A monthly selection of forthcoming events recommended by The qEectator's

regular critics.

MUSIC

The Easter period is heralded by three settings of the Passion: the St Matthew Passion by the Spanish composer Alonso Lobo, sung by Ian Partridge with Pro Musica Sacra at St John's, Smith Square, 7 March; the St John Passion by Arvo Part, sung by the Hilliard Ensemble in St Luke's Church Chelsea, 21 March; and the St Matthew Passion by Telemann, Performed by the St James Baroque Players and Singers in Queen Elizabeth Hall, 25 March. On Easter Day, the Monteverdi Vespers will be sung in QEH by the Gabrieli Players and Consort.

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra makes a fairly rare appearance in London at the Barbican on 22 March, conducted by Simon Rattle with Lynn Harrell as the soloist in Dvorak's Cello Concerto. Peter Phillips

CINEMA

Pain Man (15). Dustin Hoffman as an autistic 'savant' who inherits a fortune — to the chagrin of his Younger brother, played by Tom Cruise.

Dangerous Liaisons (15). A starry American cast in Stephen Frears's version of Laclos's novel.

The Moderns (15). Alan Rudolph's hvely foray into Paris of the Twenties. Keith Carradine as an American painter at large in the world of Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Stein.

On 10 March, an exhibition, The Worlds of Charlie Chaplin, opens at the Museum of the Moving Image. The Southampton Film Festival runs 9-19 March. Box Office and details: 0703 336998.

Hilary Mantel

THEATRE

Rack With a Vengeance, Theatre Royal Drury Lane (836 8108). Barry Humphries returns in triumph to the West End with Dame Edna et al. Opens 9 March.

Hamlet, Olivier (928 2252). Richard Eyre directs Daniel Day

Lewis in the title role, with Judy Dench as Gertrude. Very promising. Opens 16 March.

The Misanthrope, Bristol Old Vic (0272 277466). Edward Petherbridge takes the lead in this touring Moliere play, wittily translated by Tony Harrison. Opens 16 March. Christopher Edwards

EXHIBITIONS

The Hyde Park Atrocity, Epstein's 'Rims', Leeds City Art Gallery. Show centring on Epstein's 1925 relief made infamous by adverse comment: 87 sketchbook drawings and related sculpture.

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Mall Galleries, 17 Carlton House Terrace, SW1, from 17 March. Annual spectacular from body founded in 1831.

Albert Houthuesen 1903-1979, Pallant House, 9 North Pallant, Chichester, from 11 March. Seldom seen paintings, drawings etc by Dutch-born British artist.

John Martin, Belshazzar's Feast 1820, Tate Gallery. Special showing of 'Mad' John Martin's most famous picture to celebrate his bicentenary.

William Donaldson Clark, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. Early shots of Edinburgh in 1850s and '60s by photographic pioneer. Giles Auty

CRAFTS

Furniture designed by Edwin Lutyens, Heinz Gallery, 21 Portman Square, Wl, till 17 March. Twenty pieces of furniture with accompanying drawings.

Gordon Baldwin: New Ceramics, Contemporary Applied Art, 43 Earlham Street, WC2, till 1 April. New work by perhaps our greatest living potter.

Life and Works of May Morris, William Morris Gallery, Lloyd Park, Forest Road, E17, till 11 March. Youngest daughter of William Morris, embroiderer and jeweller. Tanya Harrod

OPERA

Cosi fan tutte, Covent Garden (240 1066), 6 March. Second stage of Johannes Schaaf's new Mozart-Da Pante cycle, with designs by Hans Schavernoch. Jeffrey Tate conducts and the cast includes Margaret Marshall, Anne Howells and Claudio Desderi.

Le nozze di Figaro, La Scala, Milan, 11 March. First of another Mozart series, conducted by Riccardo Muti and directed by Giorgio Strehler. Singers include Cheryl Studer, Ann Murray and William Shimell.

Don Carlos, Covent Garden (240 1066), 25 March. John Cox is in charge of this latest revival of the legendary Visconti production, conducted by Richard Armstrong.

Rodney Milnes

POP MUSIC

Randy Newman, Dominion, 3 and 4 March. Another of those critically lauded artists who never sells a record, Newman really is very good — quirky, intelligent song-writing, a cinematic feel to arrangement and some sensitive ivory-tickling make for bold and satisfying records and memorable live performances.

Simply Red, touring. Straight to number one in the album charts, despite the usual sniffy reviews, Mick Hucknall knows his audience and deserves his popularity. Sleek but expressive pop soul at its best live. Marcus Berkmann

DANCE

Merce Cunningham and Dance Company, Haymarket Theatre, Leicester (0533 539797), 16-18 March. The legendary American company appears at the Leicester International Dance Festival in special events specifically arranged for the Haymarket stage. Decor by Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns and music by David Tudor.

Rambert Dance Company, Sadlers Wells (278 8916), 29 March-15 April. The three-week season features new work by Richard Alston, Ashley Page, Siobhan Davis and Trisha Brown.

Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, Covent Garden (240 1066), 14, 17, 22 March. The first performance by the Royal Ballet of Balanchine's work, the 'Rubies' section from his three-act Jewels.

Deirdre McMahon

GARDENS

Southdown Flowers Ltd, Yapton Lane, Walberton, West Sussex, opens for the National Gardens Scheme on 5 March, 2-5 p.m. A commercial flower and pot plant concern, with all-year-round chrysanthemums, Asiatic lilies, roses, begonias and African violets on show under glass.

Watergate Trelill, Camelford, Cornwall, opens Easter Sunday, 2-5.30 p.m. This two-acre garden contains many varieties of narcissus, together with camellias, rhododendrons and magnolia.

Ursula Buchan