EVENT CATEGORIES

Event Highlight

The Mutual Inspirations of Miloš Forman
A luminary of the Czech New Wave rode cinematic success to the United States, where, despite some early bumps, he shined a light on issues such as personal freedom, social conformity and individual oppression.

Those themes are particularly evident in iconic films such as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Amadeus,” the Oscar-winning hits that made Miloš Forman one of the most pivotal filmmakers in the United States — and a bridge between Czech and American culture.

This symmetry comes together at the 2012 Mutual Inspirations Festival, an annual initiative organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington that focuses on an influential Czech personality and highlights the threads of mutual inspiration between Czech and American cultures.

This year, Mutual Inspirations celebrates the Czech-American director on his 80th birthday and showcases the best of Czech cinematography as well as the accomplishments of the transatlantic film industry.

The festival, which runs until Oct. 31, features internationally renowned directors, artists and historians at more than 30 events throughout the Washington area. Screenings, concerts, lectures, exhibitions and theater performances related to film and photography take place at venues such as AFI Silver Theatre and the Library of Congress. A special component of this year’s festival is also a countrywide retrospective: “A Tribute to Miloš Forman,” featuring the director’s work at select U.S. cities.

Washingtonians can experience Czech-American film culture in a variety of ways: Film Club is a series of roundtable discussions with industry professionals held at the Embassy of the Czech Republic; Masters of Cinema will screen works by Czech cinematic notables such as Gustav Machatý, a legend of the silent film era, at the National Gallery of Art; AFI Showcase presents Forman’s Hollywood features; Contemporary Czech Cinema takes place at the Avalon Theatre; Docs in Salute highlights documentaries with Jewish themes at the Library of Congress; and Film and Beer offers up a collection of Czech films accompanied by Pilsner Urquell beer.

Upcoming highlights include a screening and Q&A with Helena Třeštíková, the award-winning director of “Katka,” a documentary that follows a drug addict over 14 years (Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre), and a performance by Czech street theater troupe Geisslers Hofcomedianten at the embassy (Oct. 20, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.). Additionally, on Oct. 28 the National Museum of American History screens Forman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” followed by a panel discussion.

“Cuckoo’s Nest” transformed Forman’s American career. Although he’d achieved acclaim in his native Czechoslovakia with films such as “Loves of a Blonde,” his U.S. debut after immigrating to New York in 1967, “Taking Off,” was a flop.

A few years later, however, Jack Nicholson’s indelible turn as an insane asylum patient in “Cuckoo’s Nest” cemented Forman’s reputation in Hollywood, and the Czech-born director would go on to make acclaimed films such as “The People vs. Larry Flynt” and “Man on the Moon.”

The Mutual Inspirations Festival began in 2010 as a pilot project at the Czech Embassy, expanding to a broader audience in 2011, when it showcased Czech composer Antonín Dvořák and welcomed more than 10,000 people at events featuring over 500 local and international artists throughout the nation’s capital.

For more information about the festival, please visit www.mutualinspirations.org.

— Joe Corcoran

ART

Wed., Oct. 3, 7 p.m.
Rendez-vous in the Gardens
The D.C. opening of the traveling exhibit “Photographing Gardens, 1851 to 1987” (on its way to the French Embassy in Berlin) presents a selection of 50 photographs from 1851 to 1987 from the collections of the Médiatheque de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (architecture and heritage media center).
La Maison Française

Oct. 4 to Nov. 13
Evalds Dajevskis: Place, Art and Identity
This retrospective of Evalds Dajevskis — encompassing works painted between 1938 and 1989 in Latvia, Germany and the U.S. — explores the Latvian artist’s roots in the traditions of the ancient Baltic peoples, the 20th-century Latvian experience of displaced persons in both Europe and the United States, as well as Dajevskis’s film and theater career as a scenic artist on Broadway. For a schedule of exhibition hours, visit www.latvia-usa.org/exevdapartan.html.
Embassy of Latvia

