This group show hopes to provide an insight into the  landscape and wildlife as well as the culture of individual countries on the African continent. Some of this work is familiar, such as Leni Riefenstahl's excellent work for the beautiful tribe of the Nuba. That said, problematic contemporary social circumstances are not ignored, like the photo reportages by Thomas Billhardt, Robert Lebeck and Oliver Jannsen show. They focus on the social upheavals after the colonial rule, in particular that of Congo, or the impact of the HIV pandemic.

The American artist Kurt Markus concentrates on the widths of the Sahara desert with a series of dune landscapes. Nick Brands' portraits of African animals are quite good, notably the Elephant seires. Moroccan born Magnum-photographer Bruno Barbey produced a color series on Morocco and elements of Islamic architecture.

Riefenstahl's  photographs of the Sudanese native people in the 1960's are supplemented with portrait studies of Ethiopian tribes, the "Surma" and "Kara" photographed by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. Another highlight in this context is the work by Irving Penn that had been commissioned by Vogue in 1967 showing the "Dahomey Girls".

© Leni Riefenstahl
Nuba-Dorf, Sudan, 1962-1969
Photo courtesy of Camera Work Gallery

Ivory and bronze sculptures from the West African Kingdom of Benin, in present-day Nigeria, are among the continent’s most important and valuable works of art. The detailed workmanship and outstanding aesthetic quality of Benin’s royal sculpture has been compared to the work of the celebrated Renaissance artist, Cellini. Its wealth of iconographic detail conveys the sumptuousness of the royal court and its historical importance as a regional powerhouse in West Africa from the 16th through the 19th centuries.

In Benin – 600 Years of Court Art from Nigeria over 300 selected objects offer a broad survey of the royal arts and culture of the Kingdom of Benin from its inception in the fourteenth century to its overthrow by British forces in the late nineteenth century; the exhibition further documents the kingdom’s reconstitution during the colonial period and its continuity into the twenty-first century.

After Berlin, this show travels to the Art Institute of Chicago:  June 27 – September 21, 2008.

Ethnologisches Museum
Lansstrasse 8
14195 Berlin
Germany

This show for the South Korean photo artist NOH Suntag features about 200 photographs. NOH, born in Seoul in 1971, ranks among the most advanced photo artists in South Korea, his works having attracted great attention there in recent years. Among other shows, he took part in the Gwangju Biennale in 2006. The exhibition showcases works from between 2000 and 2007.

His series, which he usually develops over the course of several years and that consist of black-and-white as well as colour photos, observe conflict situations in contemporary Korean society. These conflicts go back to the division and war between North and South Korea, to the dictatorships in both parts of the country (in the South until 1987), and - in South Korea - to rampant turbo-capitalism since the 1990s. The picture that NOH draws of Korea is that of a constant state of emergency.

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major 
Berlioz: Te Deum 

Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado, conductor
Maurizio Pollini, piano
Marius Brenciu, tenor
Iveta Apkalna, organ
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Simon Halsey Chorus Master
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Robert Blank, Chorus Master
Knaben des Staats- und Domchors Berlin
Rundfunk-Kinderchor Berlin
Berliner Mädchenchor
Mädchenchor der Sing-Akademie zu Berlin
sowie weitere Kinderchöre
Kai-Uwe Jirka

After a two-year restoration the Cuvilliés-Theater will reopen on 15 June 2008 with a new production of Mozart's Idomeneo.

Named after its architect François Cuvilliés the Elder, the rococo Cuvilliés-Theater was built in 1751-55 by Elector Maximilian Joseph III as his "new opera house". Originally reserved exclusively for members of court, the theatre lay in close proximity to the Residenz. Many lavish opera productions were mounted here, including the first performances of Mozart's Idomeneo, in 1781.

Idomeneo, John Mark Ainsley  
Idamante, Pavol Breslik  
Ilia, Juliane Banse  
Elettra, Annette Dasch  
Arbace, Rainer Trost 14, 18, 21, 24, 27 June; 1 July 2008 
Oliver Ringelhahn 6 July 2008 
Oberpriester Poseidons Guy de Mey  
Voices (Orakel) Steven Humes  

The Bavarian State Orchestra
The Chorus of the Bavarian State Opera
Kent Nagano, conductor  
Production: Dieter Dorn  
Set and Costumes: Jürgen Rose  
Choreography: Staff Marco Santi  
Chorus Andrés Máspero  
Dramaturgy: Hans-Joachim Ruckhäberle

In Italian with German surtitles

Kylie Minogue inspired a 2007 costume exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, and had her likeness replicated in wax four times by Madame Tussaud’s (only Queen Elizabeth II has had more models created).

'In Your Eyes' (2002), video from the album Fever, 2001. Two coloured, multi-coloured leather ribbon dress with blanket stitch detail Designed by Fee Doran for Mrs Jones.
Video directed by Dawn Shadforth
© Darenote Ltd.
Photo courtesy of V & A

The Australian pop princess, who turns 40 in May, shows no signs of slowing down in 2008. She began the year being honored by the Queen with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her services to music, and has already earned a host of honors for X, including a BRIT Award for “Best International Female Solo Artist.”

Already certified platinum in the U.K. and Australia, X (Astralwerks / Capitol Records) is also Minogue’s first album since undergoing treatment for breast cancer, which cut short her “Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour” in 2005. On April 1st, American fans of Kylie Minogue finally got a chance to hear X the tenth studio album and first all-new set of songs since 2003’s Body Language.

Minogue kicked off her 24-date tour, entitled KYLIEX2008, in Paris. The tour includes dates in Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and a show at London's O2 arena on 27 July 2008.

Special guest Fiction Plane will join The Police for the European portion of the tour following their 2nd album in May. Fiction Plane are: Joe Sumner (Bass); Seton Daunt (Guitar); Pete Wilhoit (Drums).

A portion of the proceeds from this tour will be donated to WaterAid, an international NGO founded in 1981 and dedicated to reducing poverty by improving access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education.