THUR 3/11: Icelandic Film & German Opera

Not quite a cheap and thrilling Thursday night. If you want a spend a little more than our CTB limit, Balkan Beat Box should give a great show at the Paradise for $15.

There are a couple good bands at O'Brien's ($8) and Club D'elf at Lizard Lounge ($10). A couple readings are on the calendar.

I've listed several Kingsley Flood gigs over the past year. They let me download their new CD, so I wrote a review for Bostonist yesterday. There are a couple mp3 links at the bottom, if you want to take a listen.

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THUR 3/11

6:15pm
"Country Wedding" & "Reykjavik Rotterdam"
at Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall Sq, Cambridge
FREE

6:15pm -- "Country Wedding"
7:45pm -- "Reykjavik Rotterdam"

If you think the economy is bad here, you should see Iceland. Really. They want us to visit. Over the next 7 days, there are various events happening as part of a "Taste of Iceland" festival in the Boston area including some free stuff like music and tonight's free films.

When they say these are popular Icelandic films, I assume they are somewhat good or at least show some beautiful views of the island. I expect "Country Wedding" to display the countryside even if we can't understand Icelandic humor. The crime thriller "Reykjavik Rotterdam" seems to mainly take place on a freighter between the titular cities.

Two of my co-workers have been to Iceland on separate occasions, and both said it was a beautiful places. (I know I want to soak in their hot springs one day.) If you're willing to get on their mailing list, you could win a trip.

THUR 3/11 (to SAT 3/13)

8pm to 9:30pm
"Der Zwerg (The Dwarf)"
at Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for Arts, 539 Tremont St, Boston (South End)
FREE

OperaHub may have had the best possible name for their German chamber opera series -- "Pretzels & Beer Season". Back in November, I told you about the opening event "Goethe Your Hand Off My Heine", and now they're finishing up with a 90-minute opera based on a short story by Oscar Wilde.

It's terribly cruel and heartbreaking story of a princess who is given a dwarf for her birthday. The dwarf falls in love with her, but he's never seen his reflection and doesn't know what he looks like. Of course the princess leads him on, and you may guess the wacky antics that happen next...

This one-act was originally set centuries ago in Spain and has been brought to the present day in this production. It will still be sung in German with projected English translations.

If you want to reserve tickets, email your name, phone number, performance date, and number of seats requested. Or you can just show up...

(There is a 3pm matinee on SAT 3/13.)