Through Oct. 6
New Works by Michael Platt and Stan Squirewell
Michael Platt combines elements of Australian and Aboriginal cultures with his signature techniques of using digital images, conventional photography, drawing and printmaking to explore the human condition, while Stan Squirewell creates a visual vocabulary that blends ancient forms and spiritual symbols influenced by the African Diaspora with contemporary technology.
International Visions Gallery

Oct. 6 to Jan. 6
Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculpture
One of Europe’s most celebrated living artists, Per Kirkeby is a Danish painter, sculptor, geologist, filmmaker, writer and poet. In the most comprehensive display of his work in the U.S. to date, 26 richly layered paintings and 11 striking bronze models reveal Kirkeby’s belief that art, like science, is constantly in flux.
The Phillips Collection

Oct. 7 to February 2013
Ai Weiwei: According to What?
This major survey of Ai Weiwei, one of China’s most prolific and provocative artists, aims to reveal the rich and varied contexts that he has interwoven within the broad spectrum of his work, from sculpture, photography and video to site-specific architectural installations.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Oct. 8
George Bellows
This comprehensive exhibition, the first in more than three decades, looks back at the career of George Bellows, arguably the most important figure in the generation of artists who negotiated the transition from the Victorian to the modern era in American culture.
National Gallery of Art

Oct. 11 to Jan. 13
Picturing the Sublime: Photographs from the Joseph and Charlotte Lichtenberg Collection
Eleven photographs document how artists use the camera to capture the sublime beauty and human destruction of the natural world.
The Phillips Collection

Through Oct. 14
Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aeist
Few artists were more skilled than Dutch still-life artist Willem van Aelst (1627–83) at depicting luscious fruits, luxurious fabrics, and spoils of the hunt — 28 examples of which are featured in this first exhibit devoted solely to the artist.
National Gallery of Art

Through Oct. 14
The Deep Element: Photography at the Beach
This exhibition brings together photographs of the beach from the late 19th century through the present day, revealing the many ways that artists have explored and been inspired by this rich subject.
Corcoran Gallery of Art

Oct. 14 to Jan. 13
Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective
In the first major exhibition since Roy Lichtenstein’s death in 1997, more than 100 of the artist’s greatest paintings from all periods of his career will be presented along with a selection of related drawings and sculptures.
National Gallery of Art

Through Oct. 21
Occupy This!
“Occupy This!” combines art, photojournalism, historic documents and films to consider — in a broad, historic context — the causes, activities and representation of the Occupy Movement, which celebrates its one-year anniversary on Sept. 17, 2012.
American University Katzen Arts Center

Oct. 25 to Jan. 13
Ripple Effect: Currents of Social Engaged Art
In this collaborative project, artists instigate conversations on broad themes such as environmentalism, social justice and immigration, while providing poetic and often concrete solutions, exploring specific social issues as the environmental blight of illegal dumping, the social stratification of D.C., and the ongoing struggle against violence in Mexico.
OAS Art Museum of the Americas

Oct. 25 to March 16
Words Like Sapphires: 100 Years of Hebraica at the Library of Congress
A century ago, New York philanthropist Jacob H. Schiff purchased an initial collection of nearly 10,000 Hebrew books and pamphlets for the Library of Congress. This gift formed the nucleus of what is today one of the world’s greatest collections of Hebraic materials, comprising some 200,000 items.
Library of Congress

Through Oct. 28
Charlotte Dumas: Anima
Dutch-born artist Charlotte Dumas travels the world making evocative portraits of animals, characterized by their utility, social function or by the way they relate to people. “Anima,” her first one-person museum exhibition in the U.S., centers on the majestic burial horses of Arlington National Cemetery that carry soldiers to their final resting place in traditional military funerals.
Corcoran Gallery of Art

Through Oct. 31
The Big Picture: A Photography Exhibition in Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the IDB Cultural Center
Comprising 44 striking images from the Inter-American Development Bank’s permanent collection, as well as pieces previously shown at other art events held by the D.C.-based international finance institution, “The Big Picture” highlights the cultural wealth and diversity of the Latin America and the Caribbean, as seen through the lens of 22 leading contemporary photographers from 13 countries.
Dulles International Airport Gateway Gallery

