Chamber

China Philharmonic Orchestra and Beijing Baroque Chamber Chorus are to get together for a special show under the baton of Nicholas Smith. Soloists include tenor Edward Hands and horn player Han Xiaoming.

Programme: Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings by Benjamin Britten, Coronation Anthems by Handel.

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 28

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park, to the north of Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 6559-8285

中山音乐堂，中山公园内

Violin solo

Lu Siqing, an American-Chinese violinist, is to give a recital in Beijing. He was the first man from Asia to take gold at the Italian Paganini competition.

Programme: Chinese works such as Butterfly Lovers, Why Flowers Are So Red, White-haired Girl, and others.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 29, 30

Location: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao

Tel: 6555-1856

保利剧院，东四十条路口

Piano solo

Joel N. Juan Qui Vega, a Mexican pianist of Chinese ancestry, is to give a concert in Beijing.

Programme: Rondo in D major No 485, Theme with variation from a French song "Ah,vous dirai-je, Mamam" No 265 by Mozart, Sonata I (1955) by Hermilio Hernandez, Sonata (1981) by Francisco Xavier Vivanco, variation No 1 for Piano by Manuel Enriquez, Invention No 1 for Piano Victor Manuel Medeles, In memory of Stravinsky by Antonio Navarro.

Tickets: 80-200 yuan (US$10-24)

Time: 7:30 pm, November 29

Location: Concert Hall of China National Library, Baishiqiaolu

Tel: 8463-3996, 8488-7066

国图音乐厅，白石桥路39号

Tango

A dance troupe from Argentina will present a grand dance spectacular filled with dances to dazzle the eyes.

Tickets: 280-1,200 yuan (US$34-145)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, November 28 to 30

Location: Tianqian Theatre, Beiweilu Street, Xuanwu District

Tel: 8315-6300

天桥剧场，宣武区北纬路30号

Brazilian dazzlers

The National Song and Dance Ensemble of Brazil is to visit China. Famous for its original samba dances, the troupe has been one of the most prominent in representing Latin arts. With the unique drum beats of the passionate, exhilarating tropical forest areas, the people who live by the Amazon River illustrate their open, natural characters through their dances. These include aboriginal sacrificial dances and fishermen's dances as well as Arabian belly dances, flamenco, swing, and even Chinese-style Kungfu dances.

Tickets: 120-580 yuan (US$14-70)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 5-6

Location: Beizhan Theatre, Xizhimenwai Street

Tel: 6835-4455

北展剧场，西直门外大街

Symphony

Under the baton of senior conductor Huang Xiaotong, China Philharmonic Orchestra is to present a concert.

Programme: Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op 21 by Mendelssohn, Symphony No 41 in C major, K 551, Jupiter by Mozart, and Symphony No 4 in E minor, Op 98 by Brahms.

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 5

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall, in Zhongshan Park

Tel: 6559-8285

中山音乐堂，中山公园内

Messiah

The International Festival Chorus and Orchestra is to feature Messiah by Handel, lead by conductor Andrew Nethsingha.

Nethsingha is artistic director of Gloucester Three Choirs Festival in England.

Festival orchestra leader is Jin Haiyin. The main cast is soprano Cintia De Los Santos, alto Zhang Yuan, tenor Li Bing and baritone Wu Chunkan.

Tickets: 60-380 yuan (US$7-46)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 6

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall

Musical

Beijing Baroque Chamber Chorus is to sing Christmas blessings along with excerpts from musicals. Englishman Nicholas Smith is to conduct.

Programme: Hallelujah, Holy Night, Jingle Bells, The Phantom of the Opera and Casablanca and more.

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 21

Tickets: 50-380 yuan (US$6-46)

Location: Forbidden City Concert Hall

Commemorating Mao

December 26th this year is the 110th anniversary of the birth of the late Chairman Mao Zedong. A grand concert called Odes to Mao Zedong will be staged by The Symphony Orchestra of China National Opera Theatre, sung by some 100 singers from the China National Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Renowned soloists including Cheng Zhi, Han Yanwen, Wang Hongwei, Nie Jianhua, Wang Limin and Liu Shan will lead the singing and soloing, under the baton of Xu Xiyi and Gao Weichun.

Programme: The East is Red, Chairman Mao, The Red Sun in Our Hearts, Be Chairman Mao's Good Soldiers, Chairman Mao's Words Remembering in My Heart, Chairman Mao's Books I Love to Read Most.

Tickets: 180-480 yuan (US$

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 5

Location: The Grand Theatre of Nationalities, to the west of Xidan

Tel:6602-2530

民族宫大剧院，西单西

This Dawn Here Is Quiet

The drama tries to criticize modern Chinese artists' lack of inspiration and tendency to try and gain fame through elaborating on revolutionary themes based on stories from the former Soviet Union.

