BEST BETS / JANUARY 16-22, 2000

ART

Two new exhibitions pay tribute to great French Classical artist Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), as “Poussin Landscapes by Leon Kossoff” opens Tuesday at the J. Paul Getty Museum and “Drawn to Painting: Leon Kossoff’s Drawings and Prints After Nicolas Poussin” opens Thursday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Using Poussin’s paintings at the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts in London as a basis for his work, Kossoff created works that are both replicas and uniquely his own in this series of charcoal-and-pastel drawings, etchings and prints.

MUSIC

Opera blooms: Tuesday, Opera Pacific reveals its production of Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” in Costa Mesa; John de Main conducts. Wednesday, Los Angeles Opera opens Gounod’s “Faust,” its cast headed by Marcello Giordani, Leontina Vaduva and Samuel Ramey. San Diego Opera begins 2000 with a new production of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore,” featuring Richard Margison in the title role and conducted by Edoardo Muller.

DANCE

Husband-and-wife flamenco artists Adam and Laila Del Monte infuse Shakespeare’s “Othello” with Spanish Gypsy style in their new dance drama “Amar Es Olvidar La Vida,” running from Friday to next Sunday at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

THEATER

Danny Hoch’s critically acclaimed, edgy and eclectic solo show “Jails, Hospitals and Hip-Hop” returns to Southern California. Avoiding stereotypes, Hoch brings to vivid life nine characters, from a white suburban teenager obsessed with gangsta rap to a heroin-addicted prisoner with AIDS. Wednesday at UC Riverside’s University Theatre.

POP MUSIC

Until they sell a zillion records a la the Offspring, punk-rock bands usually rock the walls of small clubs or mid-size theaters. But L.A. stalwart Pennywise and a potent supporting cast will bring it to the arena level on Friday when they take over the L.A. Sports Arena. The lineup also features TSOL, the Vandals, All and the Long Beach Dub Allstars.

JAZZ

When it comes to singing music from the 1920s and ‘30s, Banu Gibson is at the top of her field. On Thursday at Pepperdine University, the hard-swinging and versatile vocalist will perform stirring jazz and vintage ballads with her New Orleans Hot Jazz, an exciting sextet.

VIDEO

Oliver Parker directed the witty, sophisticated “An Ideal Husband,” based on Oscar Wilde’s famous play. Rupert Everett plays the womanizing Lord Goring, who is asked by his good friend (Jeremy Northam)--a supposedly decent member of Parliament--to help him when a scandal regarding his past is about to surface. Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and Minnie Driver also star.