Through Nov. 2
Parks and Passages: Art and Public Space in Berlin and Washington
This summer, Provisions Library sent a team of D.C.-based artists and researchers to Berlin to study urban transformation in repurposed places to spark ideas for the redevelopment of Dupont Underground, an abandoned streetcar tunnel beneath D.C.’s Dupont Circle.
Goethe-Institut

Through Nov. 4
Argentine Fall Salon 2012
This annual salon features cutting-edge artists from Argentina, with this year’s roster spotlighting Delia Cordone, Analía Jaimovich, Carla Nano, Ana Rendich and Marcela Siniego, among others.
Embassy of Argentina

Through Nov. 9
BALGO: Contemporary Australian Art from the Balgo Hills
A riot of color and energy, “BALGO” explores the stories, lives and history of the Kukatja speakers in the small western Australian community of Balgo Hills, whose artists are renowned for their vivid palettes that blend the spiritual with the political, and the abstract with representations of landscapes.
Embassy of Australia

Through Nov. 12
Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan
Recently conducted scientific excavations provide a fascinating look into the nomadic culture of the ancient peoples of Kazakhstan, with more than 150 spectacular finds from this vast Central Asian nation challenging traditional views of the nomadic societies that thrived thousands of years ago.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through Nov. 16
Once Upon a Time in Almería
During the 1960s and 1970s, the region of Almeria, Spain, was host to dozens of filmmakers who constructed elaborate movie sets, invoking locations from the American Southwest to Bedouin Arabia for films such as “Cleopatra” and “Patton.” D.C.-based photographer Mark Parascandola revisits the architecture and locations used in these classic films over the years.
Embassy of Spain

Through Dec. 9
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts
In the first major exhibition to explore the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with traditional and contemporary African arts, some 100 objects consider how the sun, moon and stars and celestial phenomena such as lightning and rainbows serve as sources of inspiration in the creation of African art from ancient times to the present.
National Museum of African Art

Through Dec. 16
Revelation: Major Paintings by Jules Olitski
“Revelation” draws together more than 30 monumental canvases by Russian-born artist Jules Olitski, renowned as one of America’s last classic modern painters.
American University Katzen Arts Center

Through Dec. 29
Dan Steinhilber: Marlin Underground
Dan Steinhilber, known for his ability to transform mundane materials into extraordinary experiences of art, presents a new body of work in response to architect Philip Johnson’s celebrated design for the Kreeger home as a space for art and musical performance.
The Kreeger Museum

Through Dec. 30
Growing up AFRO: Snapshots of Black Childhood from the Afro-American Newspapers
In honor of the 120th anniversary of the Afro-American Newspapers, this pictorial exhibition features 120 images from the AFRO’s archive collections that demonstrate the vital role young people played in African American history.
Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore, Md.

Through Dec. 30
Prêt-à-Papier: The Exquisite Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave
A selection of iconic costumes and haute couture dresses — reflecting the rich history of fashion in European paintings and designs of the grand couturiers — are reinterpreted in trompe l’oeil paper masterpieces by Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave.
Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Through Dec. 31
Imperial Augsburg: Renaissance Prints and Drawings, 1475–1540
Focusing on drawings, prints, illustrated books and innovative printing techniques, this exhibition — the first of its kind in America — serves as an introduction to Augsburg, which enjoyed a golden age in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
National Gallery of Art

Through Dec. 31
The Serial Portrait: Photography and Identity in the Last One Hundred Years
Some 150 works reveal how 20 photographers responded to older portrait conventions and imagined new ones by exploring the same subjects — primarily friends, family, and themselves — over the course of days, months, or decades.
National Gallery of Art

