Summer of culture: Calendar

Performing arts in all of their disciplines come together in a creative and experimental meeting arriving this year to its fifth edition. Frinje is presenting a varied programme, which has been selected by an expert panel from among hundreds of proposals, paying specific attention to emerging talents and to avant-gardes that are now moving in the international scene. Dance, 'performance', circus or theatre will infuse life into the Centro de Creación Contemporánea Matadero Madrid. An appointment meant to surprise you by its innovation and challenge.

Concurrently, and with the purpose of establishing itself as a full-of-life and constructive experience, creative workshops, meetings and literary evenings will be held within the framework of the Festival de Artes Escénicas.

From 1 to 17 July.
Matadero de Madrid. Pza. Legazpi, 8.

This summer Madrid will have a new cycle of live music. It will take place in a very special scenery: the Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII (“Royal Botanical Garden Alfonso XIII”). Jazz, electronic music, pop, rock and even Brazilian sounds will share an outdoor programme that doesn’t exclude styles nor generations. Whatever you like, there’s certain to be a date for you. The Lumineers, M83, Robert Plant, Bomba Estéreo, Seal, Jorge Drexler or the Pink Martini orchestra are just some of the names that shape a multifaceted marquee that will add sound to this unique natural space, at the very heart of the Universidad Complutense. One of the most expected shows is Patti Smith’s: the artist has included the Botanical Garden Nights in her international tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of her famous 'Horses' album.

From 27 June to 29 July.
Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII. Avda. Complutense, s/n.

The Madrid music calendar has multiplied, but there still are classics that cannot be put aside. One example of this is this fully-established scenic reference point that every year freshens and brightens up the Madrid summer days with its different suggestions. So if you happen to be in the city, or if you pass by it, reviewing the programme is a must, as you will undoubtedly find more than one appealing project.
This is a multidisciplinary artistic cycle developed in different cultural venues of Madrid. Teatro Circo Price, Matadero, the CentroCentro Palacio de Cibeles and Puente del Rey in Madrid Río, where the outdoors sh'ows are located. JosMercwith his latest work 'Doy la cara, Quique González and the British band Tindersticks are just some of the names that form the 2016 summer programming.

If you like opera, you've got a date with Guiseppe Verdi at the Teatro Real this summer. Political intrigue and personal revenge set in the 14th­century Venetian republic make up the thread that rus through this tragedy based on the work of the same name by the poet Byron, and premiered in Rome in 1844.
This is a unique opportunity to see and hear exceptional performances and voices onstage such as Plácido Domingo in the starring role of Francesco Foscari, and Michael Fabiano as Jacopo Foscari. There are only three shows in the run, which are on the main stage at the Teatro Real, with muical direction by Pablo Heras­Casado, and Andrés Máspero in charge of the choir. It's opera as in concert version with the participation of the Coro Intemezzo and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra.

July 12, 15 and 18
Teatro Real

If you like theatre, here’s a plan you can’t miss. It’s an outdoors cycle organized at Teatro Galileo, located into the cultural centre with the same name, in the district of Chamberí, that every summer brings a risky, captivating scenic Schedule that goes along perfectly with the nights of Madrid. Theatre under the starry sky. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
One of the plays to enjoy this summer is Miguel Mihura’s A media luz los tres, an entertaining comedy that raises questions about women, relationships and sentimental failure, with long time sigleton Alfredo as the plot’s focusing point. His friend Sebastian’s successes and Alfredo’s obsession in seducing a woman will set the play’s humorous pace.

Galileo, 39

A single-subject and temporary exhibition of around thirty landscapes by Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla that belongs in the Sorolla Museum. From Valencia to Castilla, passing through an uninhabited Alhambra, from the green landscapes of Guipúzcoa to the outskirts of Sevilla, “Tierra Adentro” describes Spain through its views, in which it is possible to recognise Sorolla’s specific and masterly treatment of light.
Light, authenticity and territory are the leading characters of a temporary exhibition that has extended its closing date until October, and that allows us to unveil some of the most intimate feelings of the artist by means of one of his almost unknown subjects: landscape, trips and his own land.

