Holland is a country of mills
AUSTRIA
Arts Festival, May 8 – June 14, Vienna. One of the largest contemporary arts festivals this year offers visitors an extensive drama and music program, hip-hop workshops for youth, a retrospective of Shukshin's films, exhibitions, lectures, and seminars. Among the theatrical productions are both classic works and completely unexpected ones. For example, a performance by the theater group Rimini Protokoll dedicated to the first volume of Marx's Capital. Shakespeare's Othello directed by Peter Sellars will be performed by eight actors, three of whom will be on stage, and the rest on computer screens, televisions, or cell phones. Russia will present at the festival a play premiere for the European audience, “Shukshin's Stories” with Evgeny Mironov and Chulpan Khamatova. And the music stage will again feature “Dido and Aeneas” by the English composer Henry Purcell. By the way, this opera was already performed on the Vienna stage in 2006. This year the successful production is timed to Purcell's 350th anniversary. //www.festwochen.at
BELGIUM
Procession of the Holy Blood, May 4–10, procession May 21, Bruges. The religious festivities dedicated to the relic of the Blood of Christ will open with a bishop's service in the Gothic Chapel of the Holy Blood. These festivities were first established in the 14th century. Two centuries earlier, the relic was obtained for Bruges during the Second Crusade by Count Dietrich of Alsace. He placed it in the Chapel of St. Basil, which he himself had built. By the way, this architectural monument is the only fully preserved Romanesque church in West Flanders.
The culmination of the festivities is the procession dedicated to the veneration of the relic of the Holy Blood of Christ, which will take place this year on May 21. If we believe the Charter of the Guild of Porters, written in 1291, the procession has been held since the 13th century. Now it has taken on the scale of a historical costume parade with reenactments of scenes from the Old and New Testaments. //www.holyblood.com
GREAT BRITAIN
347th birthday of Mr. Punch, May 10, London. The puppet character Mr. Punch appeared on the shores of Albion back in the 17th century along with Italian traveling performers. This year on May 10, from morning until evening, guests of the puppet art festival timed to Punch's birthday can expect performances, workshops, a fair, dances, and folk music. Those interested can participate in the festival's impromptu program with their own puppet show, for which the organizers are even willing to pay the participants' travel expenses. Free admission. //www.punchandjudy.com
International Music Festival, May 22 – June 6, Bath. The festival will open with a grand “Party in the City,” with free entry to all events. Among the most notable events of the festival are a concert by Branford Marsalis, a celebration of the 75th anniversary of contemporary British composer Harrison Birtwistle, and perhaps the most extravagant opera performance dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel. In 1759, when the composer died, one of the most important battles in the history of the British Royal Navy took place – the battle with the French for Quiberon Bay during the Seven Years' War. The performance in the famous Roman Baths in Bath, based on music from Handel's operas but with a modern libretto, is an allegorical staging of those important historical events. The directors Robert Howarth (Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) and Richard Williams approached the task on a grand scale, emphasizing the characteristic features of baroque opera: complex sets, working models of 18th-century ships, special effects, fireworks, allegorical figures personifying Britain and France, chorus, orchestra, Handel's “Water” suites, and an atmosphere of espionage, intrigue, and conspiracy. Singers include Patricia Rosario, Richard Edgar-Wilson, and others. //www.bathmusicfest.org.uk
GERMANY
Hamburg's Birthday, May 8–10. The celebration will open with a service at St. Catherine's Cathedral and a large parade of ships. Guests of the festival are also promised a “tugboat ballet,” fireworks, a traditional concert at the Hamburg Philharmonic, and a final water parade. The main treat of the festival is the parade of historic large sailing ships and sports vessels, as well as races on colorful dragon boats. In addition to water activities, spectators can expect an air show with balloon launches, parachute jumps, and helicopter rescue operations. On land, guests of the festival will be treated to culinary delights, attractions for children and their parents, thematic museum exhibitions, and a final concert at the Hamburg Philharmonic. //www.hafengeburtstag.de
River Fireworks on the Rhine and Moselle, May 1–31. For 70 years now, many towns on the Rhine and Moselle have been holding annual wine festivals accompanied by fireworks. The night sky is illuminated by many flashes, sparklers burn on boats and shores, and cities and bridges are reflected in the dark water, lit by colored lights. Everywhere from Mainz to Düsseldorf, you can board a boat and cruise along the Rhine past several towns, while tasting Middle Rhine wines and local beer. A single boat trip costs no more than €30, but there are, of course, options with a candlelight dinner and ground transport to the dock, which will cost €60–90. As a rule, the journey begins at nightfall and ends by the middle or even the end of the next day. //www.firework.rhine-river.com
