Billy Budd

Britten's 'Billy Budd' returns to the Staatsoper with a new cast featuring celebrated Danish baritone Bo Skovhus in the title role which he first performed at the Houston Grand Opera in 1998. In his role début as Capitan Vere, American tenor Neil Schicoff will visit the Staatsoper for the first time since he famously refused to attend last year's Opera Ball in protest at the presence of the FPÖ in Austria's new government. The Phiharmonic will be conducted by Donald Runnicles, the Scottish-born music director of the San Francisco Opera, known for his interest in new music.

Motorhead

Refreshed by their '25 Years Doesn't Matter Any More' anniversary bash in Brixton this summer, vintage rockers Motorhead come to Rome to tout their latest 'Best of' double album. The band's line up has changed considerably over the years, though ex-Hawkwind bassist Lemmy remains a fixture, screaming out such soulful gems as 'Wake the Dead' and 'Crash and Burn'. For all heavy metallers worthy of the name, it's time to get out the air guitars and start some serious head-banging.

Amber

It is easy enough to overlook the obvious, but this stylish hotel restaurant with generous frontage on Michigan Avenue across from the glittering new Nordstrom store has been quietly transformed from a glorified coffee shop. Decorated in stark black and white but with warm amber lamps on tables, it is hung with John Hendry's historic Chicago urban landscapes. The signature dish is duck breast roasted with a sweet-and-sour apricot glaze, but the menu serves up excellent steaks and chops at prices less than you'd expect in an eatery of this calibre.

Adam Bradley

Bradley is a hot young sculptor who works with found objects, turning them into vaguely grotesque animalistic poses or perhaps crucifixions. 'I try to bring back the gesture' is how Bradley explained his art and he succeeds in a compelling and unusual way. Hard to look at and hard to look away from, this might be the time to take in or buy Bradley's art and have the pleasure of saying 'I remember when he was just showing locally and hardly anyone knew his name...'

David Brenner

Big-name entertainers had all but disappeared from Fremont Street, abandoning Glitter Gulch when the cheesy outdoor Fremont Street Experience was erected in the 1990s. Thankfully, comedian David Brenner aims to correct that travesty with this two-month run at Downtown's fanciest digs, the Golden Nugget. Brenner, a Vegas regular since 1970, is making a comeback, and will stage his comedy routine to Downtowners brave enough to abandon their 5-cent fruit machines for an evening of sophisticated stand-up.

Morcheeba

UK trip hop combo Morcheeba hit Madrid with their peculiar, personal brand of music that combines elements as diverse as 1930s' blues and contemporary hip hop. This complex fusion of styles makes the band's sound difficult to classify but their 1995 début single 'Trigger Hippie' was a huge underground hit and the follow-up album 'Who can You Trust' was voted one of the best hundred dub albums. Since then there have been collaborations with artists as diverse as David Byrne, DJ Swamp, Spikey T and Burning Spear.

Il Dio Nascosto

60 canvasses make up this special Holy Year exhibition of religious art in 17th-century France. Although associated with the secular splendours of the Sun King, the art of the time was also characterised by pictorial attempts to represent the Divine. 'Il Dio Nascosto' (The Hidden God) boasts masterpieces by Georges de La Tour ('Mary Magdalene'), the Le Nain bothers ('The Adoration of the Shepherds') and Philippe de Champaigne ('The Last Supper').