The curtains lift, revealing a dancer seated solemnly to one side. All is quiet barring the sound of audience members settling into their seats.

An extraordinary international event, John Adams’ Nixon in China is one of the most celebrated operas of our generation. It's an ambitious work on a grand scale.

La Cucina dell’Arte beckons us to peep through a keyhole into the world’s worst restaurant and open the doors to a topsy-turvy, pizza-flipped joint where servants become masters, candles and crockery take on lives of their own and spoons play a tarantella on wine bottles.

If one of the roles of an arts festival is to present genre-blurring work, then the Auckland festival is doing its job with a show that opens this week.

A good part of the excitement at Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's latest dance project was experiencing our city's favourite orchestra in the faux-Egyptian temple of The Civic.

The Black Quartet combined with Lawrence Arabia, Tiny Ruins, and Rob Ruha for a charming evening of musical diversity.

Overall, I enjoyed the production but, on reflection, would probably only give the performance six out of 10, writes Peter Bromhead.

Nixon and Kissinger's diplomacy would now be seen as capitulation, writes Vincent Matthews.

They're singing songs they've never performed live before from a playlist they didn't choose, but Don McGlashan and Shayne Carter sound relaxed about it.

Funny, sexy and feminist all at the same time, Australian cabaret star Meow Meow (Melissa Madden Gray) delivers wonderful frivolity.

Emily King music is described as existing "where the cafe meets the dancefloor" - understated pop and soul.

Laughton Kora is one of four brothers in the band Kora, he sang on Dotcom's album, acted in Coverband, and this week is in the Auckland Arts Festival

The National Theatre of Scotland offers both history lessons and captivating drama in its trilogy of plays about the country's early kings being staged at the Auckland Arts Festival.

France's Compagnie Carabosse has transformed an under-utilised part of the domain - aptly incorporating the Three Witches statue - into an otherworldly fire garden.

A post-postmodern diva is about to take over the Auckland Arts Festival's Spiegeltent with her take on a Hans Christian Andersen folk tale.

Auckland Arts Festival is providing a trifecta opportunity for Wellington composer Gareth Farr.

The five featured women dance, create pretty moving tableaux and briefly sing songs. From the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Fiji, Samoa, and Aotearoa, they're great, well-rehearsed performers.

Old-world charm, juggling and a virtuoso display of clowning makes this big top performance a must-see.

The centrepiece of new artistic director Francesco Ventriglia's first mixed bill programme for the RNZB is said to have changed ballet forever.

Four powerful local vocalists and a red-hot band take us on a journey through Dusty Springfield's remarkable life.

Encounter the sacred beauty of the forests of Fiji, the Solomons, Samoa and Aotearoa at Marama.

More than 10,000 tickets have been sold to the opening night of one of the hottest events on the Auckland Arts Festival calendar.

Auckland Arts Festival is a celebration, a time to come together each year as a community to share in the spirit and creativity of artists, and to celebrate our place in the world.

Auckland Arts Festival is justifiably proud to present the semi-staged New Zealand premiere of John Adams' Nixon in China next month, allotting it a spectacular spread in its handsome brochure.

Are we in danger of kicking creativity out of the classroom? Dionne Christian looks at what the arts can teach our children.

In part 3 of our Arts in Auckland coverage, Dionne Christian looks at how you try to include everyone.

With high-profile regional facilities in central Auckland - not to mention the lion's share of festivals - is there arts and cultural life in the 'burbs?