If you’re from the UK, you are probably familiar with the comedian Eddie Izzard. For those who are not, you may want to type his name into YouTube. Well, for the first time ever he will be performing in Spain – Madrid actually – and you have 6 nights to catch him. But the only downside is that the venue he is performing that only holds 100 people. Here’s what the website promoting the event has to say:

Internationally known Comedian Eddie Izzard will have played some of the biggest rooms all over the world by the time he arrives in Madrid for 6 of the most exclusive dates of the entire mammoth Force Majeure World Tour. He is the first ever Stand Up Comedian to have performed the Hollywood Bowl and is more often than not to be found in Arenas and other huge venues such as New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena, so with just 100 seats a night these truly are special gigs , they are on a 1st come 1st served basis from the purchasing to the seating and we expect the to sell fast!

Tickets can be bought (if you’re lucky) from this website.

I’d also recommend you check out this interview by English journalist Simon Hunter with Eddie Izzard on El País.

According to Wikipedia, Zarzuela

is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance. The name derives from a Royal hunting lodge, the Palacio de la Zarzuela near Madrid, where this type of entertainment was first presented to the court.

There are two main forms of zarzuela: Baroque zarzuela (c.1630–1750), the earliest style, and Romantic zarzuela (c.1850–1950), which can be further divided into two, main sub-genres of género grande and género chico although other sub-divisions exist.

Well, if you enjoy opera and can understand Spanish quite well, and you’re in Spain over the next couple of weeks, you could be in for a festive treat. The 150-year old Teatro de la Zarzuela is putting on one of the best works of the well-known (in Spain anyway!) composer Ruperto Chapi, La Bruja. If your Spanish is a little rusty and you would like to get the gist of what goes on, here’s a site that will offer you some advice. Alternatively, you can download the complete synopsis (pdf), in English and Spanish from the Teatro de la Zarzuela website. As someone whose musical tastes are quite varied, I would certainly recommend seeing this unique Spanish experience.

Dates
14th December, 2007 – 20th January, 2008

Location
Teatro de la Zarzuela,  Jovellanos, 4
Metro: Sevilla

What happens if you put 250 tonnes of ice, 54 ice and snow artists and empty space in Madrid together?

Take a look at the video on this page to find out.

If you fancy going there, you will also find an ice rink and a couple of giant nativity scenes, amongst other things. The area is probably the heart of Madrid’s business district and has a number of shopping centres nearby.

Location
Azca (Metro: Nuevos Ministerios)

I haven’t posted for a good, few weeks now. I have actually been to my wife’s village in El Barraco, near Avila. I had a good time, my son learnt to ride a bike; I actually saw a couple of bullfights (courtesy of free tickets from my brother-in-law); went on a quad ride; ate good food and drank one or two beers!

Anyway, here’s something that caught my eye this week. It looks like there will be a couple of new musicals starting in September. The first is Jesus Christ Superstar at the Teatro Lope de Vega. Starring Miquel Fernández, the Andrew Lloyd-Webber production will open its doors on the 20th September, 2007.

On October 4th, 2007 the popular Disney musical Beauty and the Beast (La Bella y la Bestia) will begin its 6-month run at the Teatro Coliseum. It stars Julia Möller, David Ordinas y Pablo Puyol and prices range from abround 24 Euros to 70 Euros.

This week sees the start of Suma Flamenca, a Flamenco Festival put on by the Madrid City Council. It brings together some of the biggest names in Flamenco and offers the possibility of seeing dance, singing and instrumental shows. Some of the hottest names in Flamenco will be in town this week, including José Menese, Enrique Morente, El Güito, Sara Baras, José Mercé, Serranito, Tomatito and Carmen Linares

The shows will take place both within Madrid, in venues such as Teatro Albéniz, Círculo de Bellas Artes and the Fundación Olivar del Castillejo and there will also be events held in Madrid’s surrounding areas. Top Flamenco venues such as El Corral de la Morería, Café de Chinitas and Casa Patas will also be holding special shows.

The festival runs from the 7th – 26th May, 2007; take a look at the Suma Flamenca website to find out about the shows and calendar.

I went to a cool, outdoor spectacular last night in the Plaza de Colón. For the Christmas period (2006)in the Plaza they have turned the area into a recreation area for children, complete with covered tents. However, last night I went with my wife and 4 year-old to see an outdoor show just next to the stone monuments of the plaza. It comprised a water fountain show, which played ´in tune´ with some well-known classical music (don´t ask me to name the music!) and an aerial spectacle, where dancers were elevated above the ground on a crane. It lasted over 30 minutes, and boy did my shoulders hurt with my son on them!, but was well worth it. The show starts at 8pm with another at 9.30pm. I believe it will be on every night for the next week.

Metro
Colón

It seems like there has been quite a flood of flamenco shows going on in Madrid recently. Well, here´s another show to add to that list: Belmonte, starring one of Flamenco´s contemporary stars – Rubén Olmo. It is loosely based on the life of one of the 2oth Century´s great bullfighters, Juan Belmonte and runs from the 5th to 10th September, 2006 at the Teatro Albeniz. Ticket prices cost from 15 to 22 Euros.

For the second year running Metro de Madrid will be holding the Cumbre Flamenca en el Metro de Madrid (Flamenco "Festival") in the city. From the 11th to the 15th September 2006, It will be inviting some of the top names in Flamenco, like María Pagés, El Capullo de Jerez, Niña Pastori, Mayte Martín and Enrique de Melchor, to perform in the Hall of Nuevos Minsiterios Metro Station. Aside from the great names is the great price: FREE. All performances take place at 10 p.m.

From Flamenco, to Hip Hop and from Dance to Jazz, Madrid’s Summer Festival Veranos de la Villa has something for everyone. The venues for this popular event include the Sabatini Gardens (next to the Royal Palace),
the Retiro Park, the Plaza Mayor, Centro Cultural Conde Duque and various cinemas and theatres. One of the busiest venues will be the Jardines de Sabatini which has various cycles: from musical, jazz and flamenco

You can view the full programme by downloading the Veranos de La Villa brochure (pdf) from the MuniMadrid site or alternatively you can view, if you the patience and like badly created flash sites, the "official" website for this festival. EsMadrid also has a breakdown (in Spanish) of the main events, too.

I had an email a few days back from Victor whose company is promoting the Antología De La Danza Española (or the Anthology of Spanish Dance) at the Teatro La Latina. The show features a number of different styles that can be found in Spanish dance, from folklore and Bolero and Flamenco and the Jota. The show certainly looks spectacular and runs until the 2nd July, with prices starting from 15 Euros.

Times

Wed, Thurs & Fri: 8 p.m.

Sat: 7 p.m. & 10 p.m.

Sun: 6 p.m. & 9 p.m.

Ticket Sales
Box Office or Entradas.com

Address: Pza. Cebada, 2
Metro: Latina .