AUSTRIA
FILM: Vienna's Filmmuseum will present a full retrospective of Charlie Chaplin's films from December 2 to January 7, 2010.
From his earlier works as beloved tramp to his last production, "A Countess from Hong Kong," fans of Chaplin will be able to relive his most famous -- and less well-known -- films, including such comedy gems as "Modern Times," "City Lights," "The Gold Rush" and "The Great Dictator." www.filmmuseum.at
ART: Art lovers have a rare opportunity of acquiring works by some of the best known artists of the last century at an art auction at Vienna's Palais Kinsky on December 1 and 2. On offer will be works by Austrian artists such as Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Friedensreich Hundertwasser, as well as internationally-renowned names such as Yves Klein and Andy Warhol. www.imkinsky.com
"Komm und geh mit mir spazieren - Zwiegespräch" (Come and let's go walking together - dialogue)mixed technique on cardboard © Friedensreich Hundertwasser
MUSIC: Vienna's famed Konzerthaus will be ringing in the New Year in true Viennese fashion with waltzes, polkas and marches by the equally renowned composer-family -- the Strauss dynasty. Concerts on December 28 and 29, and again on January 1, performed by the Strauss Festival Orchestra, led by conductor Peter Guth. www.konzerthaus.at
BELGIUM
PHOTOGRAPHY: "Masters of photography" brings together works by some of the greatest contemporary photographers -- Cindy Sherman, Irvin Penn, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Seydou Keita, Arnold Newman and Richard Avedon -- until January 16 at Antwerp's "Fifty One Fine Art Photography." www.gallery51.com
BRITAIN
ART: The often-controversial Turner Prize for contemporary art will be awarded on December 7. The four artists nominated are Enrico David, Roger Hiorns, Lucy Skaer and Richard Wright. Their works are on show at Tate Britain in London until January 3, 2010. www.tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/turnerprize2009/
Richard Wright Untitled 2005 Gouache and enamel on paper
AUCTION: A collection of dresses and other wardrobe treasures worn by film star and style icon Audrey Hepburn goes on sale at a charity auction December 8 organised by Sotheby's and expected to raise more than 110,000 euros (164,000 dollars). A black silk Givenchy dress she wore in the 1962 hit "Paris When it Sizzles" is among the 36 gowns up for sale along with hats, belts and lots of Chanel handbags.
DENMARK
FESTIVAL/TRADITION: Copenhagen's Tivoli gardens, a 166-year-old amusement park that is the third largest in Europe, will be open for Christmas during the month of December. Christmas lights, rides, concerts, music and an aquarium. Tivoli Gardens, open until December 30. www.tivoli.dk/
FINLAND
DANCE: The national opera ballet school's ballet for children "Alice in Wonderland" is inspired by Lewis Carroll's book, but portrays Alice as a teenager. Choreography is by Marilena Fontoura. The ballet is recommended for children aged seven and up. At the Finnish national opera December 8 to 12. www.ooppera.fi/produktiot
FRANCE
AUCTION: One of world's oldest and most famous eateries, the 400-year Tour d'Argent, is selling 18,000 bottles from its gigantic 430,000-bottle cellar. Rare vintages common mortals may have read about but never actually seen -- such as a Chateau Lafite Rothschild or a 200-year-old Fine Champagne -- go under the hammer December 7 and 8, expected to fetch up to a million euros, say auctioneers Piasa.
MUSIC/BALLET/HISTORY: When Serge Diaghilev brought his Ballets Russes to Paris in 1909, they were an overnight sensation and changed the course of ballet history. A century later, a host of events are being mounted to celebrate the nomadic company which dragged dance into the 20th century, particularly in Paris and Monaco, their two main bases. The Opera Garnier in the heart of the French capital is the fitting setting for an exhibition running until May 23.
