1. A FLICKERING STAR
The movie Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is a biographical drama starring Annette Bening and Jamie Bell. Based on the memoir of the same name by Peter Turner, the film tells young Turner’s story of falling for aging Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame in 1970s Liverpool, only to face reality when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. With Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Walters, Kenneth Cranham, Stephen Graham.
2. BEST OF BERGMAN
The Jerusalem Cinematheque is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman with a two-month retrospective (February and March) of his early films, such as Crisis (1946); It Rains on Our Love (1946); Port of Call (1948); and Thirst (1949). Later this year, the Cinematheque will be screening Bergman’s films from the 1950s and 1960s. His later films will be screened toward the end of the year. For more details, call the Jerusalem Cinematheque.
3. EXPLORING HIS ROOTS
“Mediterranean,” an exhibition of Italian photographer Mimmo Jodice, opens at the Eretz Israel Museum. Jodice, one of the most significant contemporary photographers, deals a lot with social issues, but his work is not photojournalism. In the exhibition, Jodice explores the archaic roots of his own human condition, rediscovering the present while observing the past, moving out into the world while remaining culturally loyal to his native Naples. Opens February 10, Eretz Israel Museum, 2 Haim Levanon St., Tel Aviv
4. ESTONIAN ESTHETICS
The Israel Chamber Orchestra opens the Mustonen Festival Talin-Tel Aviv with a concert titled The Nordic Voices. Andres Mustonen will conduct and play the violin, with cellist Noa Chorin, the chamber choir and the Voces Musicales chamber choir and soloists from Estonia and Israel. On the program: Charpentier’s Te Deum; Kancheli’s Ex Contrario; Boccherini’s Symphony No. 6 “La casa del diavolo”; Jaan Raats’s Concerto for Chamber Orchestra Op 16. February 14 at 7 p.m.; February 15 at 8 p.m., Tel Aviv Museum of Art
5. COMBINING EAST AND WEST
The Confederation House, Jerusalem presents vocalist and kanoun player Elad Gabbay, who is inaugurating his new album, Nagen Ba’oud, which summarizes his musical work over the past 20 years. Gabbay combines East and West, Arabic music and rock ‘n’ roll, Jewish piyyut and modern Israeli texts. Nagen Ba’oud weaves original melodies, mythological piyyutim, original songs dealing with colorful rough-and-tumble life in Jerusalem, and arrangements of classical Egyptian songs that were performed by artists such as the legendary Um Kalthoum. February 15 at 8:30 p.m., Zappa Club, Jerusalem
6. IPO CONCERT SERIES
Kirill Petrenko, the next chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, will conduct a concert series with acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang. The artist joins the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for an exciting and varied program that includes Dukas’s La Peri; Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3; and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1. February 17 at 8 p.m., Charles Bronfman Auditorium, Tel Aviv; February 18 at 8 p.m., Jerusalem International Convention Center; February 19 at 8 p.m., Rappaport Hall, Haifa
7. GRAND ENTERTAINMENT
Gil Shohat and his dream team of 7 Grand Pianos, One Stage return with a new show and a new program. The production’s regular cast, which includes singers Shlomo Gronich, Rami Kleinstein, Leonid Ptashka and Daniella Lugasi and pianists Omri Mor, Victor Stanlislavski, Michael Zartsekel and Tal Simenon, are joined by drummer Natti Cohen and jazz pianist Eden Giat. Guest singer Harel Skaat will perform some of his best-known numbers. February 17 at 8:30 p.m., Jerusalem Theatre
8. WAS ALEXANDER HAMILTON JEWISH?
Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, director of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University, and Dr. Andrew Porwancher, the Straus Center’s visiting scholar, will discuss the emerging evidence and historical debate surrounding US founding father Alexander Hamilton’s roots. The event will be held in English. The number of seats is limited. February 19 at 7:30 p.m., Mishkenot Sha’ananim Cultural Center, Jerusalem. For reservations, call *3289.
9. PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Get hooked on the new sci-fi TV series Counterpart. J. K. Simmons stars as Howard Silk, a lowly cog in a bureaucratic UN agency, whose career is winding down at a Berlin-based United Nations spy agency. Silk unwittingly discovers that his agency is guarding a secret: a crossing to a parallel dimension. Through Howard and his counterpart on the other side, the show navigates themes of identity, idealism, what ifs, and lost love. With Olivia Williams, Harry Lloyd, Stephen Rea. Starting March 4, the series will air on Sundays at 10:50 p.m. on YES VOD and YES Edge.
10. DO I HEAR A WALTZ?
Dutch violinist and composer Andre Rieu is coming to Tel Aviv with his Johann Strauss Orchestra. The repertoire of the renowned musician and his 60-piece orchestra includes famous waltzes, as well as ballads. Rieu will present his new album Amore, which includes an interpretation of Naomi Shemer’s “Jerusalem of Gold.” April 4, 5 and 7, Menorah Mivtachim Arena, Tel Aviv