3. ROCKING ROTEM Every Saturday night, Jerusalem’s Beit Avi Chai presents a line-up of top Israeli musicians that hark back to their sources of inspiration. First up is 36-year-old Israeli rocker Noam Rotem. The acclaimed creator of the underground rock scene, the former lead singer of Kerah 9 serves up a new performance combining songs from his previous albums with a glimpse of his forthcoming CD. Rotem will reveal the musical influences of his childhood and talk about faith, coping with loss and the social and existential questions that find expression in his work.Saturday, 10 p.m., 44 King George Avenue, Jerusalem, (02) 621-5900.4. JAZZ CUBAN STYLE With Perico Sambeat on alto sax and Horacio “el Negro” Hernández on drums, pianist Ramon Valle has created a bridge between Cuba and jazz, between the present and the past. Valle is considered the new rising star of the Cuban jazz world, joining the muchloved Buena Vista Club and Chuchu Valdez, who says that Valle is the most talented of the young Cuban musicians. As part of Tel Aviv Museum’s Hot Jazz series, join the trio as they play their adaptations of John Coltrane, some Cuban music and a few pieces from Valle’s new album, Playground.Tonight, 9, tomorrow, 9:30 p.m., Rehov Shaul Hamelech 27, Tel Aviv, (03) 573-3001 5. OPERA: THE WITCH’S CURSE The Encore Theater Company presents its version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta Ruddigore, a highly original spoof of villainous baronets and the village maidens on whom they prey. Produced in London in 1887, the opera initially suffered from comparison with its immediate predecessor, The Mikado, but when revived by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1920s and again in 1948, it quickly became one of the most appealing of the Savoy series. Encore’s version of Ruddigore is directed by Robert Binder and Paul Salter.Tuesday through January 6, Hirsch Theater, Jerusalem, (02) 620-3455 or www.encoreetc.com.6. PERFORMANCE: TIME OUT FOR PROUST Marcel Proust’s sense of the temporal may have been different than that of most people around him, but his gargantuan work In Search of Lost Time has been hailed as one of the greatest literary works in history. Today and tomorrow, Israeli intellectuals and artists from different disciplines will convene at Holon’s Mediatheque Theater to talk and sing about the last volume of Proust’s work, Remembrance of Things Past. The program includes plenty of musical entertainment, with such artists as Shlomi Shaban, Efrat Gosh, Yahli Sobol, Hemy Rudner, Efrat Ben-Tzur and Assaf Rott.For tickets and information: (03) 502-1552 and www.mediatheque.org.il
7. LIVE ART In conjunction with the exhibition Signs of Life: Animating Ticho House, the latest in the ViP series – ViP 12: Video, Voice and Performance Art – features leading performance artists and video art screened under the stars in the Ticho House garden. Warm clothing recommended.Tonight at 8, Beit Ticho, Rehov Harav Kook 9, Jerusalem. (02) 624-5068.8. MIXED BAG: REEL SCIENCE The Bloomfield Science Museum presents Science from the Movies, a film screening and discussion at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. First up is a lecture on the topic “The Hope of Parenting” with Prof. Neri Laufer, director of obstetrics and gynecology at Hadassah Ein Kerem. This is followed by a screening of the film My Sister’s Keeper (pictured) starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin.Tomorrow at 10 a.m., Derech Hebron 11, Jerusalem, (02) 565-4333.9. UPCOMING EXHIBIT: THE YEAR THAT WAS Holon’s Museum of Caricatures and Comics presents The Previous Year 2010, an annual exhibition of the Israel Cartoonists Association, led by Michel Kishka. More than 150 caricatures from over 36 Israeli cartoonists will be on display, reflecting a colorful and critical view of some of the main events that occurred over the past year.Runs next Thursday through March 26 at Rehov Weizmann 61, Holon. (03) 652-1849.10. UPCOMING FESTIVAL: GUT FEELING Eilat will groove to the sensuous sounds of Arabic music as women from all over the country and abroad converge for the sixth annual Eastern Dance Festival. The three-day event covers a surprisingly wide range of items but focuses on belly dancing and related areas. The festival, which caters largely to women, offers lectures, performances and more than 50 workshops. The program also features an Easternstyle bazaar offering all manner of dancing accessories, clothes, music and jewelry.January 5 through 8, www.eilatfestival.com.