Covo.

TANT PIS
de Jacques Prévert

Tant pis pour ceux qui n'aiment ni les chiens ni la boue
faites entrer le chien entièrement sali par la boue
tant pis pour ceux qui n'aiment pas la boue
qui ne comprennent pas
qui ne savent pas le chien
qui ne savent pas la boue
faites entrer le chien
et qu'il se secoue
on peut laver le chien
et l'eau aussi on peut la laver
on ne peut pas laver ceux
ceux qui disent qu'ils aiment les chiens
à condition que ...
Le chien couvert de boue est propre
la boue est propre
l'eau est propre aussi quelquefois
ceux qui disent à condition que ...
Ceux-là ne sont pas propres
absolument pas.

Heading East.

I am getting ready for another trip to Berlin, a longer one.
I remember my pleasure and interest when reading the pages on Willym's blog concerning the Bode Museum.LINK
Therefore I will follow his steps, they are smashing ones!
On the musical side, I have not received the Teldec record of "Al gran sole carico d'amore" yet and I feel a bit crossed and stupid. I could have ordered it ealier and then I would have had plenty of time to get it then listen to it before the performance.
This time, we are staying in Charlottenburg, because here again I chose the nearest spot to what I thought was the replacement for the Staatsoper Unter den Linden which is under renovation ... thinking that all the performances will be at the Schiller theater. In fact the three performances I selected are at three different places. As I did not check with the tickets, it will be a tour of the Philarmonie, the Schiller theater and the industrial plant for Luigi Nono 's opera.
So, now, before I leave all I am going to focus on, are the pages from Willym's blog about The Bode I have not visited yet.
Winter, here, seems to be receding, but it might be bitter and colder in Berlin on tuesday.



But one of the artists I made this trip for is going to warm us up, for sure, on wednesday night at the Philarmonie, accompanied by Daniel Barenboïm this time conducting the orchestra.
I am eager to listen to Anna singing Strauss lieders.
Being under the charm of this precious record of Russian melodies'In the still of Night'(Deutsche Grammophon, recorded live at the Salzburg Festival 17 august 2009) and her somehow different voice, with so much seductive power when Anna sings in Russian, I just cannot imagine what I will be like during this concert!
Perhaps one could dream that the smashing vocal couple Anna Netrebko-Rolando Villazon could be reunited for a performance in Berlin some days?
I cannot help noticing: one is performing at the Philarmonie while the other one is performing at the Schiller theater, almost at the same dates which is the reason why I planned this trip to Berlin in winter. Rolando Villazon hardly sings on
opera stages here and Anna Netrebko is also very rare in France now...so let's go East...even in deep winter.
Those were'Happy days' when they sang Elisir together...

Song for tranquillity.

G.F.Händel.
'Ombra mai fu' (Serse)

Vesselina Kasarova, Live recital (2003, Barcelona).


Summer 2011.
Shade and heat in the yard.
The Plane tree.

Rolando on tv:ARTE, starts tomorrow

From Rolando Villazon SITE

* News
* About
* Schedule
* Recordings
* Press
* Photo and Video
* Contact

- Rolando's World -
Rolando presents “Stars von morgen” on Arte in February and March

The first four episodes of Rolando’s new TV series, “Stars von morgen,” will be broadcast on Arte beginning on February 12, 2012. Rolando hosts this new version of the classic television program, once presented by soprano Montserrat Caballé. "Stars von morgen" introduces new classical talents, singers as well as instrumentalists, to a wider audience. Shot in Berlin and featuring exclusive performances by Rolando, the four episodes will be broadcast every Sunday at 18:30, beginning February 12. Please check your local listings.

Broadcast dates:
12.02.12, 18.30h
19.02.12, 18.30h
26.02.12, 18.30h
04.03.12, 18.30h
Rolando presents “Stars von morgen” on Arte in February and March
ShareThis ShareThis
Publication Date:
January 11, 2012

This is going to be fun! Nice to see him introducing young talents from the classical world.
I will be seeing him soon in Berlin too ! His Nemorino is still missing from my list with him as best tenor!
LINK Staatsoper Berlin

Winter, updated.

Saturday,14.30
The great joy of blogging comes from all sorts of discoveries you can share from friendly bloggers. They enlarge your scope and opinions and form a huge friendship chain.
So, this is the answer from my conclusion of this post: the Bavarian State Opera must have read that all the youtube fans and audience (460.000 !)who viewed and loved this production, wanted to see it again. This is a great gesture from the opera direction.
So, this discovery is due to Eyesometric. Thanks a lot for keeping in touch through this blog!
Sometimes a wish comes true...



