46th Post - February Overivew

Finally, here are my recommendations for February, hope you enjoy them and find them interesting to watch, listen and eat. In the meantime, February has a lot to offer especially in London, so head this month and take in all the best new events, exhibitions and best events in the capital.

Opera: Passion, Power and Politics:

Opera’s more than voluptuous women belting out high notes – it’s also a masterclass in Europe’s social, political and cultural history. The V&A explores these aspects of opera – from its origins in Italy to its wildfire-like spread in Europe – through the lens of seven operatic debuts in seven different European cities spanning a period of 400 years. It’s time travel, opera-style.

 

From Venice, the exhibit moves to London in 1711 where Handel’s ‘Rinaldo’ caused a stir for being performed in Italian, and it’s here that opera is showcased as the place where art, music, design and theatre collide – in a maelstrom of passion, dazzling costumes and spine-tingling castratos.

The piano that Mozart performed ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ on in 1787 is on display in the Vienna section. It’s a real highlight, together with his account of opera’s prevalence in Viennese society and the high fashion worn by guests at the concert. movement to reflect new liberal cultural views and the increasing popularity of Expressionism. There are set designs, sketches, costumes and sculptures in this exhibition and there’s a lot of information to process through the intermittent falsettos in your headphones. But overall, it achieves its goal of contextualising opera.  The only remaining question is which (if any) opera debut will be able to reflect Europe in the twenty-first century. 

 

 

 

Ghost Notes:

 

The people behind Peckham's The Montpelier and White Horse pubs launch a new venue in an old multi-storey car park on Rye Lane – the same building as the Peckham Levels project. There’s an eclectic programme of live music that leans towards the more alternative sides of jazz, funk and soul, plus a bar and restaurant serving vegetarian and vegan food.

 

 

 

 

But, if you feel like relaxing this month then put your feet up and enjoy Glamour magazine, full of celebrity gossip, style and secrets!! Hope you all enjoy my recommendations and have a great time in February... See you in March, when I'll be sharing style secrets, as well as places to go and things to do to get you 'in the know' for 2018!!