E-Mail This Article to a Friend The right to rock Plus David Copperfield

GRAND ILLUSION

The phantom of the Opera House? That would be David Copperfield, who’s bringing his appearing/disappearing act to Washington Street next month for an "Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion." He’ll make 13 audience members disappear, shrink himself down so that he can fit into a shoebox, and reunite an audience member with a loved one. That lucky person could be you, but not unless you show up at the Opera House, 539 Washington St, Boston | February 2 @ 9 pm; February 3 @ 2 + 5 + 8 pm; February 4 @ 1 + 4 pm | $30-$65 | 617.931.ARTS.

ALL ALONG THE WATCH TOWER

Given the recent revelations about the Bush administration’s domestic spying, this year’s Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, which plays January 19-28 at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and the Peabody Essex Museum, will likely seem all too relevant. Take, for starters, Pamela Yates’s documentary State of Fear (2005), which investigates the 20-year "war on terror" waged by the Peruvian government, a campaign that transformed a democracy into a dictatorship. It’s one of a dozen or so documentaries and features that remind us of the fragility of freedoms we take for granted. For more information, visit www.hrw.org/iff/.

FROM THE ASHES

One aspect of Kosovo’s attempt to rebuild its artistic world has been documented in "Kosovo Punk," an exhibition about Kosovarians who are creating a new æsthetic in the midst of destruction and tragedy. Photographer Stu Sherman spent a month in the Yugoslav city capturing the rebirth of music, culture, trends, and art, and the result is on view at Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge | January 23–February 5 | 617.876.6060.