Events in May & June 2019

DANCE

Join us for the London premiere of “The Mother”, starring internationally acclaimed prima ballerina Natalia Osipova, alongside the multi-award winning Jonathan Goddard.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s tale The Story of the Mother, this new production is a compelling and instinctive story about motherhood.
As a young single mother sets out to save her child, she must face impossible trials and cross the line between dreams, reality and life and death itself. Will she succumb to the forces of evil, or will the power of motherhood prevail?

Choreographed by Arthur Pita, this avant-garde new piece, conjures a dangerous, kaleidoscopic world, combining narrative dance and drama.

art

Be amazed by the glittering interiors of the grandest address in the capital, once known as ‘Number 1 London’. This beautiful Georgian building was the London home of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo. Designed and built by Robert Adam in the 1770s, the house was bought by the duke in 1817. He transformed it into a palatial residence to befit his status, and filled it with works of art and gifts from grateful rulers across Europe.

The outstanding paintings on view reflect his taste and times, and celebrate the Iron Duke as an heroic national and military figure.

Revel in one of the finest art collections in London, with paintings by Velazquez and Rubens, as well as a wonderful collection of silver and porcelain.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Luc Ferry is a well-known figure in the French media landscape. As Minister of Youth, National Education and Research, he questioned the world’s progress and analysed it. He has shared the results of this work in many books. The latest is “Wisdom and madness of the world that comes”. In this last essay, two leading thinkers, a philosopher and an economist, wrote on an issue that concerns us all: will the digital revolution revolutionize human life to its most intimate aspects, that is to say, our own health?

Luc Ferry will share with us his vision of the world, of the future and of the great actions to put in place for a better life. Both pragmatic and analytical, he will accompany all those who want a positive change for the world and humanity.

Photo credit: Production Iconoclast Image © Jean-Baptiste Mondino

LITERATURE

In 2009, David Foenkinos published La Délicatesse, which is the real turning point in his career. The book is praised by critics and is found on all the lists of great literary prizes: Renaudot, Goncourt, Femina, Medicis and Interallied. He got a total of ten awards and became a sales phenomenon with the Folio edition, which exceeded one million copies. The film based on the book, with Audrey Tautou as the main character, is named in two categories at the Césars 2012 , for the César for the best adaptation , and for the César of the best first film.

In 2014, with his novel Charlotte, David Foenkinos knows the consecration. It is a success of bookstore with 450,000 copies sold and considered as the favourite novel booksellers of the fall 2014. Finalist of the Goncourt prize, he won several other major literary prizes, including the Renaudot prize and the Goncourt high school students’ prize. He also won the Crystal Globe for Best Novel of the Year 2014.

Foenkinos published 37 novels and his works are translated into forty languages.

LIFESTYLE

Thucked away besides the Thames, Chelsea Physic Garden, that was founded by the worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 1673, is the oldest botanical garden in London and houses around 5,000 different medicinal, herbal, edible, and useful plants.

Find peace and tranquility in this beautiful garden. Within the three and a half acres, you’ll find one of the oldest rock gardens in Europe, a herb garden with culinary and medicinal plants, botanical order beds, glasshouses, rare plants and tender species; as well as the largest outdoor olive tree in Britain.

art

Showcasing the very best of the past, present and future of photography, this year’s Photo London is bigger than ever, with almost 100 of the world’s leading galleries, featuring artists ranging from established masters to rising stars.

Join us for a private tour during VIP hours.

DANCE

The Royal Opera House is home to two of the world’s leading artistic companies, The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet.

Each day, they inspire audiences, while breaking new ground in the presentation of lyric theatre. The exceptional musicianship of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and The Royal Opera Chorus, under the musical direction Maestro Antonio Pappano, the theatricality and brilliance of the dancers, and the inventiveness of the craftspeople and technical departments, underpin everything that they do.

A private backstage tour will give you an opportunity to glimpse this extraordinary life behind the scenes to bring opera and ballets to life on the stage

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Kate MccGwire’s practice probes the beauty inherent in duality, employing natural materials to explore the play of opposites at an aesthetic, intellectual and visceral level. Growing up on the Norfolk Broads her connection with nature and fascination with birds was nurtured from an early age, with avian subjects and materials a recurring theme in her artwork.

graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2004 her uncanny sculptures have been exhibited at the Museum of Art and Design (New York), the Saatchi Gallery (London), the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Paris) and recently at Glasstress, an official collateral event of the Venice Biennale.

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Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads – is the first major exhibition to explore the great twentieth-century British sculptor’s fascination with armour. Ground-breaking new research reveals that Moore’s long relationship with the Wallace Collection directly inspired the creation of his celebrated Helmet Head sculptures, which are shown here together for the very first time. Presented in collaboration with the Henry Moore Foundation, the exhibition uncovers the previously unknown role of specific helmets and armour from the Wallace Collection in influencing Moore’s ideas and creations.

You are invited to join the Wallace Collection’s Director, Dr Xavier Bray, for a private early morning tour of this exhibition.

Image caption: Sallet or Barbuta, North Italian, c. 1450 © The Wallace Collection

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Book your ticket now for our annual meeting at Art Basel, packed with visits and inspirational encounters.

Thursday 13th June programme:

• Departure Gatwick at 8:10 am, arrival Basel at 10:45 am
• All day at Art Basel: guided tour & visit on your own
• Lunch at the UBS VIP Lounge
• Arrival in Gatwick at 6.00 pm

LIFESTYLE

A cocktail party to embrace the British summer – invitation for 2.