Morgen und Abend, Royal Opera

MORGEN UND ABEND, ROYAL OPERA World premiere of a spellbinding, unified meditation on birth and death

World premiere of a spellbinding, unified meditation on birth and death

It’s never funny like Ligeti’s Le grand macabre, though it touches on that joke apocalypse’s more nebulous soundscapes. Nor is it obviously dynamic like David Sawer’s From Morning to Midnight, with which its title is not to be confused (there are no transitional stages here, only birth and death). Wagner’s cosmic sweeps don't entangle the banal with the numinous like this. So what exactly is the new opera Morning and Evening?

CD: Justin Bieber – Purpose

CD: JUSTIN BIEBER – PURPOSE From troubled child to grown-up star, the singer takes a leap of faith 

From troubled child to grown-up star, the singer takes a leap of faith

Justin Bieber’s undoubtedly had a tricky time of it, living in the full glare of the world’s media. While it’s demonstrably not “the toughest thing in the world”, as he recently suggested in Billboard magazine, it can’t be much fun having your every misdemeanour writ large. His fourth album, Purpose, purports to be his mea culpa, but I’m left wondering what he’s supposed to be apologising for. Surely a teenager who has been gifted unimaginable wealth should be forgiven for occasionally acting like an impatient dick and driving badly?

Gravity Fatigue, Hussein Chalayan, Sadler's Wells

GRAVITY FATIGUE, HUSSEIN CHALAYAN, SADLER'S WELLS Couturier supplies stunning design, but not enough heart

Couturier supplies stunning design, but not enough heart

If you thought the era of the impresario died with Diaghilev, think again. Alistair Spalding, chief executive of Sadler's Wells, has commercial and artistic vision in spades, and masterfully combines them in his operation at the Wells.

The Gap: Selected Abstract Art from Belgium, Parasol Unit

THE GAP: SELECTED ABSTRACT ART FROM BELGIUM, PARASOL UNIT Luc Tuymans brings an artist's eye to a survey of two generations of Belgian artists

Luc Tuymans brings an artist's eye to a survey of two generations of Belgian artists

From its title, you could be misled into dismissing this show as narrow and self-referential: a small exhibition in a small gallery curated by a Belgian artist concerned only with his own countrymen. In fact, it is something of a survey, featuring works with influences that range from Piet Mondrian, Ad Reinhardt and Lucio Fontana, to the Color Field painters.

The President

THE PRESIDENT Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf's anatomy of tyranny in collapse

Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf's anatomy of tyranny in collapse

What’s it really like to be a dictator? Or president, if we put it more circumspectly, as Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf does in his new film of that name – though this President clearly believes he’s of the “for-life” variety, if not even a rung higher given that the mode of address in this contemporary court is, “Your Majesty”.

CD: The Orb – Moonbuilding 2703 AD

CD: THE ORB - MOONBUILDING 2703 AD Alex Patterson and Thomas Fehlmann prove, once again, that space is the place

Alex Patterson and Thomas Fehlmann prove, once again, that space is the place

Every 75 years or so, Halley’s Comet comes round to say, "Hi". When it does, there’s genuine excitement, not because there’s any kind of stock trade in fond reminiscence when it comes to glowing lumps of rock, but because it’s a genuinely captivating event. The Orb’s latest offering is similarly hurtling through space once more, and reminding us of their conceptual debut that slapped us around our collective face back in 1991. It feels like a similar event.

Flight, Opera Holland Park

FLIGHT, OPERA HOLLAND PARK Jonathan Dove's airport opera takes off in this glossy new production

Jonathan Dove's airport opera takes off in this glossy new production

Connections are missed and made in Jonathan Dove’s Flight – a giddy airport fantasy of what might be and what never was. Not yet 20 years old, this contemporary score is quite a departure from Opera Holland Park’s staple fare of well-aged verismo and bloodily rare Italian drama, but in a glossy new production by Stephen Barlow it pulses with all the same urgency and human interest – and not a suicide/secret pregnancy/long-lost parent in sight.

CD: José Padilla - So Many Colours

CD: JOSE PADILLA - SO MANY COLOURS The sunset soundtracker creates an album of bits that will have you in pieces

The sunset soundtracker creates an album of bits that will have you in pieces

When International Feel label boss Mark Barrott moved from Uruguay to Ibiza, it was surely only a matter of time before he hooked up with Café Del Mar’s legendary sunset soundtracker José Padilla – inevitable even. The choice of producers to work alongside Padilla on this, his fourth album, is far from predictable however – in fact it’s inspired. Alongside Padilla himself and Barrott are Henning Severud (Telephones), Jan Schulte (Wolf Müller) and Lewis Day (Tornado Wallace).

CD: Muse - Drones

CD: MUSE – DRONES Muse return to a more familiar landscape – a paranoid dystopian nightmare

Muse return to a more familiar landscape – a paranoid dystopian nightmare

Almost a decade ago, I went to a disappointing festival in Holland. Driven to distraction by the crowd – a sixth-form disco stuck between the third and fourth circles of Dante's inferno – I, on the advice of a friend, went to see Muse. Their theatrical pomp and overblown, muscular attack took the top of my head off and replaced my brain with a great big lump of wallop.

CD: Man Power – Man Power

CD: MAN POWER - MAN POWER Story of a hidden identity, a debut full of personality, wit, invention

The story of a hidden identity and a debut full of personality, wit and invention

The mysterious figure of Man Power has been making waves for a while now. A series of mixes and remixes and frankly jaw-dropping EPs have seen his star rise, though his actual profile has remained obscured – largely by his hand in a series of promo shots. His true identity remains a secret. So, who is Man Power and why should you care?