Through Jan. 6
Dragons, Nagas, and Creatures of the Deep
In the Spirit of the East Asian calendar’s Year of the Dragon, this exhibition highlights objects drawn from cultures as diverse as the ancient Mediterranean world, imperial China and contemporary South America, portraying dragons as everything from fire-breathing beasts to beneficent water gods.
The Textile Museum

Through Jan. 6
Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power
Organized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the exhibition highlights the flashpoints, the firsts, the celebrated, and the lesser-known women who have influenced the genre from its inception through today.
National Museum of Women in the Arts

Through Jan. 13
Dark Matters
“Dark Matters” brings together works from the Hirshhorn’s collection that draw upon the associations and implications of darkness and its notions of mortality, silence, solitude and loss.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Through Jan. 27
Shock of the News
This exhibit traces how visual artists in Europe and America after the turn of the 20th century began to think about the newspaper more broadly — as a means of political critique, as a collection of ready-made news to appropriate or manipulate, a source of language and images, a typographical grab bag, and more.
National Gallery of Art

Through Feb. 3
Citizens of the Republic: Portraits from the Dutch Golden Age
Stalwart Dutch citizens, distinguished for their contributions to the arts and the state, are sensitively rendered in a selection of 17th- and 18th-century engravings.
National Gallery of Art

Through Feb. 10
Shadow Sites: Recent Work by Jananne Al-Ani
Inspired by archival archaeological and aerial photographs, as well as contemporary news, Jananne Al-Ani’s video works examine enduring representations of the Middle Eastern landscape.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Through Feb. 24
Enlightened Beings: Buddhism in Chinese Painting
Buddhism arrived in China during the first century and quickly grew in popularity, exerting a profound impact on all aspects of Chinese art and culture.
Freer Gallery of Art

Through Feb. 24
Lalla Essaydi: Revisions
Lalla Essaydi, a Moroccan-born, New York-based artist, pushes the boundaries of Arab, Muslim and African perceptions of women’s identities with her art, which includes themes of feminism, gender, identity and the private inner lives of women while drawing on Arabic calligraphy for its decorative and communicative potential.
National Museum of African Art

Through March 10
The Sultan’s Garden: The Blossoming of Ottoman Art
More than 50 sumptuous textiles and other works of art illustrate the stylized floral designs that became synonymous with the wealth, abundance and influence of one of the world’s greatest empires.
The Textile Museum

DANCE

Wed., Oct. 3, 8 p.m.
Ballet Folklorico de Mexico
Conjuring images of centuries of culture, from fierce Aztec Jaguar warriors to the brilliant-hued, ruffled swirl of a village fiesta, this internationally renowned company is a Mexican treasure. Please call for ticket information.
Music Center at Strathmore

Oct. 4 to 5
Voices of Strength
Celebrating the diversity and talent of contemporary African choreographers, Voices of Strength is a moving mixed repertory program that explore race, culture and gender. Tickets are $45.
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Oct. 5 to 7
Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi
From a tiny country in Central Africa comes one of the most gifted and celebrated percussion ensembles in the world — whose performances are based on ancient sacred traditions yet resonant with contemporary beats. Tickets are $23 to $46.
George Mason University
Center for the Arts (Oct. 5-6)
Hylton Performing Arts Center (Oct. 7)

Sat., Oct. 13, 4 to 9 p.m.
Maru Montero’s Latin Dance Nights
Maru Montero celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month and Mexico’s Independence Day, with a free evening of live Latin dance and music at the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza, made possible by the support of the D.C. Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs and the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities
The Columbia Heights Civic Plaza

Oct. 16 to 21
Mariinsky Ballet
St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Ballet, boasting an artistic legacy that spans more than 200 years, returns with Alexei Ratmansky’s stunningly rendered “Cinderella.” Tickets are $29 to $150.
Kennedy Center Opera House

Oct. 24 to Nov. 4
The Washington Ballet: Dracula
The Washington Ballet presents Michael Pink’s chilling blockbuster “Dracula,” a wildly theatrical and voluptuous ballet that’s also a breathtaking story of passion, yearning, cruelty and sacrifice. Tickets are $25 to $125.
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