GERMANY
FESTIVAL: sex.macht.musik (Sex.Power.Music) festival in the eastern city of Leipzig looks at the interplay between symbols of femininity and virility, the eroticism of the voice, sensuality and art of the body, pornography and obsession. Concerts, performance art, films, conferences and podium discussions round out the programme, bringing together around 60 artists from 12 countries. December 4 to 6. Contemporary Music Forum (FZML). www.fzml.de
MUSIC: Berlin's renowned State Opera orchestra gives New Year's concert led by Israeli-Argentinian conductor Daniel Barenboim featuring Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Concert-goers can enjoy a gala four-course feast at the neighbouring Hotel de Rome with a view of the fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate for a package price of 498 euros (750 dollars). December 31. Staatsoper. www.staatsoper-berlin.org
ART: "Und jetzt" (And Now) visual arts exhibition shines the spotlight on the work of 12 female artists in communist East Germany, each of whom developed her own style under the regime in the 1980s. The Berlin show focuses on works from that period, posing the question how political repression influenced that generation's creative development. To December 20. Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien. www.bethanien.de
GREECE
ART/HISTORY: Athen's renowned Cycladic Museum fetes Eros from December 10 to next April 6 with an exhibition of antique works dedicated to the god of love from the time of Greek poet Hesiod (7th century BC), whose Theogony tells of how the gods came to be and how they established control of the cosmos. More than 280 works on show loaned by 45 museums in Greece, Italy and France, including the Louvre. www.cycladic.gr
ITALY
OPERA: Georges Bizet's "Carmen,” staged by Emma Dante, kicks off the 2009-2010 season at Milan's Scala on December 7, with Daniel Barenboim conducting. Also scheduled at the opera house in 2009-2010 are performances of "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi and Mozart's "Don Giovanni.” www.teatroallascala.org
NORWAY
MUSIC: American actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith host a Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo in honour of 2009 laureate, US President Barack Obama, who will not be attending. Former Fugees member Wyclef Jean, country singer Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Puerto Rican singer Luis Fosni, Malian duo Amadou and Mariam and Norway's 2009 Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak will perform. December 11 at Oslo Spektrum. http://nobelpeaceprize.org/concert/index.php
PORTUGAL
LIFESTYLE/HISTORY: The Museum of Design and Fashion until next January 31 holds "It's forbidden to forbid!,” a journey back in time to the late 1960s and early 1970s through a presentation of around 60 exhibits interweaving design and fashion with cinema, literature and music to portray the period. www.mude.pt
RUSSIA
MUSIC/HISTORY: The annual "December evenings" festival founded by Sviatoslav Richter brings European and Russian participants together around the theme "Music and the Facets of History" as part of European 19th century culture. At the Pushkin arts museum from December 1 to 30. www.museum.ru/gmi.defrus.htm
SWEDEN
TRADITION/CHRISTMAS: December 13 is Lucia Day in Sweden, celebrated to bring light to one of the darkest days of the year and a highlight of the Christmas season. Traditional concerts and processions, at which young "Lucias" wear candles in their hair, in churches and cities around the country, while in Stockholm the country's official Lucia will be crowned at Skansen park on December 5 and star in a procession and concert on December 13. Students will perform Lucia concerts at Stockholm's cathedral on December 11 and 12. www.skansen.se; www.stockholmsdomkyrkoforsamling.se
Saint Lucia in Sweden
ART/GRAFFITI: Swedish journalist and photographer Mia Groendahl presents some 60 photographs of graffiti from the Gaza Strip, in an exhibit called Gaza Graffiti: Messages of Love and Politics. The exhibit aims to give "an exciting and unexpected insight into daily life in Gaza," through the art form that developed there during the first intifada, in 1987. At Stockholm's National Museum of Ethnography until January 6. www.etnografiska.se; www.miagrondahl.com
AFP/Expatica
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Top wines under the hammer in Paris and top dresses up for grabs in London as the two cities pay homage respectively to celebrated 400-year eatery Tour d'Argent and celebrated star Audrey Hepburn.
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