What's on in Germany: July 22 - 28

This Week's Highlights: "Porgy and Bess" in Berlin, open air concerts in Frankfurt, and a royal joust just outside Munich.


BERLIN



Festivals


German American Festival

Celebrate all 50 states as the Berlin German-American festival marks its 50th year! Country music enlivens Main Street in the American-style town set up alongside carnival rides like the "Rock and Roller Coaster." Play a few rounds of bingo and chow down on a hot dog or two. Tuesday is Biker's Day, so shine up that Harley and get free admission plus a complimentary drink.

Price: €2
Location: Truman Plaza, at the corner of Clayallee and Hüttenweg, Dahlem
Times: Friday - Saturday, 2pm-12am; Sunday - Thursday, 2pm-11pm; July 23 - August 15
More Information: www.deutsch-amerikanisches-volksfest.de



Wassermusik 2010

Bands like the Gypsy Queens & Kings, Chicha Libre, and Brazilian guitarist Sebastiao Tapajos bring the music of the Amazon, the Danube, and the Nile to the roof of Berlin's House of World Cultures. Movies, workshops, and lectures, all based on watery themes, join the sizzling roster of open-air concerts.

Price: €10 (Concert & Film); €5 (Film Only)
Location: Haus der Kulturen der Welt, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
Times: Thursday, July 22 - Friday, August 13
Phone: 030 397 870
More Information: www.hkw.de



Opera


Porgy and Bess

Summertime, and the living is easy. Seventy-five years after its Broadway premiere, this legendary love story is as relevant as it ever was. The New York Harlem Theater brings the Gershwin classic to Berlin this week. Witness one of 20th century opera's most legendary romances unfold upon the stage of the Komische Oper Berlin.

Price: €49.50 - 98
Locaion: Komische Oper Berlin, Behrenstrasse 55-57
Times: Tuesday, July 27, 8pm; Friday, July 30, 8pm; Saturday, July 31, 3pm & 8pm; Sunday, August 1, 2pm & 7pm
Phone: 030 202 600
More Information: www.komische-oper-berlin.de




DRESDEN



Galleries/Museums


Jeff Wall - Transit

The Canadian artist's photographs seem to encompass entire movies with a single image. That's how cinematographically splendid they are. See 19 of Wall's signature light boxes at the Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau.

Price: €6
Location: Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, Brühlsche Terrasse
Times: Tuesday - Sunday, 10am-6pm; through September 19
Phone: 0351 49 14 2000
More Information: www.skdmuseum.de




DÜSSELDORF



Galleries/Museums


Styleclicker City - People of the 21st Century

Gunnar Hämmerle shoots stylish people on the streets where he encounters them. He posts his findings in a virtual gallery on his blog StyleClicker. Over 1000 photos of the fashionistas he's found, from New York to London, are on display at NRW-Forum starting Sunday.

Price: €5.80
Location: NRW-Forum, Ehrenhof 2
Times: Tuesday - Sunday, 11am-8pm; Friday, 11am-midnight; through August 8
Phone: 0211 892 6690
More Information: www.nrw-forum.de





FRANKFURT



Festivals


Summer in the City

Frankfurt residents needn't go far for their weekly summertime, open-air music fix. "Jazz at the Museum" and "World Music at the Palmen Garten" begin this weekend. Tap your toes to jazz bands from across Europe on Sundays, and on Tuesdays, sway to Congolese reggae and Chinese rock with a traditional twang.

Price: Various
Location: Liebieghaus, Schaumainkai 71 and Palmengarten, Siesmayerstrasse 61
Times: Tuesdays, 7:30pm and Sundays 11am; Sunday, July 25 - Tuesday, August 17
More Information: www.mousonturm.de




HAMBURG



Music/Concerts


KLANG! Container

An eight-foot sea container has been transformed into a concert venue that travels around Hamburg this summer. This week bassist John Hughes plays solo, soprano Marcia Lemke-Kern and violinist Ewelina Nowicka perform works by Aperghis, Schultz, Erdmann, and Kurtag, Birgit Ulher improvises with trumpet, radio, and speaker, and clarinetist Carol Schaal joins pianist Daria Iossifova for a set of Zabel, Debussy, and Stockhausen pieces. Go early to explore Jutta Ravenna's sound sculpture.

Price: Free
Location: Alsterwiesen
Times: Thursday, July 22, 4pm; Friday, July 23, 4pm; Saturday, July 24, 6pm; Sunday, July 25, 6pm
More Information: www.klang-hamburg.de




HANNOVER



Festivals


Little Festival in the Great Garden

A magical ambience has descended upon the royal gardens of Herrenhausen. From acrobats to magicians, over 100 artists and entertainers enchant the audience with magnificent costumes and mesmerising tricks. One of Germany's most beloved open-air festivals, this year the "Kleines Fest" celebrates its 25th jubilee.

Price: €26.50 (Adults); €15 (Children); Free (Children under 111cm)
Location: Grosser Garten Herrenhausen, Herrenhäuser Strasse 3 A
Times: 6:30pm-midnight; through Monday, July 26
Phone: 0511 168 47576
More Information: www.kleinesfestludwigslust.de




MUNICH



Events


Kaltenberg Knights' Tournament

This Sunday, Prince Luitpold and Princess Beatrix of Bavaria are hosting a grand affair, and Lancelot, Guinevere, and even the great Merlin will all be there. Venture back to the mediaeval era and journey to Kaltenberg Castle, an hour from Munich, where you can sip mead at the market fair and dance to the music of a wandering troubadour. The festivities culminate in a royal joust.

Price: €17 - 49
Location: Kaltenberg Castle, Schloss Strasse 8, Geltendorf
Times: Saturday, July 25, 11am-7:30pm
Tickets: 018 05 11 33 13
More Information: www.ritterturnier.de



Children's Events


Hand-Clapping Games

Remember "Miss Mary Mack"? How many hours did you while away with your best mate, clapping hands together in rhythm while belting out that ode to the girl in black? Keep the tradition alive. Bring the wee ones (ages four and up) to the Munich Readery where they'll learn all sorts of fun hand clapping games, Saturday.

Price: Free
Location: The Munich Readery, Augustenstrasse 104
Times: Saturday, July 24, 10:30am
Register: store@themunichreadery.com
More Information: www.readery.de




WÜRZBURG



Music/Literature


Marianne Faithfull and Vincent Segal

The British songstress is joined by cellist Vincent Segal for an evening of Shakespearean love sonnets. Part of the Würzburg Hafen Sommer festival, the duo delivers those dreamy poetics with intimate charm. Delight in a little Shakespeare under the stars this weekend.

Price: €23
Location: Freitreppe Alter Hafen, Veitshöchheimer Strasse
Times: Friday, July 24, 8:30pm
Ticket Hotline: 01805 44 70 777 (.14/min)
More Information: /www.hafensommer-wuerzburg.de