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We went to see Turandot at Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre.
I love Mozart operas, but I have to say I'm less of a fan of this era of music.
However, they say you should try anything once except incest and Morris Dancing, so we went, and I really enjoyed it.
Do google the story of Turandot, it is horrific!
Puccini was a misogynist, and this tale of a foul spoilt bitch and the selfish b.....d who finally wins her really appealed to him. I've never seen so many severed heads paraded in one evening!
It was beautifully presented, and apart from a moments crisis when the super-titles were briefly hung too high for us to read in the balcony, a good time was had by all!
The Pavilion theatre is a listed building so there is no air conditioning apart from opening windows in the interval! luckily there was a decent breeze.
This is the opera that has the tenor aria 'Nessum dorma' in it. Always fouled in my mind because of its associations with Pavarotti/football/mindless violence/litter.....weird and amazing what the mind does!
Still, at least I at last know why 'none shall sleep'!
The original size of this file is huge if you wish to look closer.
The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheatre in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind.
The building itself was built in AD 30 on a site which was then beyond the city walls. The ludii (shows and games) staged there were so famous that spectators came from many other places, often far away, to witness them. The amphitheatre could host more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times.
The round façade of the building was originally composed of white and pink limestone from Valpolicella; but after a major earthquake in 1117, which almost completely destroyed the structure's outer ring, except for the so-called "ala", the stone was quarried for re-use in other buildings.
The first interventions to recover the arena's function as a theatre began during the Renaissance. Some operatic performances were later mounted in the building during the 1850s, owing to its outstanding acoustics.
In 1913, operatic performances in the arena commenced in earnest due to the zeal and initiative of the great Italian opera tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato. The first 20th-century operatic production at the arena, a staging of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, took place on 10 August of that year, to mark the birth af Verdi a 100 years before in 1813. Musical luminaries such as Puccini and Mascagni were in attendance. Since then, summer seasons of opera have been mounted continually at the arena, except in 1915-18 and 1940-45, when Europe was convulsed in war.
Nowadays, four productions are mounted each year between June and August. During the winter months, the local opera and ballet companies perform at the L'Accademia Filarmonica.
Modern-day travellers are advised that admission tickets to sit on the arena's stone steps are much cheaper to buy than tickets giving access to the padded chairs available on lower levels. Candles are distributed to the audience and lit after sunset around the arena.
Every year over 500,000 people see spectacular productions of the popular operas in this arena. Once capable of housing 20,000 patrons per performance (now limited to 15,000 because of safety reasons), the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers. In the post-World War Two era, they have included included Giuseppe Di Stefano, Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi and Renata Tebaldi among other celebrated names. A number of famous conductors have appeared there, too. The official arena shop has historical recordings made by some of them available for sale.
In recent times, the Verona Arena has also housed concerts of popular music bands such as The Who, Ennio Morricone, Kiss, Simply Red, Simple Minds, Pearl Jam, Muse, Elton John, Tina Turner and Björk.
Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radamès is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, although he does not return her feelings.
The opera is in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. Aida was first performed at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo on 24 December 1871, conducted by Giovanni Bottesini.
Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, commissioned Verdi to write the opera for performance in January 1871, paying him 150,000 francs, but the premiere was delayed because of the Franco-Prussian War. Contrary to popular belief, the opera was not written to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, nor that of the Khedivial Opera House (which opened with Verdi's Rigoletto) in the same year. Verdi had been asked to compose an ode for the opening of the Canal, but declined on the grounds that he did not write "occasional pieces".
The Postcard
A postally unused postcard that has a divided back.
The Hungarian State Opera House
The Hungarian State Opera House is a neo-Renaissance opera house located in central Budapest, on Andrássy út. Originally known as the Hungarian Royal Opera House, it was designed by Miklós Ybl, a major figure in 19th.-century Hungarian architecture.
Construction began in 1875, funded by the city of Budapest and by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, and the new house opened to the public on the 27th. September 1884.
Before the closure of the "Népszínház" in Budapest, it was the third largest opera building in the city; today it is the second largest opera house in Budapest and in Hungary.
Today, the opera house is home to the Budapest Opera Ball, a society event dating back to 1886.
