Jason Webster's latest offering is just out, it's a change from his previous works, a fast-paced thriller, set in Valencia and featuring detective Max Cámara- - we have an exclusive interview with the author here

MOVIE FAN?
The Spanish love movies - there are cinemas all over town - mainly dubbed in Castellano, so you're going to have to learn the language if you want to see the blockbusters, But, there is now Great news! Ciné Cité at Mercado Campanar is now Yelmo and has an exciting line up of films in digital 2d and 3d VOS,
For arty films there are the excellent Babel (click box top right) which shows its films in original version and the IVAC - Filmoteca.(click their box top right) The annua festival Cinema Joven takes place each June for one week (15-22June in 2012), though the excellent Mostra de Valencia - the Mediterranean film festival has just been shelved indefinitely as part of the austerity cuts by the council. And, a little sinister this, their website is deamed by google to be unsafe to visit now! The IVAC has a summer outdoor cinema "Filmoteca d'Estiu' in front of the Palau de Musica in the riverbed all the way through August, and Kinepolis Heron City staged a summer cinema in the port area this summer, the programmes, as always, are here when published .

You want art? There are around 30 galleries and museums in the city. The excellent IVAM devoted to modern art, the Museo de Bellas Artes, a fine permanent collection and well staged exhibitions, the Bancaixa Gallery has a large permanent collection of Picasso etchings.

Go here for a list of the major galleries - all are open daily except monday - entrance fees vary but are not expensive and Sundays, all galleries are free.

Theatre your thing? There are four major theatre spaces in the city, an excellent Music Palace Palau de Música and the stunning Opera house masterpiece Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía by the celebrated Valencian Architect Calatrava. There is also a thriving café theatre scene (seasonal) and many of the smaller clubs have performance on a regular basis.

Sagunto - up the coast a bit has a Roman amphitheatre and stages not only the classics but concerts as well in the Festival d'estui, Sagunt a escena.

Nightbird? click here for the clubs

Is music your bag? There's a wealth of music here in Valencia for you to enjoy. From rock to folk to classical to brass bands to jazz and back again click here for the major venues.

Always got your face in a book? go here for reviews and the inspired monthly column from Gooru, returning soon

Fashion Victim? or just love to read an excellent woman columnist? Anita Darling is here, and Barbara O'Neill is here, just for you.

THISISPLACIDODOMINGO

Placido Domingo, world famous for his work both as singer and conductor, is the star of the programming of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia during the months of March and April.

Domingo will perform three great operas, Thaïs, Tosca and Le Cid. He will also direct works by Beethoven and Dvorak as head of the Orchestra of Valencia on 26 April.

On March 25, Domingo incorporates a new role into his repertoire. After his foray into baritone with Simon Boccanegra by Verdi, he is performing for the first time, Athanaël in the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet .

Nicola Raab directs this Goteborgsoperan production that tells the story of Alexandria's in the late 19th century. It is also the first time that the Palau de les Arts Domingo pay tribute to French composer on the centenary of his death. Patrick Fournillier is the musical director of this show.  

The Swedish soprano Malin Byström performs the title role of Thaïs again, after great reviews at the premiere of this show in Gothenburg. He is accompanied by Paolo Fanale (Nicias), Gianluca Buratto (Palémon), Aldo Heo (Servant), Michelle West (Crobyle), Marina Rodríguez-Cusí (Myrtale) and Maria Jose Suarez (Albine). Thaïs will be performed on 25, 28 and March 31, and 3, 12 and 15 April.

After giving life to the Cenobite monk obsessed with redeeming the dissolute Thaïs, Placido Domingo exchanges the stage for the pit, for the last two performances of Puccini's Tosca, on the 19 and 22 April. taking the baton from the holder of the Orchestra of Valencia, Omer Meir Wellber.

April 26 sees the last Abono concert until the start of the Festival of Mediterrani. The works performed will include: Coriolanus Overture and Symphony No. 7 in A major by Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor by Antonin Dvorak with the cellist Giorgi Anichenko solo.

