Karel Gott is a singer and painter, and has been a fixture on the Czech entertainment scene for half a century. Some consider him the “Sinatra of the East”. Even at 66 years of age, he is still just as active as ever, although this year he is staging his first “good-bye” tour. He has won 30 Zlatý slavík (Gold Nightingale) awards, which are given every year to the most popular pop singer in the country.

If you are in the Czech Republic for more than just a visit, you are bound to come across Karel. You can hear him on the radio, see him in any number of variety shows on television and he always seems to pop up at the end of award shows. He can be seen grinning on the covers of magazines. In April, he was in the news because his 30 year-old girlfriend gave birth to his daughter. The Supraphon label recently released a DVD with his hits of the 60′s. And at the end of this month, Karel Gott’s own museum, Gottland, will open to the public.

On some days, it is hard to avoid Karel. I don’t know how many times I have walked into the living room when the TV was on and there he was, delivering an award or singing one of his new songs. One evening I visited my favorite Chinese restaurant and along with the printed reviews posted by the front door, I noticed a photo of a smiling Gott surrounded by the happy chefs and waitresses.

If you want to read more about Karel Gott, you can visit his website (turn your speakers down) and his Gottland site.

The renowned Prague Spring International Music Festival (May 11 – June 3, 2006) is in its 60th season. It has been going on since 1946 and has attracted many performing artists, symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles from around the world.

This year the different performances take place in a number of locations, such as the National Theatre, St. Vitus Cathedral, the Estates Theatre, Municipal House, Rudolfinum, the State Opera, Bertramka, several churches, etc.

Some tickets are still available. You can read more about the festival, see the program and find out where to buy tickets at festival.cz.

Jeff and I finally watched Román pro ženy yesterday, the 2005 Czech movie based on a book by Michal Viewegh and directed by Filip Renč. I was a bit disappointed with the film but I’m glad it made me “discover” the singer Iva Frühlingová whose several songs were used in it. I’ve known about her for a while but didn’t really know her music until I saw the movie. Iva sings mainly in French, which is explained by the fact that she lived in Paris for eight years. She became popular in France and Belgium before she received a Gold and Platinum Album in the Czech Republic for her first release Litvínov (2004).

You can listen to song samples at ivaf.cz.