With much exaggeration by the director, the drama is filled with a magical surrealism.

Ticket: 100 yuan (US$12)

Time/date: 7:15 pm, until December 8

Location: Small Theatre of Beijing People's Art Theatre, Wangfujing Street

Tel: 6525-0123

人艺小剧场，王府井大街22号

Ensemble

Artists from the Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble are to stage a so-called Romantic Tastes show. Solo vocal artists including Liu Weiwei, Cheng Fangyuan and Guo Rong will sing alongside colourful dances of both ethnic and Eastern styles.

Tickets: 200-500 yuan (US$24-60)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 12-20

Location: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao

Tel: 6500-1188 ext 5682

保利剧院，东四十条路口

Melodic voice

Pop singer Cai Qin is to perform in Beijing. Blessed with a low, mellow voice and the cool looks of a graceful woman, Cai has been shining as a seemingly everlasting star in the Chinese pop field for 21 years. She has won numerous awards and has released over 40 albums.

Tickets: 180-800 yuan (US$22-96)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 12

Location: Workers' Gymnasium, to the east of Dongsishitiao

Tel:6501-6655

工人体育场，东四十条东

Light music

Musicians with the China Light Music Orchestra are to stage a so-called Dream Melodies concert, presenting some of the world's light music classics.

Programme: Jingle Bells, Memory, Love Story, Going Home, Carmen Prelude, Radtscky March, Everlasting Love, Seaside Penthouse, as well as Chinese pieces including Butterfly Lovers, Jasmine Flower, Yao Ethnic Dances, Silver Moonlight at Beach and others.

Tickets: 60-680 yuan (US$7-82)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, December 25

Location: Century Theatre, Liangmaqiaolu

Tel: 6466-0032, 6466-3311 ext 3161

世纪剧院，亮马桥路40号

Cinema

Dot

Simeon Schnapper, director of this funny film about the dot-com industry, will fly up to Beijing to hold a discussion with the audience on both nights after the screening.

The film depicts a year in the life of Zectek.com, "the solution for e-tomorrow," satirizing the politics and pitfalls of young people raising money, burning money and riding the e-commerce rollercoaster during the pivotal months of 1999-2000. An ensemble cast portrays the principals of the company as they flirt, bicker and talk to the camera about their jobs and about each other. All of the principals are portrayed by notable actors, including Mike Mazzara, Steve Walker, Matt O'Neill, Jamie McMillan, Katherine Ripley and Simeon Schnapper.

Ticket: 50 yuan (US$6), 30 yuan (US$4) with a student's card.

Time/date: 8 pm, November 28, 29

Location: Cherry Lane Movies, Gate 29, Anjialou Street, near the 21st Century Theatre

For more info: www.cherrylanemovies.com.cn

樱花巷电影，安家楼路世纪剧院东北

Respiro

(Grazia's Island) (2002)

Director: Emanuele Crialese

Starring: Francesco Casisa, Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato

90 min.

In Italian with English subtitles

Pasquale and his youngsters spend their time hunting birds with a slingshot in the arid, dusty countryside around Lampedusa, a Sicilian island. Pasquale has only one boss, his father Pietro, a generous, violent man, who he loves and fears. Grazia, the mother, is a free spirit, closely watched by the whole community, a source of continuous worry and gossip.

Her eccentric power of fancy are misunderstood by her husband and other islanders. Her husband plans to send her off to a psychiatric facility for evaluation in town. At that point, Pasquale takes matters into his own hands, hiding his mother in a nearby cave where she will be safe from the crushing weight of the town moralism, making everyone believe that she took her life by disappearing in the sea.

Ticket: Free

Time/date: 7 pm, December 4

Location: in the Culture Office of Italian Embassy, 2 Dongerjie, Sanlitun

Tel: 6532-5015

意大利使馆/三里屯东二街2号

Other cinemas that show foreign movies in English versions:

Dongchuang Theatre

Location: 3 Xinzhongjie, Dongzhimenwai

Tel: 6415-8521, 6415-7332

东创电影院，东直门外新中街

Capital Times Cinema

Location: in the basement of the Capital New time Shopping Mall, Xidan Area

Tel: 8391-3540, 8391-3543

首都时代影院，西单首都新时代商城地下一层

East Gate Cinema

Location: East Gate Plaza, Dongzhimenwai Dajie, to the north of Poly Plaza

Tel: 6418-5938

东环广场影城

Sun Dong An Cinema City

Location: on the fifth floor of Sun Dong An Department Store, 138 Wangfujing Dajie

Tel: 6528-1898, 6528-1838

新东安影城，王府井大街

UME International Cineplex

Location: 44 Xuanyuan Nanlu, Shuangyushu, Haidian District

Tel: 6255-5566, 6261-2851

华星影城，双榆树学院南路

Dahua Cinema

Location: 82 Dongdan Beidajie

Tel: 6527-4420, 6525-0343, 6521-2647

大华影院，东单北大街82号

Exhibitions

Comrades mingong

A striking modern art exhibition addressing the special group of mingong (migrant workers or peasant-turned workers) is on at Today Art Gallery.

