Kasper Bech Holten’s fantastic modern version of Wagner’s four opera work The Ring of the Nibelung will be released on DVD on July 7th (Decca). I became a big Wagner fan when the Ring played at the Royal Danish Opera House in 2003 – 2006. The old saga was transformed into an epic tale about the 20th century. But the Copenhagen Ring is still a story about a family of three generations with special focus on the main female charactor Brünnhilde. And despite the dramatic and sinister events in the last opera, Ragnarok, Kasper Bech Holten adds a very important touch of female love and hope to the ending, which is not exactly like Wagner had in mind. But I loved it!

Watch a film clip from the Ring or read more about the Copenhagen Ring on this splendid opera blog, I just found.

Hvis du er interesseret i Københavns historie, så bør du kende til Holmenkatastrofen. Den 23. november 1951 omkom 16 mennesker ved en stor eksplosion på flådestationen på Holmen. Min fætter, historiker og journalist Sune Wadskjær Nielsen, har netop udgivet bogen Holmenkatastrofen. Læs min omtale af bogen, eller se gå til boghandleren…

Med et teaterstykke, der er en moderne klassiker, og et stjerneensemble bestående af Paprika Steen, Lars Brygmann, Mia Lyhne og Nikolaj Lie Kaas burde det ikke kunne gå galt for Gasværkets opsætning af Hvem er bange for Virginia Woolf, som jeg så i torsdags. Alligevel går det ikke helt godt. Gasværkets teaterrum er simpelthen for stort til et stykke, hvor det handler om det psykologiske spil mellem fire personer. Om parforhold, skelletter i skabet, livets skuffelser og magtspil mellem kønnene. Det ville have gjort sig godt på en af byens mere intime scener, hvor man kommer tæt på skuespillerne – kan se deres ansigtsudtryk og høre nuancerne i sproget. Selvom de fire skuespillere er dygtige, så kommer man ikke rigtig ind under huden på dem i så stort et rum som Gasværket, der i dette tilfælde spænder ben for oplevelsen. Min veninde var måske lidt for hård i sin dom, da hun sagde, at stykket var omtrent lige så stor en oplevelse som at gense et afsnit af Beverly Hills 90210, der kører i loop på TV2. Men der var en flig af sandhed i det. Hvem er bange for Virginia Woolf har nok ikke samme provokerende effekt på publikum som ved premieren for 40 år siden, hvor folk var lettere at chokere. Hvis du alligevel vil give Gasværket en chance, så book en plads på en af de forreste rækker – at dømme efter bifaldet, så fik de en større oplevelse end os på 13. række. Jeg fik lyst til at køre et dogmekoncept for næste sæsons teateroplevelser: kun at se nyere dramatik og helst noget der er skrevet til den scene, det spilles på. Om et par uger skal jeg se Shopping på Camp X, så der kan jeg passende afprøve konceptet.

The Kulturchok blog has been silent for a while, because I’m very busy writing my master’s thesis at CBS (see photo). I hope to get back to you in the new year with more stories about culture & city life in Copenhagen. Until then: Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

P.S. Some info about the thesis available at my malouette blog in Danish if you are curious.

Under normal circumstances this blog is not about politics. Not that politics doesn’t interest me, but I feel that Kulturchok is not the right place for me to discuss political themes. And besides, there are plenty of other bloggers who know a lot more about Danish politics than me. But – Kulturchok is about things that go on in Copenhagen and about Danish culture in broad terms. So I just have to mention that two days ago, the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, called a general election for Tuesday 13 November 2007. And if you are interested in the campaign, a good starting point (blogwise) is my friend and political scientist Jacob Christensen’s blog where he offers some points for discussion and links to other political blogs where you can follow the election.

Two of my photos from a summer trip to Ven have been published in the hidden europe magazine, a cool magazine about Europe’s special places. Thanks, Nicky & Susanne (editors)!

Ven is a small beautiful island in Öresund, between Denmark and Sweden. Perfect for a cycling trip and brilliant for a getaway from the city. Read more about the magazine at the hidden europe website or view my photos below (links to my flickr page):

Copenhagen is a great city when it comes to music festivals – days or even weeks of concerts all over Copenhagen. There are music festivals for jazz, blues, electronica, classical music, upcoming talents and even Irish music. And now a brand new music festival has been born: SOUND AROUND (Oct. 4th – 21st 2007), a festival that focuses on contemporary composition music and encompasses more than 35 concerts in Copenhagen and Malmö.

SOUND AROUND looks like a noteworthy and interesting initiative concerning both music and the fact that it’s taking place in collaboration across Öresund (you know, the channel of water that seperates Denmark and Sweden). However, the people behind the festival seem to be doing a really bad PR job. I actually found the website via a tag search on del.icio.us – I’m amazed the festival has not been mentioned on a the popular Cph website AOK or in my daily newspaper.

My friend Aaron wrote a note about bad English on the website of a Copenhagen restaurant. I guess the Danes are not as well articulated as we like to think when it comes to the English language. Chances are the same goes for me. Lucky for me, there aren’t any money or jobs at stake here on my blog Kulturchok – only my own reputation as a blogger. However, I hope my English doesn’t suck, but if it does here’s my disclaimer:

My native language is Danish, but I mostly blog in English and try to do my best.

So why do I write in English? Because I also want to tell non-Danish speakers about the wonderful city of Copenhagen – and at the same time it gives me a chance to practice my English skills. If I make any grave mistakes, please let me know, or just ignore them.

Copenhagen has many art museums and galleries, but that’s no excuse for not going to other parts of Denmark for a great art experience. I recommend a visit to Trapholt, a museum of modern art, design and applied arts, near Kolding (see map). The museum opened in 1988 and has a great collection of Danish paintings, arts & crafts, and furniture design. From the café (serves a delicious brunch) you have a beautiful view of the park and Kolding Fjord.

Temporary exhibitions at Trapholt are Danish or international artists, modern or contemporary. Last weekend (and until January 2008), there was a fine exhibition of expressionist and impressionist paintings, on loan from a private/corporate German collection, Sammlung Würth. But the permanent collection is also worth the visit.

Here are some highlights: A whole room is dedicated to the abstract paintings of Richard Mortensen – a presentation that works well since his best paintings are rather large. Another main attraction is a large collection of paintings by Franciska Clausen, perhaps one of the best Danish avant-garde artists in the 1920’s. (It’s odd she’s not in Wikipedia) She worked with Ferninand Leger in Paris – and later became a member of the art group Cercle et Carré together with other abstract painters like Piet Mondrian.

Don’t miss the museum’s furniture design section. See Poul Henningsen’s beautiful Grand Piano – or get a full dose of Verner Panton’s colourful “plastic-fantastic” furniture. The only thing I didn’t like was Arne Jacobsen’s summer house (in the park) – sometimes functionalism can be stylish and refreshingly clean, calm and simple. But a summer house should be cosy and not too much like a flat in a tower block, which was exactly the impression I got from Jacobsen’s summer house.

More photos from my trip to Trapholt:

Check out this map – it shows crime reported to the police in Copenhagen. I’m not sure about the time frame, but it looks pretty scary! (More about the map at this blog).