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Featuring an original commissioned score by renowned composer Lera Auerbach, Neumeier’s contemporary version of The Little Mermaid is a haunting tale of two divergent worlds: the serenity and simplicity of underwater life and the complex, often flamboyant lives of humans. The mermaid heroine travels through both worlds, enduring torment because of her committed love for a prince—but through her own strength in the end—transcends. Composer: Lera Auerbach Choreographer: John Neumeier

Performance dates: Sat Mar 20, 8pm* | Sun Mar 21, 2pm* | Tue Mar 23, 8pm | Wed Mar 24, 7:30pm• | Thu Mar 25, 8pm | Fri Mar 26, 8pm* | Sat Mar 27, 2pm | Sat Mar 27, 8pm | Sun Mar 28, 2pm

Please Note: This critically acclaimed production focuses on the deeper, mature themes of the original story and is not recommended for younger children. ]]> Performances http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2493 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:27:57 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2492
This year visitors will enjoy a broad range of isciplines with excellence and diversity being key, work includes fine English furniture, important paintings contributing the strongest-ever contingent of Modern British painting at the Fair, textiles, clocks, glass and ceramics and
jewellery. Long standing participants include Thomas Coulborn & Sons, Lennox Cato, Sandra Cronan, Raffety & Walwyn, Duncan Miller and Frank Partridge will bring items of the highest calibre. Making their debut are eleven newcomers including Moore-Gwyn Fine Art, Godson &
Coles and Sim Fine Art. The loan exhibition entitled, Heroes or Villains? Gives visitors a
unique opportunity to view one of the world’s greatest private collections of celebrity
memorabilia assembled by David Gainsborough Roberts over nineteen years. The 18th
anniversary of The BADA Antiques & Fine Art Fair March 2010 promises to be its best yet.
Below is a selection of twenty highlights taken from all disciplines available at the Fair.

Event recap • The Fair is open to the public from March 17-23, 2010. The Charity Gala Evening in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research takes place on Thursday 18 March 2010.
Venue: The BADA Antiques & Fine Art Fair, The Duke of York Square, Chelsea, London SW3 4LY
BADA Fair Office, 20 Rutland Gate, London, SW7 1BD, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7589 6108 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7581 9083 Ticket prices: £10 for a single ticket, £15 for a double. All tickets include a BADA Handbook and one re-entry pass per person. Ticket Booking Forms are available on the website.
Opening times: 17 March: 11am to 9pm. 18 March: 11am to 5.30pm. 20, 21 & 23 March:
11am to 6pm. 19 & 22 March: 11am to 8pm.

Further information is available online by using this link . . . ]]> Fine Arts - Antiques http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2492 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:33:51 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2482 In contrast to last year’s event, the 2010 Promenade presents up to three sculptures by each artist, making this the largest sculpture installation yet seen on the lawns of the Fitzwilliam.
Opens 23 March Follow this link for further information . . . .]]> Art http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2482 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:40:45 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2481 Use this link to access more information online . . . .]]> Art http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2481 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:20:52 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2480
The portrait of Elizabeth I with the serpent (NPG 200) was painted by an unknown artist in the 1580s or early 1590s. Degradation over time has revealed that Elizabeth I was originally painted holding the serpent, the outline of which is now visible on the surface. Paint analysis has shown that the snake was part of the original design, painted at the same time as the rest of the portrait, and Elizabeth's fingers were originally clasped around the snake (as seen in the artist's impression). At the final stage of painting a decision was made not to include this emblem, and the Queen was shown holding a small bunch of roses instead. A serpent was sometimes used to represent wisdom, prudence and reasoned judgment - all fitting attributes for a Queen - but in the Christian tradition serpents have also been used to represent Satan and original sin. The removal of the snake may therefore have been due to the ambiguity of the emblem. The snake is mainly black, but has greenish blue scales and was almost certainly painted from imagination. It has also been revealed that the same portrait was painted over the unfinished portrait of an unknown woman. X-ray photography shows a female head facing in the opposite direction and in a higher position than the queen. The eyes and nose of the first face can be seen where paint has been lost from Elizabeth's forehead. The identity of this original sitter remains a mystery, but the unfinished portrait was very competently painted and appears to be by a different painter. This discovery confirms that sixteenth-century panels were sometimes re-used and recycled by artists. The unknown woman appears to have been wearing a French hood, fashionable in 1570-1580s, suggesting that there may have been a period of a few years before the panel was re-used for the portrait of Elizabeth I.

The four portraits in the display, Concealed and Revealed: The Changing Faces of Elizabeth I, are all from the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, and two have not been on display for decades. The portraits date from the 1560s until just after the queen's death and they have all changed in appearance in some way since they were created. Advanced scientific techniques have helped to unlock clues as to how they would have originally looked. Each has recently undergone in-depth technical analysis as part of the Gallery's Making Art in Tudor Britain research project. The display will examine why the changes took place and the evidence this tells us about portraits of Elizabeth I and artistic practices in this period.

Concealed and Revealed: The Changing Faces of Elizabeth I runs from 13 March - 26 September 2010 in Room 2 of the National Portrait Gallery.

