Just a thought: Rolando-Werther is back at ROH!!

News from the ROH is good !
So Rolando went back safely in a role which seems to be his by now: Werther!
I have been convinced of this intimate relationship between this artist and this role since the first time I saw him in Nice, and of course Intermezzo 's report gave me a fantastic deep happiness. I rejoiced at his own production of this opera in Lyon and I imagine he acted in this rather empty setting thinking of the magical poetic drama he created in his vision of Werther. It is reassuring to read his voice was there and that he did not overdo it! As for 'being' this poet and doomed lover, there is no doubt about it!
Rupert Christiansen came to terms with Rolando in a good review which gives me so much happiness for Rolando!


Meanwhile, I still think a lot about my April days in Seoul and Andong, I doubt if I will be able to blog about them. Even if we shared the English language with them I come to the same conclusion I drew after my first visit to China: it is not easy to see through Korean life and Arts when my own knowlegde is so limited. I rejoice about the warm welcome we had either in town or country ! The Seoul National University team was so helpful and always happy to see us! They took great care of us, sharing outings in Seoul and taken us to glorious Korean food in various amazing restaurants ! We also shared folk events with happy audiences, events which were free most of the time with lots of children participating!




As for the landscapes we discovered, that is just like a dream. Rice-fields, peaceful temples in the mountains, venerable trees, rivers, and always the little round tumulli which give to the sceneries a sense of enternity and
continuity.




Still, I would like to catch up with my past calendar, but it is not likely to be done...Spring in Seoul and Andong was something I would have not been able to imagine. Now I know what it feels like to wake up in a traditional home in Hahoé with the air as brisk as in the Alps...and so quiet, that birds just stop next to the sliding window ... the drops of rain gently fill the stone basins ... A peaceful dream always on my mind...