Many important artists performed here including the composer Gustav Mahler, who was music director in Budapest from 1888 to 1891 and Otto Klemperer, who was music director for three years from 1947 to 1950.
In the 1970's the condition of the building prompted the Hungarian State to order a major renovation which eventually began in 1980 and lasted till 1984. The reopening was held exactly 100 years after the original opening, on the 27th. September 1984.
It is a richly decorated building, and is considered one of the architect's masterpieces. It was built in neo-Renaissance style, with elements of Baroque.
Ornamentation includes paintings and sculptures by leading Hungarian artists. Although in size and capacity it is not among the largest, in beauty and the quality of acoustics the Budapest Opera House is considered to be amongst the finest opera houses in the world.
The auditorium holds 1,261 people. It is horseshoe-shaped and, according to measurements done in the 1970's by a group of international engineers – it has the third best acoustics in Europe after La Scala in Milan and the Palais Garnier in Paris.
Each year the season lasts from September to the end of June and, in addition to opera performances, the House is home to the Hungarian National Ballet.
Architecture of the Opera House
The decoration of the symmetrical façade follows a musical theme. In niches on either side of the main entrance there are figures of two of Hungary's most prominent composers, Ferenc Erkel and Franz Liszt.
The foyer has marble columns, and the vaulted ceiling is covered in murals which depict the nine Muses.
Wrought-iron lamps illuminate the wide stone staircase and the main entrance. Going to the opera was a great social occasion in the 19th. century, and a vast, sweeping staircase was an important element of the opera house as it allowed ladies to show off their new gowns.
The main hall is decorated with a bronze chandelier weighing 3050 kg. (Equivalent to 3 Fiat 500's). It illuminates a fresco depicting the Greek gods on Olympus.
The central stage proscenium arch employed the most modern technology of the time. It featured a revolving stage and metal hydraulic machinery.
The royal box is located centrally in the three-storey circle. It is decorated with sculptures symbolizing the four operatic voices - soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
Chris Mirto, assistant professor of opera theater, and guest artists work with conservatory students on a newly commissioned opera, as it is being written. The performance will be staged during Winter Term 2023, followed by an off-campus presentation.
Photo by Jonathan Clark '25
A sample of some of the work design work and childrens responses around a variety of opera projects.
"The Play Mirrors Life" are the famous words outside one of the best theatres in Manchester - The Manchester Opera House.
Image released under Creative Commons Attribution. If you use this image, please credit www.dancewearcentral.co.uk
What better after a hard day's tourism than a night at the Varna Opera? We were forced to buy student tickets. It was Rigoletto, more or less. It was "la donna e mobile" as sung by Latka from 'Taxi'. We loved it.
Basically I'm trying to decide whether or not I should buy Silver Efex Pro. I hate stuff that looks too obviously "processed" and I'm thinking that the image looks a bit abused here. More my fault than SEP's fault, no doubt.
6/03/2020.- El rector de la UVa, Antonio Largo Cabrerizo asistió a una de las representaciones del Proyecto Opera en el Auditorio de la Feria de la Valladolid.
Three stitches of a close up of the Sydney Opera House on a cool winter's morning.
I used a 70-200mm 2.8 Nikkor that I rented. It's a great lens and this size doesn't do it justice but there's so much detail in the tiles on the roof that I'd never noticed before!
Peking opera or Beijing opera (simplified Chinese: 京剧; traditional Chinese: 京劇; pinyin: Jīngjù) is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century.[1] The form was extremely popular in the Qing dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.[2] Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south.[3] The art form is also preserved in Taiwan (Republic of China), where it is known as Guójù (traditional Chinese: 國劇; simplified Chinese: 国剧; literally: "National theatre"). It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.
京劇又稱京戲，在台灣又稱平劇、國劇，是中國戲曲曲種之一。分布地以北京為中心，遍布全國。京劇是十九世紀中期，融合了徽劇和漢劇，並吸收了秦腔、崑曲、梆子、弋陽腔等藝術的優點，在北京形成的。京劇形成後在清朝宮廷內得到了空前的繁榮。京劇的腔調以西皮和二黃為主，主要用胡琴和鑼鼓等伴奏，被視為中國國粹。
京劇於2010年，獲選進入人類非物質文化遺產代表作名錄。