Dr Tarnya Cooper says: 'The recent technical analysis on these remarkable portraits has been critical to our understanding of Tudor painting. The portrait of Elizabeth I with a hidden serpent is a really unusual survival. Yet, it is difficult to know exactly why the serpent may have been originally included, or how common this motif might have been. The queen certainly owned jewelry and costume including emblems of serpents, which were probably understood as a symbol of wisdom. However no other portrait of Elizabeth appears to depict her holding a snake. The current condition of the picture has meant it has not been on display for decades, and this display provides an exciting opportunity to present it to the public alongside other key portraits.'

For further information on Making Art in Tudor Britain please follow this link . . . ]]> Art http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2480 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:10:52 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2479
Thanks to excellent relations, Louis van der Haegen and his team have been able to book top-class acts from USA, thus raising the Festival to a new high grade. One of them is blues guitarist Magic Slim. The top player, who gave a guest performance with Lefty Dizz on the main stage in Montreux in 1981 - mind you, in the same program as Albert Collins & The Icebreakers and Taj Mahal - will honour the Volkshaus with his presence on Wednesday, 24th March, 2010 by offering his strong sound with its unique signature onstage. Magic Slim, multiple winner of the Blues Award, brings along his fantastic band Magic Slim & The Teardrops - in the vanguard there's Boogie-Lady Vanessa G.

Award winning Blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite also has Montreux experience. He was co-headliner at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1998, together with superstars like B.B. King and Buddy Guy. Charlie Musselwhite & Band will celebrate the Blues in all its facets on Saturday, 27th March, 2010. It will be a first appearance in Basel for both Magic Slim and as Charlie Musselwhite. In addition, the Festival will feature such great acts as well-known blueser R.J. Mischo with his band, Blues queen Rita Chiarelli from Canada (Thursday, 25th March) and US vocalist Zora Young, who will perform jointly with US-Basel citizen Sam Burckhardt on Friday, 26th March.

That very same evening will also show concerts of Chris Harper with singer Peaches Staten, Mike Weeler, Larry Williams, Cleo Cole and Special Guest Jesse James King from USA. Last but not least there's the Andy Egert Blues Band who will be working the crowd for Charlie Musselwhite. The bestowal of this year's treasured Swiss Blues Award to a personality who rendered outstanding services to the blues music in our country will also take place on Saturday evening. This ceremony will be attended by VIP's of economy, politics and showbiz. The 11th Blues Festival will be topped off by a Blues Brunch on Sunday, 28th March, 2010. Let The Good Times Roll! Follow this lnk for more info . . . .]]> Performances http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2479 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:17:29 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2478 10am-10pm Friday Follow this link for further information . . . .]]> Cultural Pursuits http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2478 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:37:59 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2477
"We’re delighted to receive this award, which is a tribute to SWISS's effort in constantly improving our customer's experience," said Markus Binkert, responsible for Product & Services at SWISS. "In developing our new First Class cabin product, we aim to set new benchmarks in premium travel, and we’re extremely pleased that our investments in such comfort and innovations have been so well received. We work day in, day out to offer our customers the best possible quality, as it is of the utmost importance to us that all our passengers are made to feel at home in a comfortable, relaxing and personalized environment."


In addition to its award-winning design by Priestmangoode, the new SWISS First Class features numerous new innovations. These include an individually adjustable divider wall and a guest seat. A further key innovation is the pneumatic air cushion developed in collaboration with Swiss manufacturer Lantal, which is provided at every seat and which can be individually adjusted to the firmness or softness desired. The new First Class seat can also be transformed at the touch of a button into a lie-flat bed that is over two metres long. The new SWISS First Class cabin is being gradually installed throughout the SWISS A330-300 long-haul fleet in a program that began in April 2009. For more info follow this link . . .
]]> Luxury Travel http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2477 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:00:35 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2476 Use this link for further additional information . . . .]]> Cultural Pursuits http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2476 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:07:27 -0600 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2446
• "Body and soul gardens" - From spring onwards, come and participate in the International Festival of Gardens in the estate of the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire. The most talented landscape gardeners from across the globe will be creating 30 exceptional gardens based on the theme, "Gardens with body and soul"...

• 23 new kilometres for 'La Loire à Vélo' trail - Link up with Chisseaux and the Château de Chenonceau from Onzain From spring 2010, the Château de Chenonceau will be accessible from Onzain station. The route will stretch for 23 kilometres, most of which will be occupied by a shared lane, leading to Chisseaux where the Château de Chenonceau can be accessed by road...

• 200th anniversary of the birth of Frédéric Chopin - The 'Festival de Nohant' pays tribute to the talented composer The festivities will commence on 27th February with 'Bon anniversaire Monsieur Chopin', a concert boasting sixty internationally acclaimed pianists performing the phenomenal virtuoso's finest compositions at Le Tarmac in Châteauroux... Chinon: a new fortress for summer 2010

• Discover the new face of the royal fortress of Chinon - In summer 2010, visitors can discover the new face of the royal fortress of Chinon. After six years of construction work aimed at restoring the monument to its former military glory and consistency, a tour of the fortress will reveal the new developments...

For further information on visiting the Loire Valley, please follow this link . . . ]]> Destinations http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2446 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0600