Don Carlo. Verdi.
René Pape.
(live, Jan 22. Bayerische Staatsoper audio streaming).
Ella giammai m'amo.
FILIPPO
come trasognato
Ella giammai m'amò...!
No, quel cor è chiuso a me,
Amor per me non ha...!
ritornando in sè
Ove son...? Quei doppier
Presso a finir...!
L'aurora imbianca il mio veron!
Già spunta il di!
Passar veggo i miei giorni lenti!
Il sonno, o Dio!
Spari da' miei occhi languenti!
Dormirò sol nel manto mio regal
Quando la mia giornata è giunta a sera;
Dormirò sol sotto la volta nera
Là, nell'avello dell'Escurial!
Se il serto regal a me desse il poter
Di leggere nei cor, che Dio sol può veder...!
Se dorme il prence, veglia il traditore;
Il serto perde il Re, il consorte l'onore!
Dormirò sol nel manto mio regal
Quando la mia giornata è giunta a sera;
Dormirò sol sotto la volta nera
La, nell'avello dell'Escurial.

PHILIP
as if dreaming
She does not love me! No! Her heart is closed to me,
she has never loved me!
I can see her still, looking silently
at my white hair, the day she arrived from France.
No, she does not love me!
She does not love me!
coming to
Where am I? Those candles
are burnt out … dawn silvers the window‑panes,
day is here! Alas! Healing sleep,
sweet sleep has flown for ever from my eyelids!
I shall sleep in my royal cloak,
when the last hour arrives for me,
I shall sleep beneath the stone arches
in the vaults of the Escurial!
If only our royal station gave us the power
to delve into the depths of hearts, where God alone sees all!
If the King sleeps, treason is hatched,
he is robbed of his crown and his wife!
I shall sleep in my royal cloak, etc.
Ah! If only our royal station gave us the power
to delve into the depths of hearts!
She does not love me! No! Her heart is closed to
me,she does not love me!


"Now is the winter of our discontent"... Shakespeare Richard III.
I watched the live streaming and never found such a wounded and human Don carlo before this rendition. René Pape, in this attire,(nightdress and white socks) showed his fragile side as a human being, extremely moving, even making me believe he could love Elisabeth. I think this role is his, and this production allowed him to show more of his actor's talents.
The cello solo is stunning too. This aria as it was sung is a gem. I did not feel frustrated by the narrow screen of my computor because René Pape was overwhelming of sincerity and human charisma. So I am glad I saved this aria even if the quality is poor.
NOTES FROM THE OPERA SITE:
On January 22, the Bavarian State Opera will be streaming the full performance of the eagerly awaited revival of Don Carlo live and free on the website www.staatsoper.de . Verdi’s masterpiece is staged by Jürgen Rose, the Bavarian State Orchestra will be conducted by Asher Fisch. The production has a first-class cast, with René Pape as King Philip II, Jonas Kaufmann as the Infante of Spain and Anja Harteros in the role of Elisabeth de Valois. The transmission will start at 5 PM.
From the opera house:
Opera lovers can thus enjoy another outstanding production from the Bavarian State Opera online in full length. The live transmission of Don Carlo is part of a pilot project by General Manager Nikolaus Bachler in presenting opera online. The first transmission of Donizettis L’elisir d’amore on January 7 was seen by approximately 77.000 users worldwide. The only requirement is a broadband internet connection such as DSL, the newest version of the flash player and speakers. There is no charge to the viewer for using the live stream.

Live stream
Don Carlo
My only wish is to have another chance to see this video again!

FIRMA! in March, in Paris, for 3 performances!

A great opportunity to see a real creation with young artists !
The show has been updated... "AAA...AAAh!"
it's all in the flyer! (Ph.Platel)
Philippe Platel and his troupe, (same ones as in the Berlin show last June),
will give 3 performances of a crafty mixture of visual Arts, opera singing, theater and lots of fun and humour as it is expected !
But opera lovers will also hear these young singers in their opera singing performances of Faust, The Rake's Progress, among other operas, so it is really worth going! (I will! knowing the dates around New Year, I booked my IDTGV fare, as I try to travel on the cheap side as much as possible!)
Frankly in June the topic was in the debate but now, judging by the flyer, it seems "politically incorrect"!
It will be most enjoyable for me to see them again.
On the picture, from left to right:
The tallest, A. Kientz, baritone
The middle one, B. Deney, tenor
The Actress, D. Daffy.
FIRMA, "un opéra près de chez vous".
les vendredi 9, 16 et 23 mars à 20h

Foyer de Grenelle
01 45 79 81 49

19 rue de l'Avre (Paris 15e)

à 2 pas du métro La Motte Picquet Grenelle (lignes 6, 8 et 10)

Prix unique : 10€
reservations here: resafirma@gmail.com

the French press book . Phil. Platel:
>

Vous avez été très nombreux à avoir la gentillesse de venir voir mon exposition Fortune il y a tout juste un an à Paris.