DISCUSSIONS

Tue., Oct. 2, 8 a.m.
EUNIC: Building Inclusive Societies
As part of the EU Rendez-Vous series hosted by the EU Delegation to the U.S., this half-day seminar compares American and European perspectives on migration, integration, multiculturalism, citizenship and identity. For information, visit www.acfdc.org.
Johns Hopkins University
School of Advanced International Studies

Thu., Oct. 4, 4:30 p.m.
Embassy Night 2012
The World Trade Center Institute’s annual Embassy Night brings together ambassadors and diplomats from more than 30 countries to connect with 300 senior business leaders from companies such as Legg Mason, Johns Hopkins and BWI. At the 4:30 pre-event breakout session, Doug Guthrie, dean of the George Washington University Business School, will talk about “The Role of Universities in the Global Economy,” while Miles & Stockbridge and George Mason University will share their knowledge of “Imports and Consumer Product Safety.” Tickets are $225; for information, visit www.wtci.org.
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center

Tue., Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Dr. Cecelia Porter
Dr. Cecelia Porter, a well-known classical music critic who has been working for the Washington Post for over 22 years, discusses her latest book, “Five Lives in Music: Women Performers, Composers, and Impresarios from the Baroque to the Present,” with accompanying music provided by soprano Rosa Lamoreaux and the pianists Stan Engebretson and Ann Schein, one of the musicians featured in the book.
Embassy of Austria

Wed., Oct. 17, 2 to 5 p.m.
Cyber Security – A Mutual Challenge
Modern societies are increasingly dependent on IT, and accordingly more vulnerable to cyber attacks. This seminar features Swedish, American and other stakeholders discussing how to deal with current and future challenges in cyber security on the technical and the political level (followed by reception). To RSVP, visit http://cybersecurity-eorg-eorg.eventbrite.com/.
House of Sweden

Sat., Oct. 20, 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Great Capitals of Eastern Europe
Krakow, Warsaw, Bratislava, Prague and Budapest — their names evoke images of glorious pasts as well as the destruction and hardship of war. But as much as they are part of Europe’s tumultuous history, discover how these cities are also shaping the continent’s future. Tickets are $120; for information, visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.
S. Dillon Ripley Center

FESTIVALS

Oct. 14 to 24
The Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival
This year’s Jewish Literary Festival features 15 events with celebrated authors and scholars, including Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon speaking on his latest book, “Telegraph Avenue: A Novel,” and Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel in conversation with New York Times columnist David Brooks.
Washington DCJCC

MUSIC

Thu., Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.
Lorenzo Gatto, Violin
Robert Giordano, Piano
From the age of 12, violinist Lorenzo Gatto has played at famous festivals and renowned halls throughout Europe, from the Palais des Beaux-Arts and Flagey in Brussels to the Salle Cortot in Paris. Tickets are $100, including buffet. For information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of Latvia

Mon., Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m.
The Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir
Based in a 14th-century monastery in the heart of Moscow, the Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir continues the rich tradition of church chants for which Russia has always been famous. Tickets are $30 to $50.
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Wed., Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Veronika Dobi-Kiss, Mezzo-Soprano
Veronika Dobi-Kiss extensively performs church music both in Hungary and abroad, including the Rudolfsheim church of Vienna, while her operatic roles include Puccini’s “Sister Angelica” and Bizet’s “Carmen.” Tickets are $80, including Hungarian buffet. For information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of Hungary

Fri., Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m.
Wax Tailor
Wax Tailor’s brand of orchestral hip-hop is almost cinematic in its scope, using samples as characters to tell brilliant sonic tales in the short span of a rap. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.
La Maison Française

Sat., Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Tomorrow’s World
The duo behind Tomorrow’s World creates cinematic and emotional noir-pop love songs that explore femininity, darkness and timeless feelings with electro minimalist tunes. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.
La Maison Française

