Sunday in front of my telly.......

Because it is too sunny and scorching hot at some hours, sitting indoors, in my old walls which keep a nice and cool temperature, makes me spend more time in front of the telly.
The Arte broadcast from Salzburg Festival showing rehearsals of Boheme and Ariadne auf Naxos were smashing this afternoon ! I was pleased to see the sights I discovered at the end of August last year when I stayed there.
But I really rejoiced and laughed when It came to Trashy Mimi who no doubt will die of overdose and vomiting this time instead of coughing to death with old-fashioned TB. Anna Netrebko in Trashy Mimi is quite amazing, she could have a piercing to make it more real! (I noticed a beautiful tattoo on the left side of her neck, yes, it's in this summer on opera stages!!!)
But what I enjoyed most is her cardigan.
She buttoned 'monday to tuesday' (French expression: elle a boutonné le lundi au mardi) and that is just so good... Luckily I will be able to follow this Boheme new look from Salzburg on August 2nd on ZDF 22.15pm! The singing is grand from both Anna N and Piort B , judging by the extracts.
Jonas Kaufmann seemed also fantastic, but more conventional in his way!

Blue.

July 2012
Back home.
Seas and skyes all around are blue, definitely blue and Mistral has been blowing around quite a lot too.
We went to the coast, Marseille and the islands, If, Pomègues...
Music is waiting because time in Summer does not allow much listening, thinking. Writing, even this type of easy writing, takes time.
The place for music I would like to be now is the
Albert Hall. It is easy to keep in touch through Eyes .
And while checking all I missed, I came across this long musical love poem.
Back to the Seas again.

This link gives the complete poem and music, Delius, W. Whitman and Bryn Terfel's deeply moving rendition.

June 2012

It was almost spent in China: mainly in Shanghai and also Suzhou.
Probably because I stayed on the campus of a famous University, Tongji University, my favourite photo (from the huge quantity I brought back), is the one of this young friend who is watching ducks on Taihu Lake.
On the back of his T-shirt, there is a famous quotation from Chairman Mao Zedong.

"Study day by day and you will be getting up and up".
My young friend, who is already a good pianist, is putting this motto into practice, like lots and lots of children and youngsters in China.
After a Degree Ceremony at Tongji students take a break. Their british looking gowns are a bit shorter here.