Après mon expérience berlinoise du printemps (exposition "Surviving.art" notamment), je vous propose une nouvelle occasion de se retrouver cet hiver à Paris sur un projet totalement différent (mais très complémentaire), une nouvelle forme de création pluridisciplinaire pour moi : FIRMA

>

Qu'est ce donc que FIRMA ?

>

FIRMA c'est de l'opéra, du théâtre, de la performance visuelle.

FIRMA c'est aussi une avalanche de paillettes et de post-it, Hillary Clinton qui dévore du pop-corn, un singe qui jette des avions en papier du haut d'un building.

FIRMA c'est une entreprise lynchéenne sur fond de Gounod, Verdi, Schumann, Weber...

>

FIRMA est un spectacle d'un peu plus d'une heure qui mixe plusieurs opéras, styles et répertoires dans une forme visuelle d'aujourd'hui avec une double ambition de recherche visuelle et d'accessibilité.

>

FIRMA a été présenté pour la première fois à Berlin dans le cadre d'un festival d'art contemporain en juin 2011 qui reçut 14 000 visiteurs en 2 jours.

Dans une gigantesque usine devenue galerie d'art, le spectacle dialoguait avec peintures, vidéos, installations et sculptures contemporaines autour du thème de l'entreprise ("Firma" en allemand), du travail et de l'économie. Des thèmes qui ont gagné en actualité quelques mois plus tard entre Paris et Berlin.

>

FIRMA c'est surtout 1 ténor (Benoît Deney), 1 baryton (Arnaud Kientz), 1 comédienne (Dorothée Daffy), 1 pianiste (Maxime Neyret) et 2 metteurs en scène (Elodie Paschalidès et moi-même).

>

Je suis fier de pouvoir vous annoncer la présentation de FIRMA pour une première série de 3 dates à Paris :

les vendredi 9, 16 et 23 mars à 20h

Foyer de Grenelle

19 rue de l'Avre (Paris 15e)

à 2 pas du métro La Motte Picquet Grenelle (lignes 6, 8 et 10)

Prix unique : 10€

>

Je vous invite à réserver vos places dès maintenant à l'adresse suivante : resafirma@gmail.com

Possible translation of the main question from Ph. Platel Flyer:
"What is FIRMA?"
-A blend of Opera, theater, visual Arts.
-A massive fall of glitter and sticky notes,
-Popcorn, devoured by Hilary Clinton,
- Paper aircrafts, dropped from the top of a building by a monkey,
- an adventurous 'entreprise' alla David Lynch on a Gounod, Verdi, Schumann, Weber.....background (...)"

Al Gran Sole Carico d'Amore. I.

Sometimes it is worth traveling.
By doing so, it is also time to think of one's own cultural background and affinities.
I have discovered life and culture in a very special boarding school (Ecole Normale) with some teachers who were young adults during World War II and very naturally taught values of self guidance and suspicion of all the far-right devilish temptations after the end of the war.
From now on,I have always been very cautious and that is why I am appalled by what is happening on the French political scene now, where the possible regaining of some 3 million supporters from the far-right is pushing the traditional right into dreadful kinds of compromising attitudes.
It is then a great chance to escape for a while this kind of filthy political duck pond and explore Luigi Nono 'Al Gran Sole Carico d'Amore' before attending it in Berlin soon.
It is strange I will travel to Berlin (for the third time in three years) for a very special opera which means a lot to me, precisely linked to my background and this post war education.
Why isn't it possible to have this Nono's opera on stage in France?
Any one, slightly aware of what is going on at the ONP at the moment, will find answers: France is being culturally wiped out of the creativity front -page, following old-fashioned opera trends, which comfort bourgeois attitudes and pleasures.
After Monsieur Mortier's departure to Madrid opera House, it seems impossible to get any type of modern operas. Le Châtelet is producing Nixon in China in April, which I will not miss, ( marvellous opportunity to welcome again two singers I appreciate : June Anderson and Sumi Jo ) but this is not the prestigious ONP,is it?. Even out of Paris, when there are creations, they always seem to be very tame, like 'La chartreuse de Parme'(Henri sauguet) I will attend in Marseille on Sunday.
Luigi Nono's Al Gran Sole Carico d'Amore is a vast historical fresco of heroïc women who fought for freedom and utopian values. It is a good opportunity to go back on these figures of the past and present, to have a revival of their struggles and ideals through revolutions (I will check while reading the texts Luigi Nono selected and wrote if there are hints to the Chilean Revolution in this work) Louise Michel is one of them. Well known as a Paris underground station for the reminder of her name, she is la pasoniara de la Commune de Paris and had connections through letter- writings with Clemenceau and Victor Hugo. She had an eventful life often spent in prisons and deportation. She died in Marseilles in 1901 while she was on a conference tour. Rimbaud who is quoted in the title of this opera,(the poem 'les mains de Jeanne-Marie 'gave part of the title of this musical opus ) also stopped in Marseilles before he died. He was treated at Marseilles hospital: La Conception.
Here are some quotes from the opera site:
»Basically this opera is a grand requiem for lost hopes and the failure of utopias – and along with ‘Wozzeck’ by Alban Berg and ‘Die Soldaten’ by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, one of the major works of modern musical theatre.« (Jürgen Flimm)