The opera Le Cid by Jules Massenet, to be performed in concert, closes the sixth season of the Palau de les Arts. Domingo conducts . The Tenerife Jorge de Leon made his debut in the demanding role of Rodrigue. The cast is completed by Ludmila Monastirska (Chimène), Hao Jiang Tian (Don Diègue), James Rutherford (King), Felipe Bou (Le Comte de Gormas) and Oreste Micaëla (The Princess). The Auditorium of the Valencia Arts Center will host three performances of Le Cid on 24, 27 and 30 April.

THISISURBANART

UPV, The Polytechnic University of Valencia, through the Cultural Management Area Vice President for Student of Culture, presentS the VI Mural Painting Contest, the winners will participate, along with other previously selected urban artists painting in Polliniza 2012, the seventh edition of the Urban Art festival at the UPV, which this year will take place between 7 and May 11, 2012.

Based on consideration of the mural as architectural support that interacts with its urban environment, all adult artists interested in participating can do so, either individually or in groups (crews) with proposals from academic to hip hop graffiti or urban art.

The deadline for registration and submission of applications is already open and will end on April 10, 2012. To participate, please complete the registration form available for download from the official website of the festival (www.poliniza.es) and submit to the Registrar General of any of the three campuses of the UPV, and include a CD / DVD compilation of images with key artist's mural work.

The winners, in addition to participating in a festival of international reference in the urban art world, and which is visited each year by more than 20,000 people, will receive a prize of 700 € per intervention concluded.

 

THISISEASTER - La Pasión en vivo Sagunto
www.passiopersagunt.blogspot.com.es/
Saturday 31 March Begins at 20:30 h.
The Passion of Jesus Christ played live by about 70 players in Sagunto, accompanied by a drum and bugle band "Ciutat de Sagunto. It begins at Plaza Mayor, and through several streets of the old town to Calvary where it ends.

THISISTHEWATERBOYS

Mike Scott and The Waterboys Live Palau de Congresos Valencia
Mike Scott and The Waterboys make a very welcome return to Valencia on Friday 13 April, so he's obviously not superstitious!. The band is promoting their last album 'An Appointment with Mr Yeats' 14 new songs created from the lyrics of Ireland's greatest poet, WB Yeats (1865-1939) The musicians on the tour are a the 5-piece line-up of the band, featuring Mike Scott, Steve Wickham, James Hallawell, Marc Arciero and Ralph Salmins.
This is part of a 9 stop Spanish tour and the other dates are as follows:
April 12- Teatro Principal, ALICANTE
April 13- Palacio De Congresos, VALENCIA.
April 14- Palacio De Congresos, ALBACETE
April 15- Teatro Coliseum, BARCELONA
April 17- Teatro Kapital, MADRID
April 18- Teatro La Laboral, GIJON
April 19- Santana 27, BILBAO
April 20- Espacio Santander, SANTANDER
April 21- Pazo De Cultura, PONTEVEDRA
An exclusive Waterboys CD called CLOUD OF SOUND, containing 15 fabulous tracks never before gathered on an album, will be available at venues on the Appointment With The Waterboys tour, starting at the first show, March 7, in Sandnes, in a limited edition of 5000 copies
signed by Mike Scott.
Many of the tracks are from Mike's Soundcloud page and several have never been heard before. None of the song versions included have ever appeared on a CD or album until now.

CIRCO GRAN FELE
REVIEW - Tim Birch was surprised to have such a good time.
I would have to admit a small but quite distinct feeling of trepidation about committing time to a circus, it has never been my favourite form of entertainment, but for the sake of thisisvalencia.com I went on a surprisingly-cold-for-Valencia Thursday evening to see a preview of Circo Gran Fele's latest offering, Un Pessic de Sal (A Pinch of Salt).

Their big top is on a piece of wasteland earmarked for a proposed Conservatoire opposite the Palau de les Arts. As we walked towards it we could hear quite loud music coming from the tent and were suddenly a little worried that we had read the time wrong on the invitation we had received, but as we neared it became clear that the show hadn't yet begun and it was just warm up music for the waiting audience.

