John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

10 February 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  10 minutes

Kennedy Center lights up in rainbow colors preceding the annual Kennedy Center Honors © flickr.com - Der Berzerker/cc-by-2.0

Kennedy Center lights up in rainbow colors preceding the annual Kennedy Center Honors
© flickr.com – Der Berzerker/cc-by-2.0

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (officially known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. It was named in 1964 as a memorial to assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Opened on September 8, 1971, the center hosts many different genres of performance art, such as theater, dance, classical music, jazz, pop, psychedelic, and folk music. It is the official residence of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.   read more…

Teatro La Fenice in Venice

12 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  11 minutes

View from the stage © Pietro Tessarin/cc-by-sa-4.0

View from the stage © Pietro Tessarin/cc-by-sa-4.0

Teatro La Fenice (“The Phoenix“) is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of “the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre” and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice became the site of many famous operatic premieres at which the works of several of the four major bel canto era composers—Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi—were performed.   read more…

Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi

5 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, Shopping Reading Time:  7 minutes

Freedom Square © LeontinaVarlamonva

Freedom Square © LeontinaVarlamonva

Rustaveli Avenue, formerly known as Golovin Street, is the central avenue in Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli.   read more…

Concertgebouw in Amsterdam

3 August 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Manuelarosi/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Manuelarosi/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Royal Concertgebouw (Dutch: het Koninklijk Concertgebouw) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term “concertgebouw” translates into English as “concert building”. Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in the world, along with Boston’s Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.   read more…

Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur

1 July 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, Museums, Exhibitions, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, Shopping Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - James Kerwin/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – James Kerwin/cc-by-2.0

The Petronas Towers (Malay: Menara Berkembar Petronas), also known as the Petronas Twin Towers and colloquially the KLCC Twin Towers, are an interlinked pair of 88-story supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at 451.9 metres (1,483 feet). From 1998 to 2004, they were officially designated as the tallest buildings in the world until they were surpassed by the completion of the Taipei 101. The Petronas Towers are the world’s tallest twin skyscrapers and remained the tallest buildings in Malaysia until 2019, when they were surpassed by The Exchange 106. The Petronas Towers are a major landmark of Kuala Lumpur, along with the nearby Kuala Lumpur Tower and Merdeka 118, and are visible in many places across the city.   read more…

Frankfurt Book Fair

18 March 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - ActuaLitté/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – ActuaLitté/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse) is the world’s largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The first three days are restricted exclusively to professional visitors; the general public attend the fair on the weekend.   read more…

Theater des Westens in Berlin

14 March 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - Sergey Galyonkin/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Sergey Galyonkin/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at Kantstraße 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and dedicated to opera and operetta. Enrico Caruso made his debut in Berlin here, and the Ballets Russes appeared with Anna Pavlova. In the 1930s it was run as the Volkstheater Berlin. After World War II it served as the temporary opera house of Berlin, the Städtische Oper (Municipal Opera). In 1961 it became the first theatre in Germany to show musicals. Since then it has become the “German equivalent of Broadway extravaganzas”, putting on plays and musical comedies.   read more…

National Library of Israel in West Jerusalem

28 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  15 minutes

National Library of Israel still under construction © איתי כהן / אלבטרוס צילום אוויר/cc-by-3.0

National Library of Israel still under construction © איתי כהן / אלבטרוס צילום אוויר/cc-by-3.0

The National Library of Israel (NLI; Hebrew: HaSifria HaLeumit), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; Hebrew: Beit Ha-Sfarim Ha-Le’umi ve-Ha-Universita’i), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Jewish heritage. The library holds more than 5 million books, and is located in the Government complex (Kiryat HaMemshala) near the Knesset. The National Library owns the world’s largest collections of Hebraica and Judaica, and is the repository of many rare and unique manuscripts, books and artifacts.   read more…

National Gandhi Museum and Library in New Delhi

26 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  6 minutes

Mural © SMITA DUTTA/cc-by-sa-3.0

Mural © SMITA DUTTA/cc-by-sa-3.0

The National Gandhi Museum or Gandhi Memorial Museum is a museum located in New Delhi, India showcasing the life and principles of Mahatma Gandhi. The museum first opened in Mumbai, shortly after Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. The museum relocated several times before moving to Raj Ghat, New Delhi in 1961.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top