Fighting, suffering and women perishing in revolutionary times are the subject of Luigi Nono’s ambitious scenic action which, as an ‘azione scenica’, has long surpassed the notion of ‘opera’, as did his work »Intolleranza 1960«. The action focuses on women activists; Louise Michel at the time of the Paris Commune in 1871, on Gorky’s Mother during the Russian Revolution of 1905, on the Bolivian freedom fighter Tania Bunke and the guerrilla war in Latin America, on Haydée Santamarìa and the character of the lady of the night, Deola, during the industrial unrest in Turin in the 1950s. A collage of different settings, separated in time and space, do not make »Al gran sole carico d’amore« a work with a coherent plot, but rather work to put the different stories of their revolutionary female characters on the stage.

AL GRAN SOLE CARICO D'AMORE staged by Katie Mitchell and with Ingo Metzmacher as the musical director will now be presented in a one-off series of five performances in the Kraftwerk Mitte | Trafo.


Extraordinary locations for the performance of his works were what Luigi Nono had in mind. This impressive building on the river Spree is an imposing structure which is a symbol of 1960s industrial history in Berlin. It has been established as an event location and a showroom for contemporary art for quite a while now. Boasting eight levels which are connected by staircases and intermediate storeys, it provides an optimum setting full of atmosphere for »Al gran sole carico d'amore«.

»This extraordinary play, visually a multi-tasking entertainment experience whilst at the same time an opulent culinary feast, radiates brilliance under its musical director Ingo Metzmacher – equally thrilling and cool.« (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

»Al gran sole carico d'amore staged by Katie Mitchell is a production which may be best described as simply sensational.« (Neue Zürcher Zeitung)

I have admired Luigi Nono and his absolute human commitment all his life to the values of Communism and his equal commitment to complete art,
his music, and sound research. I do not know this work. I am not a specialist either. Therefore I have so much to discover.
Anytime I have listened to Prometeo I have been fascinated and overwhelmed by the immensity of this music, which is a unique experience. I will be able to listen to it live soon.
I have ordered the only recording from Teldec and am eager to listen to it and read the numerous texts which form the libretto, although Luigi Nono never claimed this work was an opera, he called it 'azione scenica'(action on stage, activity, happening,). It is the only recording I could find. Yesterday I went to Aix to borrow Luigi Nono's records, but due to low temperatures and lack of heating, the library was closed. I am then exploring the net, and it is rewarding!

Link Salzburg Festival
Within a fairly short time, the record will arrive from Germany and I will have time to get ready for the performance in Berlin on March the 1st.
Prometeo LINK Many thanks to MrRaph87 for this tremendous upload of this work.

Just a thought: the importance of being the lead!

I am so pleased they do not belong to my 'family' (so to speak!)

News from Aix and the Festival 2012.

It is time to book! It is even too late already for decent prices, at least what I refer to as being possible for me, the 4th and 5th category!
I think the prices have gone up tremendously. I would select G.Benjamin's opera and Ravel 's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges. (I do not know where I am going to be in July and August precisely, then I cannot book, and it will be too late for decent prices!)






Last thursday, two days after the snow episode, it was cold, but bearable.
Still, the place was quite empty and dreary.
The gate was part of the scenery and the covered seats looked like the ghosts of the last viewers. Even the pigeons were dead silent in the cold air. This is real winter and it is going to be even fiercer with a sheer drop in temperatures tomorrow.
My surroundings have been icy for some days now, and the snow is not melting easily.
The arm chair in my neighbour's yard is not so welcoming...

It is time to leave the empty and noiseless Place de l'Archevêché.
Soon Mozart will fill this emptiness with Le Nozze.
I feel like crying with Barberina... but not for the same reasons...
The Festival 2012 LINK.