Culture beat : 17 April

It’s being called the first 100% Belgian rock opera. Hopes at Wolubilis on Saturday and Sunday is staged by world-renowned theatre director Luc Petit. It boasts 15 singers, eight dancers and four musicians, all performing live. The show revolves around two budding musicians, dreaming of stardom.

Presidency of the Council of the European Union is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on national culture. With Latvia currently in in the chair, the exhibition Visionary Structures: From Johansons to Johansons at Bozar surveys contemporary art in the Baltic state throughout the turbulent 20th century. From its roots in the Russian Constructivist scene of the 1920s, the Latvian avant-garde blossomed into a full-fledged artistic quest for revolutionary alternatives to classical form. Until 31 May.

Belgium’s leading contemporary art fair Art Brussels returns to Brussels expo from 25 to 27 April for its 33nd edition. It includes established and emerging galleries, from home and abroad. The fair is separated into four sections: Prime, Young, Discovery and Solo. Serving as a platform for up-and-coming talent, this is the place for an overview of the contemporary art scene. Art Brussels also attracts an increasing number of off or alternative events. Poppositions, in partnership with B.A.D (Belgian Artistic District), opens its doors for a late-night opening on 23 April at 22 Quai de Willebrouck. The alternative fair is showing collections under the theme dissidence. Tour & Taxis, meanwhile, is the stage for the Off Course fair from 24 to 26 April. Presenting more than 200 artists, many of them rising stars, it includes the project The Future is Now, a platform for art graduates.

Outside Brussels

Win five pairs of tickets for an equestrian circus show at La Hulpe on May 2 (see our Facebook page for details). L’incroyable cabaret de Monsieur Peppernote is performing in a big top at Château de la Hulpe on April 24, 25, May 1 and 2 at 20.00; April 26 and May 3 at 15.00. The equestrian company and hippotherapy centre Tempo d’Eole has joined forces with the pony club Les Rênes de la Vie to stage the show. Combing acrobatics, music, circus and dressage, the hour-long cabaret performance recounts the story of a little boy who loves horses and dreams of joining a circus… At Parc Solvay (entrance via Foundation Folon).

The Walloon town of Lessines is preparing to host the sixth edition of the Roots & Roses Festival on the May 1 public holiday. Five bands from the US appear in the line-up:  Wovenhand, Mudhoney, Rory Block (farewell tour) Daddy Long Legs (one of the revelations of SXSW festival according to magazine Esquire), the Hackensaw Boys , plus two UK bands, The Computers, Louis Barabbas & the Bedlam Six, The Excitements (Spain), Hell's Kitchen (Swit) and Belgian bands Romano Nervoso (Italian origin), the Boogie Beasts and the Glücks. The Bulletin is giving away two pairs of tickets for the festival. See our Facebook page for details.