Sun., Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.
Celtic Thunder: Voyage
Following the incredible success of “Heritage,” Celtic Thunder continues to explore their Irish and Celtic musical roots in their latest project, “Voyage.” Tickets are $65 or $75.
GW Lisner Auditorium

Tue., Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Immanu El
Up-and-coming Scandinavian band Immanu El, which composes beautiful post-rock harmonies with a Nordic undercurrent, performs in its first U.S. tour. Please call for ticket information.
House of Sweden

Tue., Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Thomas Dunford, Lute and Theorbo
With a combination of passionate sensitivity and technical proficiency rare in such a young artist, 23-year-old Thomas Dunford has caught the notice of music critics both in Europe and abroad. Tickets are $25.
La Maison Française

Oct. 17 to 20
Songs of Migration
Created by internationally acclaimed South African trumpeter, composer and lyricist Hugh Masekela, “Songs of Migration” is a musical tribute to the great songs of migrants across the African continent. Tickets are $30.
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Thu., Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Thiefs
Collectively led by drummer and vocalist Guillermo E Brown, bassist Keith Witty and saxophonist Christophe Panzani, Thiefs is a grammatically incoherent jazz troupe that weaves elements of modern composition and improvisation into a boundary-less foundation of beats. Tickets are $25.
La Maison Française

Fri., Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra presents its first chamber orchestra concert at the Austrian Embassy, celebrating two great Austrian masters of the classical era as well as a composer who pays unconventional homage to both of them. Tickets are $55, including reception. For information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of Austria

Wed., Oct. 10, 6 p.m.
Affetti Italiani
As part of “A Celebration of Italian Art, Music and Film,” jointly presented by the Italian Cultural Institute and the National Gallery of Art, this program features a lecture by David Gariff on the Italian masterpieces of the Baroque and Rococo at the National Gallery of Art (6 p.m.), as well as a performance by the Vivaldi Project of Italian chamber music from the 17th and 18th century (7 p.m.). To RSVP, visit http://www.iicwashington.esteri.it/IIC_Washington/.
Embassy of Italy

Thu., Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Israel Chamber Project
Winner of the 2011 Israeli Ministry of Culture Outstanding Ensemble Award, the Israeli Chamber Project brings together some of today’s most distinguished young Israeli musicians for chamber music concerts and educational and outreach programs both in Israel and abroad. Tickets are $55, including reception. For information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Venue TBA

Fri., Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Alexandre Tharaud, Piano
Dubbed the “French Glenn Gould” by the musical press, Alexandre Tharaud has firmly established as an acclaimed pianist known for deeply personal interpretations of the great keyboard repertoire. Tickets are $25.
La Maison Française

Wed., Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m.
Andrej Goricar, Silent Film Pianist
Slovenian-born pianist Andrej Goricar has performed, either playing his own compositions or improvising at the piano, a wide repertoire of silent classics and many silent film retrospectives both at home and abroad. The featured film will be F.W. Murnau’s “Sunrise (U.S., 1927, 95 min.). Tickets are $55, including buffet reception. For information, visit www.embassyseries.org.
Embassy of Slovenia

THEATER

Through Oct. 6
Anna Bolena
Celebrated American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky returns to the Washington National Opera to make her role debut as Anne Boleyn in the storied Tudor court of King Henry VIII, as the unfaithful king plots to replace his queen Anne Boleyn with her lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. Tickets start at $25.
Kennedy Center Opera House

Through Oct. 7
Black Watch
After a sold-out run last year, the National Theatre of Scotland’s “Black Watch” returns to the Shakespeare Theatre Company, offering a searing view of war from the perspectives of soldiers in Iraq, based on interviews with former soldiers who served in the Scottish regiment. Tickets are $70 to $85.
Sidney Harman Hall

Through Oct. 7
El desdén con el desdén/In Spite of Love
In one of the most popular comedies to come out of Spain’s Golden Age, Princess Diana disdains love and marriage, so to win the affection of the indifferent princess, Count Urgel feigns his own disdain for her and sets off a series of madcap comic situations. Tickets are $36 and $40.
GALA Hispanic Theatre

