Culture, arts, cinemas, theatres, music

Culture life in our city is very rich. There are lot of cinemas, theatres and music clubs. The number of cinemas in Prague is still increasing. There are old cinemas (for example on Wenceslas Square Blaník, Lucerna, Světozor) and the new huge complex with at least 10 separated halls (for example in Hostivař, Černý Most or the nearest one in Slovanský dům) called in Czech ?multiplex?. It depends on you which you want to visit. When those big cinemas started they were very expensive so I visited the old ones. But today the price is either same or bigger. And also the ?multiplex? offers to students special prize every day from 4pm except weekends. And the new cinema is much more comfortable. It isn?t problem to stretch your legs and also lean your head, so after two hours you don?t feel absolutely whacked. It?s advantageous to visit these big ones.
Tradition of Czech film directors is long and very successful ? Miloš Forman with films Hair, Flight over the Cuckoo Nest, Amadeus, Man on the Moon?, Jiří Menzel with an Oscar film Ostře sledované vlaky, Postřižiny, Slavnosti sněženek. And some new directors as David Ondříček (Samotáři), Saša Gedeon (Návrat idiota). And I also like films from Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez.
Prague has got lot of theatres; big ones as Národní, Stavovské divadlo, Státní opera, then small theatres as Divadlo v Celetné, Divadlo v Dlouhé and then really little theatres, with intimate atmosphere ? Divadlo v Řeznické or Rubín. The prize of the tickets is very high. At Národní divadlo or Státní opera you can pay for one ticket more than 400 CZK. In the smaller theatres the ticket costs usually 200 CZK at most.
But the most original, the greatest, the best theatre ever, which has no rivals is Divadlo Járy Cimrmana in Žižkov. Genius Jára Cimrman, who lived at the end of 19th and at the beginning of 20th century, wrote wonderful theatre plays. He was also a great inventor. I think that everybody knows him. He did everything, except skiing.
Young people can be members of a Club of young spectator which offers lower prices of tickets. On our school it is also, organized by Miss Hlídková.
There are also lot of music clubs and for every kind of music ? rock, punk, jazz, house, jungle, hip-hop. Everybody can find his style. Some clubs: Lucerna Music Bar, Guru, Rock Café, Futurum, Jazz club Železná, Karlovy Lázně (dancing club), Klub 007 Strahov?..
When a famous music group concerts here the place is of course bigger, from foreign artists Prague visited f.e. Rolling Stones, Lenny Kravitz, Marilyn Manson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Placebo, Sting and others. For them here is T-Mobile Arena, Strahov Stadion or Sky Club Brumlovka.
Czech famous music groups are for example Lucie, group of the year Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, Tata Bojs, Chinaski, Support Lesbiens, Kryštof, ?, singers: Dan Bárta, (Daniel Hůlka, Petr Muk, Kája Gottů), Lucie Bílá, Bára Basiková, Kateřina Winterová, Dara Rolins?
And there are also places for classical music: the Municipal House (the festival Prague Spring begins here ? 12th May, My Country by Bedřich Smetana), Rudolfinum, Státní Opera,
In Prague you can also see lot of exhibitions of pictures, photos, sculptures and so on.
Not so visited (my opinion) are fashion shows, I don?t think that the tradition is big here.
On the other side very typical for Czech countries is collecting things ? my grandfather collects stamps, I used to also because of him, but I don?t anymore. You can collect almost everything ? postcards, coins, posters, pictures, photos, cars? I collect sugars ? I mean the little sugar which you get in a restaurant or café, I?ve got them also from abroad, from every place I visited.
Some art periods:
The Gothic style
The 12th to 15th century, the highest of all styles, pointed arches, stained-glass windows, elaborate vaulted roofs, cathedrals, churches, monasteries, castles. St. Vitus Cathedral Prague, Monasteries in Vyšší Brod, the Karlštejn and Křivoklát castles, Charles Bridge, the Old Town Hall, Matthias of Arras, Peter Parléř.
The Renaissance style
The 15th to 16th century, in Bohemia until 1620, revival of classical architecture, lower buildings with simple facades, ornamented by grafitti and stucco, horizontal lines, windows and doorways have a square or rectangular form, chateaux, summer palaces, few churches, citizens? houses, Belvedere in Prague, the Telč chateau, Litomyšl, Slavonice
The Baroque style
1600 ? 1750 (in Bohemia after 1620) based on classical models, rich, asymmetric and extravagant decoration, often in gold and marble, bent, oval and curved lines, in the interior contrast between dark and light, many sculptures, chateaux, palaces, citizens houses, churches, monasteries, the Troja chateaux, the Loretto and St. Nicholas Churches in Prague, St. Paul?s cathedral in London (by Christopher Wren)
The Art Nouveau
1890 ? 1910 marked by sinuous lines and stylized flowers and foliage and by sinuous, flowing shapes for the buildings and interior design (Antonion Gaudí in Spain ? Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona, Jan Kotěra, Dušan Jurkovič, the Municipal House, the Main Station in Prague). It was primarily a decorative two-dimensional style and pervaded the visual arts (theatrical posters by Alfons Mucha), jewellery
Cultural places in London
Music ? Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena
Opera and Ballet ? Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the London Coliseum
Theatre ? The National Theatre, the Olivier Theatre, Lyttelton Theatre, Barbican Hall (home of the London Symphony orchestra), Barbican Theatre (home of the Royal Shakespeare Company)
Cinema ? National Film Theatre
Museums and Galleries ? British Museum, British Library, The Natural History Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Science Museum, London Dungeon, Madame Tussaud?s (wax figures), National Gallery