin Palace. The event presents more than thirty stands with all the goodies you can think of: Argentine wines, Japanese delicacies, Thai massage, designer clothing, handcrafted goods and other products and services to feed your body and mind. The money raised will be donated to Moravian foster families. The event doesn’t start until next Tuesday. So in the meantime, you can choose from other events scheduled for the next few days.
The Czech Museum of Music will host The Tenores di Bitti, a traditional folk music group from Sardinia with emphasis on ancient vocal polyphonic music. Their style was inspirational for musicians such as Frank Zappa, John Cale or Peter Gabriel, who also produced the group’s album S’amore ‘e mama. The Tenores di Bitti will play on Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm.
Another promising music event is scheduled for Thursday. Palác Akropolis is hosting the US trumpet player and composer Jon Hassell. Inspired by the renowned Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath, Hassell invented a new way of playing his trumpet, combining traditional jazz with vocal Kirana styles. He is known for his collaboration with Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel.
If you feel like dancing, go to O2 Arena on Saturday. Some of the world’s best DJs, including Markus Schulz, Ferry Corsten or Rank 1, will take up the stage as part of the 5th Transmission edition.
Don’t miss the exhibition of Czech artist Čestmír Kafka at Prague’s gallery Topičův salon on Národní. Kafka’s three-dimensional artistic compositions and paintings are as interesting as the exhibition venue itself. The art gallery Topičův salon, built in 1894 and reopened this year, is dedicated to Czech modern, avant-garde artists and is also used for auctions. The exhibition runs through 14 November.
If you happen to be in London these days and you like Czech drama and Czech history, you may want to take part in the event organised by the Operating Theatre Company. To commemorate the 90th birthday of Czechoslovakia, the company presents six Czech play readings, chosen from the last 90 years, every night until Saturday at the Tristan Bates Theatre, Covent Garden. Next in the programme is Cat on the Rails by Josef Topol (Wednesday) and We’ll Start it (up) Tomorrow! by Václav Havel (Thursday). All readings start at 7:30pm.
Meg Ryan and Annette Bening are the main characters in The Women. (COURTESY)Pass the Popcorn
The new Diane English movie The Women hits Czech theatres this week. The film, which has an all-female cast, tells the story of four high-society women who are busy haunting fashion shows and beauty salons until one day one of them (Meg Ryan) finds out that her husband is cheating on her.
In The Women, suburban wife and mother Mary Haines comes to see the error of trying to be all things to all people. It’s too bad that the film she’s in didn’t learn the same lesson and instead tries way too hard be everything for all women.
Two non English-language movies are entering the theatres this week: Poustevna, das ist Paradies! is a documentary movie by Martin Dušek and Ondřej Provazník presenting stories of the varied inhabitants of a small town on the Czech-German border.
Martin Repka’s Návrat bocianov (Return of the Storks) is about Vanda, a flight attendant who moves from Germany to a small village in eastern Slovakia to find her roots and new life experience.
If you want to know where Czech films are heading, attend the student film festival Famufest held at Divadlo Archa from 6 until 9 November. Every day from 2pm, movies made by Prague’s Film Academy of Performing Arts will be presented, accompanied by music shows (The Presets, Ohm Square), discussions, workshops and exhibitions.