We bought popcorn and were shown to our seats (wooden bench) in the pint-sized big top by a sweet girl who dropped some boiled sweets into my hand as she left to help others to their seats - nice touch. It is, as I mentioned earlier, a smallish big top with a little area at the back of the ring for the band and next to it, a red proscenium arch and curtain. In the centre of the ring stood a table and stools and as we sat and waited for the show to begin various members of the cast wandered on and off the ring, chatting, scratch juggling, yawning and waving at members of the audience.

Rafael Pla is the Master of ceremonies in the guise of El Gran Fele. He founded the Circo Gran Fele in 1993 with the idea that the shows they put on should have a direction and a story, that all the acts should express and idea or emotion which is part of the general idea. He looks great, he's rotund with a full white beard, long curly white hair. He arrives in the ring wearing a long red frock coat and pillbox hat to match and proudly announces the start of the show! The band begins to play and the show is under way.

There are tumblers, there are jugglers, there are clowns, there are rope acts and there are marionettes, all part of the story of life in a plaza in a small pueblo. There are no animals.

One of the very British traditions that the Spanish don't have around the Christmas Season is the Pantomime. This show is as close as you can get to pantomime.

It is a hugely entertaining, and, even if like me, you can live without jugglers and clowns, this is a little marvel of a show. The clown is genuinely funny and actually looks like he is having fun(as do all the cast). The acrobatics are excellent and beautifully choreographed, the juggler's act was made all the better by the way that he pretended to be asleep. The band are great, playing music almost 100% of the show. The little marionettes of elderly 'villagers' are delightful and Gran Fele holds it all together beautifully.

One of the joys of sitting around a circus ring is being able to watch how others, particularly children, are enjoying the show. The kids in our audience were positively gleeful in their enjoyment of the proceedings, as was the man in front of us, who reminded me of a late uncle of mine, who would treat each of my 4 brothers and sisters and to a different Panto each and every Christmas and would spend the entire show reacting as much or more than the children around us to what was going on. This was just such a show, old-fashioned and full of fun for everyone. Go and see it!

It is on twice a day, almost daily, including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day and tickets are from 12 - 24 euros with discounts for children.

THISISCINEMA - THIS WEEK IN THE CINEMAS THAT SHOW ORIGINAL
VERSION FILMS IN THE CITY
Click the boxes above to book
and for more info

THISISVERSIONORIGINAL
ATYELMO
HUNGER GAMES - Los juegos del hambre 2D V.O.S. Action - 142 mins
16:30 19:30 22:30
SALMON FISHING IN YEMEN - La pesca de salmón en Yemen 2D V.O.S. Comedy - 111 mins 15:40 18:05 20:20 22:35
Battleship 2D V.O.S. Action - 131 mins +7 19:15
De Nicolas a Sarkozy 2D V.O.S. French Biography - 105 mins +7 20:10
Alps 35 MM. V.O.S. Drama - 93 mins +16 22:10
Titanic 3D 3D V.O.S. Drama - 194 mins +12 17:50
THE EXOTIC HOTEL MARIGOLD - El exótico hotel Marigold 2D V.O.S. Comedy - 124 mins TP 22:40
THE IDES OF MARCH - Los Idus de Marzo 2D V.O.S. Drama - 101 mins +12 22:45
Intocable 2D V.O.S. French Comedy - 112 mins +7 20:20

THISISVERSIONORIGINAL
ATBABEL
Take Shelter V.O.S. Drama 120 minutes 16:30 20:30 22:45
THREE TIMES IN 20 YEARS - Tres veces en 20 Años V.O.S. Romantic Comedy 16:30 18:30 22:45
THE IDES OF MARCH - Los Idus de Marzo 2D V.O.S. Drama - 101 mins +12 16:30 18:30 22:45
Shame V.O.S. Drama - 99 mins +18 20:30
Almanya V.O.S. Drama German/Turkish - 97 mins 16:30 18:55
Kiseki V.O.S. Drama Japanese - 126 mins 16:30 18:55

THISISVERSIONORIGINAL
ATKINEPOLIS
check their website for showings
HUNGER GAMES - Los juegos del hambre 2D V.O.S. Action - 142 mins
SALMON FISHING IN YEMEN - La pesca de salmón en Yemen 2D V.O.S. Comedy - 111 mins