Oct. 9 to Nov. 17
15th International Festival of Hispanic Theatre
Teatro de la Luna presents the 15th International Festival of Hispanic Theatre featuring “Otelo… Sniff (Othello… Sniff)” from the Dominican Republic, “Jesucristo (Jesus Christ)” from Argentina, “Cartas de las Golondrinas (Letters from the Swallows)” from Spain and other works from Ecuador, Venezuela and the United States. Tickets are $35; for information, visit www.teatrodelaluna.org.
Gunston Arts Center – Theater Two

Fri., Oct. 12, 8 p.m.,
Sun., Oct. 14, 2 p.m.
Virginia Opera: The Pearl Fishers
Bizet’s dazzling opera is the spellbinding tale of friendship, jealousy, loyalty, love, and religious duty. Tickets are $44 to $98.
George Mason University Center for the Arts

Through Oct. 13
Don Giovanni
Powerhouse Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov stars in the Washington National Opera’s season-opener: Mozart’s musical masterpiece “Don Giovanni,” which follows legendary rake Don Juan as he descends into excess and immorality, while the women he has discarded seek revenge. Tickets start at $25.
Kennedy Center Opera House

Through Oct. 14
A Couple of Blaguards
“Blaguards” follows the trials of the brothers Frank McCourt and Malachy McCourt from their childhood in poverty-stricken Limerick to their journey to Brooklyn, where the young men learned to apply the day-to-day lessons from their hardscrabble Irish past to their new lives in America. Tickets are $35.
Church Street Theater

Tue., Oct. 16, 7 p.m.
Kafka’s Last Story: An Evening of Film and Theater
Part detective story, part artistic reimagining, “Kafka’s Last Story” crosses geographic, cultural and chronological boundaries to follow the fate of Kafka’s writings and papers. In addition to the film, Theater J’s Delia Taylor presents a theatrical reading of excerpts from Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” (part of the Jewish Literary Festival; cosponsored by the Embassies of Israel, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany). Tickets are $11.
Washington DCJCC

Oct. 19 to 21
Cirque Chinois: Direct from Beijing, the National Circus of the People’s Republic of China
One of China’s most acclaimed and influential circus troupes introduces a spectacular new production for its inaugural North American tour. Tickets are $24 to $48.
George Mason University
Center for the Arts (Oct. 19-20)
Hylton Performing Arts Center (Oct. 21)

Oct. 19 to 20
DruidMurphy: Famine
The villagers of Glanconnor face the real prospect of starvation as the second crop of potatoes fails in 1846. Tickets are $35 to $65.
Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater

Through Oct. 21
Fly
Based on the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen, “Fly” is the powerful story of four African-American military pioneers who proved themselves as officers and pilots during World War II. Please call for ticket information.
Ford’s Theatre

Through Oct. 21
Jekyll and Hyde
Synetic Theater continues its proud tradition of reimagining literary classics with “Jekyll and Hyde,” a bold, wordless retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless cautionary tale about conflicting impulses and desires. Tickets are $35 to $55.
Synetic Theater

Oct. 23 to Nov. 25
Conference of the Birds
In this fable based on a 12th-century Persian poem that ponders the search for the divine and the quest for truth, the birds of the world take flight on an extraordinary pilgrimage to find their king. Tickets are $40 to $68.
Folger Shakespeare Library

Oct. 23 to Nov. 11
War Horse
Winner of five Tony Awards, “War Horse” is a powerfully moving and imaginative drama brought to life by astonishing life-size puppets of horses that are strong enough for men to ride. Tickets are $25 to $175.
Kennedy Center Opera House

Through Oct. 28
The Government Inspector
The first Russian play to be staged by the Shakespeare Theatre, Nikolai Gogol’s “The Government Inspector” is a lampoon of provincial bureaucracy, as a civil servant who is running out of money travels from Saint Petersburg to a small Russian town, where his imagination runs rampant. Tickets are $43 to $95.
The Shakespeare Lansburgh Theatre