Until 9 October Museo Sorolla.
Paseo del General Martínez Campos, 37.

Take a global tour of the works of one of the world's leading artists in street photography, Vivian Maier. A nanny who was passionate about photography, Maier died in complete anonymity, leaving behind an archive of 120,000 negatives. A student acquired the collection in an auction in Chicago, without really knowing what had fallen into his hands, and when it came to light in 2010, an artistic storm followed.

No one disputes the talent of the everyday that this photographer was able to capture in just a fraction of a second, offering a look at the urban surroundings of New York and Chicago in the second half of the 20th century. Childhood, the importance of the here and now, portraits and architecture are subjects in an exhibition of 120 photos and nine Super 8 films.

Until August 16
Fundación Canal

The Crystal Gallery of CentroCentro Cibeles is another space that dedicates itself to the seventh art in the summer months. This exciting initiative is in its third year this season and promises to rise to the same high level of quality as previous years.

These are night­time sessions, and some are late­night, with a selection of films from classics to new releases, as well as cult films. Dozens of films are on the programme with theme nights, snacks and special events related to cinema culture. Whatever your favourite genre, there's bound to be more than one movie lined up that you'll be thrilled to discover, or rediscover. It's a great plan for a night under the stars in a landmark building in Plaza de Cibeles.

July - August
CentroCentro Cibeles

Highly influenced by Gallery Weekend of Berlin or the Parisian “Choices Collectors Weekend” Madrid is also spruced up to celebrate every year the beginning of the art's season. Gallery exhibitions that form a part of ARTE-MADRID, which organizes the event, are opened and many parallel activities are programmed for the enjoyment of collectors and aficionados. An event with an urban flair that also seeks to bring art to the streets.

Well-known artists and emerging talents, national and international firms, all have a place in this meeting with contemporary art that traverses disciplines from sculpture to photography. If you like art, don´t miss the free guided tours in museums and galleries or the various meetings that are planned.

From 15 to 17 of September.

The most important fashion meeting of the capital, which takes place twice a year, comes back in its September edition to present the new spring-summer collections by the best designers of 2017; such as the widely known Roberto Toretta, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and Hannibal Laguna. A window display where, as usual, the ideas of new talents will be also shown in the so-called EGO catwalk.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid is a preeminent week for any fashion lover, so if you are devoted to fashion, keep following it minute by minute. Dozens of displays, fabrics and patterns. Classic and polished lines are combined in order to create boundless ideas. A tight schedule that registered more than 55.000 visitants during the past edition.

From 16 to 22 of September.
IFEMA. Avda. Partenón, 5.

At the same time as Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid, the Asociación de Creadores de Moda de España (ACME), holds this parallel event in order to take fashion and haute couture to its most urban concept. There will be special window displays in boutiques and flagships, exhibitions, discounts, artistic shows in different venues and activities designed to enjoy the great fashion biannual event at a street level.

Disciplines such as art, theatre and cinema will be at the service of creativity, organizing tours, guided tours and themed projections. In book stores, the focus will be given to pieces about fashion with exhibitions, presentations and discounts. It goes without saying that gastronomy will also have a crucial role during the event, with menu proposals, tapas and cocktails made especially for the occasion in many city spots. If you like fashion, this is your place.

From 16 to 22 of September.

The Thyssen Museum, along with the Giverny Museé des Impressionnismes, are putting on an exhibition dedicated to the French impressionist painter Gustave Caillebotte, who went from being an art fan and patron to one of the most important figures of his time within the movement.

His premature death at just 45 years old cut short a career that was still evolving, and he left behind many examples of his talent and personal style, such as those collected in this exhibition that focuses especially on the depiction of garden themes and his relationship with Claude Monet. The exhibition is divided into four sections based on the places the artist lived and worked: Haussmann's Paris: a mineral universe; Summers in Yerres: 1861­1879; The Seine and trips to Normandy: 1880­1888; and Le Petit‐Gennevilliers: 1888­1894.

Until October 30
Museo Thyssen­Bornemisza