FRanz Lehár - Land of Smiles, in State Opera Banská Bystrica (source: Jozef Lomnický)
Western Slovakia
Trnava
CONCERT/FESTIVE SEASON: Slovensko 2016 Advent – This unique project from Slovak Public Radio brings a series of Advent concerts to 15 different cities and towns between November 28 and December 16, in a mixture of art, culture and charity. In Trnava, the proceeds from admission to the event, hosted by Soňa Müllerová and featuring Ľubica Čekovská will go to the Teach for Slovakia programme. Starts: Dec 12, 19:30; Synagogue – Centre of Contemporary Art, Halenárska 2. Tickets: www.ticketportal.sk; more info: www.facebook.com, www.kamdomesta.sk.
Trnava
CITY TOUR/CHRISTMAS EVENT: View from Local Tower by Lantern light – On Thursdays and Sundays in December, visitors and locals are encouraged to take a view of Trnava from the City Tower, after climbing the 143 stairs with a lantern. Guided tours with information on history are available (in Slovak). Starts: Dec 8, 11, 15, 18, 17:00, 18:30; City Tower, Trojičné Square. Admission: €2-€4. Tickets: Tirnavia Information Centre, 033/32236-440; info@trnavatourism.sk. More info: http://regiontirnavia.sk.
Nitra
CONCERT: The Best Beatles Christmas 2016 – The Backwards – Arguably one of the best Beatles tribute bands globally, The Backwards, will bring a seasonal concert of more than two hours of popular Beatles songs, from the Beatlemania era up to the Abbey Road period. Starts: Dec 18, 19:00; Nájomná Jednotka 210, OC MAX Nitra, Chrenovská 30. Admission: €16. Tickets: www.ticketportal.sk; more info: www.beatles.sk.
Čunovo
EXHIBITION: Jiří Georg Dokoupil – Oxymoron – The Czech artist living mainly in Germany is mostly known for his innovative techniques, like the bubble images but also for his recent project, Furniture for Fotos – 3D installations with 3D people. His Danubiana exhibition – following the Prague DSC Gallery exhibition – is curated by Vladimír Beskid. Open: Tues- Sun, 10:00-18:00 until March 5; Danubiana Gallery near Vodné dielo/ Waterworks Čunovo. Admission: €10. More info: www.danubiana.sk.
Central Slovakia
Banská Bystrica
CONTEMPORARY DANCE: It is All Vainness – A new piece from the Štúdio tanca Theatre premieres in December, exploring the issue of vainness and uselessness – and also vanity – in small steps and in everyday life. Directed and choreographed by Zuzana Ďuricová Hájková, with music by Matej Háasz, costumes by Marek Gašpar Šafárik, and light design by Ján Čief, the dance performance will be re-run on December 10 and 14. Starts: Dec 9, 19:00; DŠT, Komenského 12 (na Kačici). Admission: €5-€7. Tickets: 0902/672-799; organizacne@studiotanca.sk; more info: www.studiotanca.sk.
Žilina
CLASSICAL MUSIC: Mucha Quartet: Vivaldi’s Seasons with Pantomime – The mime artist Vladimír Kulíšek has joined forces with the Mucha String Quartet in a unique project combining Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the art of mime disclosing emotions, characters and moods hidden in the popular composition – apart from Vivaldi, the works of Joseph Haydn and Antonín Dvořák will also be featured. Starts: Dec 9, 19:00; Fatra House of Arts, Dolný Val 47. Admission: €12. More info: www.skozilina.sk.
Banská Bystrica
OPERA/PREMIERE: Franz Lehár – The Land of Smiles – The popular operetta by Franz Lehár premieres at the State Opera, rehearsed and conducted by Ján Procházka, directed by Jana Andělová Pletichová, with costumes by Tomáš Kypta, stage design by David Bazika, with choirmaster Iveta Popovičová and choreographer Ján Ševčík. Cast includes Štefan Šafárik as guest, Ján Haruštiak as guest, Katarína Procházková, Eva Melichaříková as guest, Anton Baculík as guest, Csaba Kotlár as guest, Juraj Kašša, Dušan Šimo, Martin Gyimesi as guest, Oľga Bezačinská as guest, Ivana Kurtulíková, etc. Starts: Dec 9-10, 18:30; State Opera, Národná 11. Admission: €12, season tickets A, C, D. More info: www.stateopera.sk.
Žilina
CONCERT/CHILDREN: Uspávanky zo Slovenska/ Lullabies from Slovakia – The Lullabies is the project of five musicians, and it comprises of popular folk music from all over Slovakia, including the Ruthenian tradition. There are also some Moldovan and even one Croatian tune. Jozef Lupták on cello, Boris Lenko on accordion and bandoneon, Štefan Bugala on vibraphone, Marcel Comendant on cimbalom and Branislav Dugovič on clarinet – all fathers of older or younger children – selected simple but impressive tunes especially apt for the youngest visitors. Starts: Dec 11, 17:00. Stanica Žilina-Záriečie, Závodská cesta 3. Admission: €4-€6. Tickets: www.predpredaj.sk; more info: www.stanica.sk.
