Singing and Dancing.(theatre in Germany, Israel, France, Japan, United Kingdom)(Review)

There is plenty to be seen--and heard--in theaters and concert halls, too. So book your tickets, sit back and enjoy!

The joy of movement is on ready display in Paris. At the Palais Garnier, the Opera de Paris Ballet will mount a new production of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Sheherazade" (beginning Dec. 19), with costumes by Christian Lacroix and choreography by Spaniard Blanca Li, a former gymnast who studied with Martha Graham in New York. The company will also perform the holiday classic "La Bayadere," Rudolf Nureyev's 1992 production based on Maurice Petipa's original choreography, at the Bastille (through Jan. 5).

In London's West End, hotshot director Michael Grandage revives Peter Nichols's highly amusing "Privates on Parade," last seen in 1978. Set in the Malaysian jungle in 1948, this dark comedy is based on Nichols's wartime experience, when he escaped the drudgery of guard duty by joining his unit's entertainment group. Music lovers should head to the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, renowned for its Baroque concerts. This season, the Belmost Ensemble will perform "Boxing Day Baroque" by candlelight on Dec. 26. Those who want to do more than listen can attend the South Bank Centre's Christmas Gala Concert on Dec. 20, where the audience is invited to sing carols between performances of Bach cantatas and excerpts from the "Christmas Oratorio," "Mass in B ...