As a special phenomenon of China's modernization process, migrant workers, often referred to as mingong, are less recognized and received by society and tend to be put unfavourably at the bottom of the social structure despite their substantial contribution. The exhibition displays works in various art forms including photography, sculpture, installation, video and multi-media to probe the lives of migrant workers and people's opinions about them in today's society.

Time/date: 9 am-5 pm until December 30

Location: 9 Wenhuiyuan Beilu

Tel: 6223-8309

文慧园北路9号

Into the labyrinth

An exhibition on contemporary Czech graphics co-organized by the Czech Embassy in Beijing and Jintai Art Museum will be open early next month.

The "labyrinth" to be presented is an essential collection of works by around 50 outstanding Czech artists who based their creations on the inspiration of "world labyrinth" at the turn of the new century. The participating artists all took part in the Inter-Kontakt-Gralik, an international print tour exhibition held in Prague every three years.

Time/date: 10 am-4 pm, December 10-21

Location: 1 Nongzhanguan Nanlu, inside Chaoyang Park

Tel: 6532-1856

Charity auction

Beijing Tokyo Art Project (BTAP) is planning to present its first Annual Christmas Charity Auction on December 13.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Beijing Youth Development Foundation and the Beijing Donation Centre for Project Hope (http://www.bjydf.cn/) charities that provide educational and tuition assistance to children in Beijing and other impoverished regions of China.

The works on auction are drawn from different media, provided graciously by the artists at a very low price. The bidding will begin at prices well below market price. It is an excellent opportunity to acquire some of the best works in contemporary Chinese art, while help support worthy projects.

Preview display: November 29 until December 12

Auction date : 3:30 pm, December 13

Location: 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu

Tel: 8457-3245

酒仙桥路4号

Fading fast

Seven artists depict the unique time-honoured charm of Beijing with more than 40 oil paintings, employing different techniques and angles. The palaces, courtyards, hutong and people's lives are portrayed in a vivid way that illustrates the cultural and historical scenery which is now fast fading.

Time/date: 9 am-10 pm until December 25

Location: 2 Xiangjiang Beilu, Chaoyang District

Tel: 8430-2587

香江北路2号

Saucy daydreamer

Young avant-garde artist Xiao Zhe's solo art exhibition is on at Sanban Studio, where 20 paper works recording a purely imaginary vision of sexual passion said to be achieved as the vestige of the artist's daydreams as an anxious young man are displayed.

Time/date: 9 am-7 pm until December 15

Location: 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu

Tel: 6437-3432

酒仙桥路4号

Out of Egypt

A total of 143 historical relics from ancient Egypt will be shown at the National Museum of China early next month.

It is the first time that Egypt has provided so many national-level treasures for exhibition in foreign countries in terms of the value and quality of the relics. Among the exhibits, more than 40 are rated as top national treasures, including some never shown elsewhere before. The exhibition is made up of five parts, the Pharaohs' world, the ruling officials' class, luxury life, a land blessed by Gods and the eternal next life.

Time/date: 9 am-5 pm, December 5-January 5

Location: east side of Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 6512-8321

国家博物馆

Art under the hammer

The 2003 Autumn Art Works Display and Auction will be held at Beijing Great Wall Hotel Sheraton from November 28 to 30.

Sponsored by Zhongjia International Co Ltd, the fair is expected to be the biggest one this year in Beijing.

Some 500 different art works will be put on public auction. Ranging from Chinese ink paintings, stone sculptures, jade sculptures, ancient wooden furniture, and art wares from imperial families, these art works cost from 1,000 yuan (US$125) to 2 million yuan (US$250,000).

Paintings by some of the most celebrated Chinese artists like Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Pan Tianshou, Qi Baishi and Li Keran are also available in the auction.

Pieces will be displayed on November 28 and 29. The auction is on November 30.

Entrance: free.

Location: Great Wall Hotel, Dongsanhuan Beilu (North section of the East Third Ring Road)

长城喜来登饭店