Banská Bystrica
JAZZ: Soft Jazz Society & The Carpenter Ants – The Slovak group Soft Jazz Society (Vlado Vizár on trombone, Pavol Pondelík on tenor-saxophone, Erik Rothenstein on baritone-saxophone, Andrej Šebo on double bass, Samuel Juráš on drums and Patrícia Páleníčková – guitar/vocals) have joined forces with US band The Carpenter Ants who play original old style rhythm and blues and country funk, to present their new perception and arrangement of jazz classics with the soft tones of wind instruments. Starts: Dec 12, 19:00; Záhrada - Centre of Independent Culture (CNK) in SNP Square 16 (Beniczkého Passage). Admission: €5. More info: www.zahradacnk.sk.
Žilina
CLASSICAL MUSIC: Christmas Concert – This special seasonal concert by the Slovak Sinfonietta presents main guest conductor Simon Chalk, who will also play violin – as will Lukáš Szentkereszty and also soprano Mária Rychlová, trumpeter Stanislav Masaryk, the Žilinský miešaný zbor choir with choirmaster Štefan Sedlický. They will perform Yuletide works by Arcangelo Corelli, Giuseppe Tartini, J.S. Bach, Leroy Anderson, Wiliam Gomez, A. Vivaldi, Cesar Franck, Ola Gjeilo, Giacomo Puccini, Pavol Krška and Giuseppe Verdi. Starts: Dec 14-18, 19:00; Fatra House of Arts, Dolný Val 47. Admission: €16-€20. More info: www.skozilina.sk.
Žilina
EXHIBITION: Stano Filko in Žilina – This exhibition is, rather than a compact curatorial programme, a presentation of works by avant-garde Slovak conceptual artist Stano Filko – some never exhibited before, from his US visit – as well as selected works by younger artists, e.g. Martin Vongrej, András Csefalvay, František Demeter, Ján Gašparovič, and others) as curated by Fedor Blaščák and Christian Kobald. Open: weekdays 12:00-17:00 until Dec 31 (possibly also longer); New Synagogue, Kuzmányho 1. More info: www.novasynagoga.sk.
Eastern Slovakia
Košice
CONCERT: Omega – The Hungarian rock band was a legend during the communist era, and it still manages to draw crowds to its concerts which are always a spectacular show. Frontman János Kóbor was a guest of The Scorpions (who play a cover version of the Omega hit Gyongyhajú Lány) in the Košice Steel Arena in 2009 but his band is playing here for the very first time – promising to bring not just old hits but also their recent project Testamentum. Starts: Dec 10, 19:00; Steel Aréna, Nerudova 12. Admission: €14.25 (when buying 3 tickets, the 4th is free), €15-€19. Tel: 02/5293-3321; www.ticketportal.sk.
Košice
CONTEMPORARY DANCE: 14.12. Petra Tejnorová, Jaro Viňarský et al: You Are Here – This dance performance is a guide to present times, human relations and other adventures. Slovak Jaro Viňarský, Czech Tereza Ondrová and Belgian Nathan Jardin meet in time and space, without any social identification, in front of visitors, showing the ups and downs of communication and of living in the here and now. Starts: Dec 14, 19:00; Tabačka KulturFabrik, Gorkého 2. Admission: €4-€6. More info: www.tabacka.sk.
Košice
CLASSICAL MUSIC/CHRISTMAS: Two Christmas Concerts – The Slovak State Philharmonic Košice (ŠfK) has prepared two Christmas concerts for Advent, with the first meant for children/families and offering the works of Ph. E. Bach, Petr Hapka / Adrián Harvan (from the movie Prinbaba) and N. Bodnár performed by ŠfK conducted by Maroš Potokár, with Iris Maass (AT), on flute and bass Boris Prýgl, as well as the Pro Musica children's choir – Magnólia, starting at 15:00. The second one starting at 1900, brings Christmas masses by N. Bodnár and J. J. Ryba, performed by ŠfK with Maroš Potokár as conductor, soprano Janette Zsigová, alto Andrea Nemcová, tenor Michal Lehotský, and bass Boris Prýgl, with Pro Musica – Magnólia, and the Košický spevácky zbor učiteľov choir. Starts: Dec 18, 15:00, 19:00; House of Arts, Moyzesova 66. Admission: €6 (first concert), €10-€14 (the second one). Tel: 055/2453-123; vstupenky@sfk.sk; www.sfk.sk.
Poprad
EXHIBITION/OPENING: Art of the Tatras / Umenie Tatier – The gem of a mountain range in the heart of Europe – the Tatras – as reflected in the art of the four countries of the Visegrad Group, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The representative, vast collection of artworks from 15 institutions in Slovakia and Poland and from private collectors shows the mountains as seen by artists from the 18th century to the present day. At the festive opening on December 14, tenor Jaroslav Svorský will sing, accompanied by Michal Červienka on accordion and Júlia Grejtáková on piano. Starts/opens: Dec 14, 17:00 (opening); exhibition lasts until Jan 29, open Tue-Sat 10:00-17:00 or Sun 12:00-17:00; Elektráreň TG, Hviezdoslavova 12. Admission: €1.50-€1. Tel: 052/7721-968, www.tatragaleria.sk.
Košice
FOLK CRAFTS/EXHIBITION: Rings on the Water / Kruhy na vode – The winning artworks of the 9th year of the folk-inspired design competition Rings on the Water / Kruhy na vode are announced at a gala evening on December 8 and then exhibited in the Regional Crafts Centre ÚĽUV Košice, as curated by Mária Tomová. Open: Mon – Fri 13:00-17:00, Dec 8 – April 14; Regional Crafts Centre ÚĽUV, Mäsiarska 52. Admission: free. More info: www.uluv.sk.
