Arts & Leisure

On stage
HUNGARY PLAYS HOST TO WORLD-RENOWNED ENTERTAINMENT
WRITTEN BY Nancy Laforest

Some of the world’s biggest names in entertainment will soon be appearing on local stages, selling out venues and heating up crowds in the colder months. Captivating and fanciful, these performances in dance, music and illusion promise to lift the spirits of anyone whose late autumn lacks luster.

GOLD AT THE MTA
An allusion to some of the magic from the past, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) is currently featuring an exhibit of Transylvanian gold, not seen in Hungary since 1626. Gábor Bethlen, prince of Transylvania at the time, gave Swedish King Gustav Adolf II, who was to become his brother-in-law, some extremely luxurious wedding presents. Now part of the Swedish-Hungarian season of collaboration, the girfts have been returned and are on display at the MTA’s headquarters through Dec. 10. They will then go to the Hungarian National Museum. Undoubtedly the most impressive wedding gift, displayed in the center of the low-lit room, is a horse-kit complete with chevalier weapons and dating to the late 1500s. A saddle of gold, slightly chipped and showing its age, is displayed next to a thick horse blanket embroidered with gold. Other accessories include daggers and cases for arrows, engraved and detailed with innumerable precious stones, namely turquoise and rubies. These pieces, originating from the Turkish-Ottoman empire, were extremely extravagant for the time, when notions of the East were fashionable, still mystical and distant. Gold coins, maps and supplemental articles dating back 400 years help evoke the overall feeling of the époque.

DAVID COPPERFIELD
Who better than world-renowned David Copperfield to bring some mystique and excitement to those cold winter nights? “An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion,” acclaimed as the world’s biggest entertainment event, combines spellbinding technological effects with Copperfield’s legendary taste for theater. Setting box-office records throughout the world, few seats still remain for the Dec. 4-5 performances at the Budapest Sport Arena. No newcomer to popularity, the magician began enchanting spectators at age 12. By 16, he was teaching a course in magic at NYU and soon after had his own award-winning television show, which was broadcast worldwide. Currently, the conception and preparation of each feat takes Copperfield an average two-and-a-half years to perfect. In this particular performance, the magician will take the stage with a venomous African scorpion, defying death and promising to pump adrenaline. Having previously walked through the Great Wall of China, the daredevil will now perform a similar feat and cross a wall of steel, then go on to share the secrets for devising winning lottery numbers. With his extreme mental powers and elements of anxiety and danger, Copperfield’s latest grand illusion focuses on the realization of dreams. A chosen few from the audience will be transported from the stage to the destination of their dreams, appearing moments later anywhere from Honolulu to the Himalayas. Some lucky 13 spectators will also take part in one of Copperfield’s most difficult feats and be reunited with someone they’ve loved and lost through the experience of time travel.

RIVERDANCE
Riverdance, the Irish performance phenomena, will be awing spectators in Hungary for the first time this month. The nearly 80-member cast and crew will open their visit to Hungary in Debrecen Nov. 18, and move to the Budapest Sport Arena Nov. 20-21. Not to be confounded with the Lord of the Dance, the Riverdance production is an energetic and sensual fusion of live Irish and international music, song and dance. Moya Doherty’s conception, which began as a seven-minute interval act for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, has evolved into a two-hour show and has sold out venues since its 1995 world premier. Three Riverdance companies currently exist, one touring Ireland, another in North America and the Avoca, which is touring Europe. The main choreography of the dances traces the path of a river and represents the cycle of life. The current theme of the production, Journey, describes how the Irish wave of immigration to America helped spread their culture throughout the world. Drawing on Irish traditions while also featuring flamboyant flamenco dancers and ballerinas from Moscow, Riverdance expresses the beauty and powerful dynamism of intertwining cultures. With this theme now present in Hungary, and with the troupe’s overwhelming press reviews, these three performances are expected to be nothing less than spectacular.

DIANA KRALL
Gracing Budapest on the last leg of her tour, jazz sensation Diana Krall will be performing Dec. 9 at the Budapest Congress Center. With concert tickets selling out as quickly as her albums, Krall has been touring since April to promote her latest album entitled, “The Girl in the Other Room.” The first to feature some of Krall’s original compositions, The Girl in the Other Room is an emotional tribute to her mother, who passed away two years ago. Composed of cathartic piano playing and songs dealing primarily with gratitude, homecoming, loss and longing, it will be interesting to see how Krall’s enchanting voice and captivating style can transfer these themes to the stage. Presenting songs by Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell, and shamelessly crossing back to her roots of bop and swing, the 40-year-old will undoubtedly awe audiences with the diversity of her acoustic repertoire. Krall began her love affair with the piano at age four and performed her first show at 15 in her hometown of Nanaimo, western Canada. In the last 10 years, she has released more than 10 albums, won two Grammy awards and several Canadian equivalents, the Junos. The starlet has managed to position herself as the top-selling jazz vocalist, ground-breakingly reaching pop star status with her innovative renditions of jazz standards. With top-rate musicians in her entourage and an unforgettable voice, Krall’s charismatic performance promises to warm up hearts and popsicle toes of those quick enough to buy tickets.