DENMARK
Marathon, May 24, Copenhagen. The marathon has been held in the Danish capital since 1980. In 2008, the marathon gathered a record number of participants in its history (over 6,500) and countless spectators. The race route is laid out so that fans standing in one place have a chance to see their favorites more than once. The marathon runners are accompanied by musicians and dancers on the streets, turning the race into a colorful festival. //www.copenhagenmarathon.com
SPAIN
"Formula 1," May 8-10, Barcelona. Barcelona will host the Spanish Grand Prix for the nineteenth time. The track here is considered quite difficult due to dangerous turns and bumps. The organizers of the Grand Prix call the Elf corner the most advantageous viewing point for spectators, as the track there provides drivers with one of the best opportunities to overtake an opponent. //www.formula1.com
ITALY
53rd Iris Competition, May 4-9, Florence. Since 1954, Florence has hosted an iris competition organized by the Italian Iris Society. The procedure for participating in the competition is not so simple: first, candidates send tubers to Florence, then they are grown for three years in the "Piazzale Michelangelo" garden, and only then are they judged at the competition. The first prize is the "Golden Florin" from the city's tourism organization. //www.irisfirenze.it
NETHERLANDS
National Mill Days, May 9-10. According to stereotypes, Holland is a country of mills. But if during the heyday and dominance of the seas there were, by modest estimates, about 10,000, now there are ten times fewer. More than 600 of the remaining thousand mills hang blue flags this weekend, inviting passersby to visit. If you happen to be in Amsterdam at this time, don't miss the opportunity to inspect the city's six mills, some of which are open to visitors. //www.molenvansloten.nl
FRANCE
62nd Cannes Film Festival, May 13-24. This year, the Cannes Film Festival will open with a new creation from Pixar studio called "Up." It is a cartoon about an old dreamer yearning for adventure who embarks on an unusual journey. This is the first time the festival has opened with a 3-D cartoon. It will be interesting to see whether this work by John Lasseter and Pete Docter will receive attention from the jury led by Isabelle Huppert. //www.festival-cannes.com
Festival of Joan of Arc, until May 10, Orleans. This year, Orleans celebrates the 580th anniversary of the city's liberation from the English siege during the Hundred Years' War. For this occasion, a reconstruction of the siege and staged battles, feasts, concerts, costume parades, fireworks, and church services in honor of the Maid of Orleans are planned. //www.fetesjeannedarc.com/
CZECH REPUBLIC
International Roma Festival Khamoro, May 25-30, Prague. The name khamoro ("sun") perfectly suits a May festival. The first few days will be dedicated to the combination of Roma music and other musical genres. The band !DelaDap will kick things off, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, the audience will encounter Roma jazz from the Rosenberg trio from the Netherlands and the Basily Boys quartet. After that, traditional music will take over. A parade of musicians in the center of Prague and a final gala concert at the capital's congress center are also planned.
Throughout the week, the public will be able to hear music from Czech, Italian, Danish, Macedonian, Russian, Romanian, and Hungarian Roma. Additionally, as part of the festival, there will be an exhibition by German artist Otto Pankok titled "Life of the Dutch Roma," organized with the assistance of the Dutch Embassy in Prague, a retrospective of documentary films about Roma, and a photography exhibition. From May 28 to 30, a workshop by Petya Yurchenko, a French master of Russian origin, will be held for those wishing to learn to dance. For those interested in Roma history, a two-day seminar titled "Roma Culture as Part of European Culture" has been organized. //www.khamoro.cz
SWITZERLAND
Lake Constance Festival, May 8 – June 1. This year, the festival's theme is England, which is in some way connected to the fates of four composers of different origins: George Frideric Handel, Henry Purcell, Joseph Haydn, and Felix Mendelssohn. These names were chosen not by chance, as all composers have peculiar anniversaries in 2009. A special guest of the festival this year will be the Dutchman Jaap ter Linden. His brilliant baroque cello will be most welcome.
The opening of the festival will take place in the German city of Ravensburg. The program includes a concert by the ensemble Concerto Köln under the direction of Jaap ter Linden, with lead violin by Daniel Hope. The festival program covers the Swiss communes of Ermatingen, Kreuzlingen, Münsterlingen, Rorschacherberg, Säntis, Steckborn, St. Gallen, Wolfhalden, and about 30 other German and Austrian towns around Lake Constance. //www.bodenseefestival.de
Fyodor WINTER-TARASEVICH.
Gazeta.Ru er="0">