Latest news with #BelCanto
Malaysian Reserve
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malaysian Reserve
A night at the Geneva opera — that is a literal snoozefest
by AGNÈS PEDRERO IN MOST places, a night at the opera conjures up images of polite audiences in eveningwear sitting upright to enjoy a bit of Bel Canto. In Geneva, though, once a year the crowd includes children, the eveningwear is pyjamas and socks — and the seats are scoped out for how comfortable they are to sleep in. Welcome to Sleepover in the city's 19th-century opera house, when it opens its doors to a small number of enthusiasts. From 8pm they wander its fresco-covered foyers, listen to performed music…and spend the night dozing in an auditorium lit up like a starry night. 'It's pretty crazy,' said law professor Carine Lutz, as a friend next to her rolled out a sleeping bag at the foot of the stage. They were among 180 people who rushed in with suitcases and shopping bags stuffed with quilts to stake out a nocturnal niche in the Grand Theatre. Among them were many families with children, who marvelled at the giant mirrors with gilded frames, the angels and nymphs painted above, and, of course, some music. 'I think purists might find it difficult to imagine that one could sleep here, on the same stage where major operas are usually performed,' Lutz told AFP. Grand Theatre dramaturge Clara Pons explained that the unusual offering was designed 'to open up spaces to things you don't usually do there, like for instance running around in your pyjamas,' rather than in ultra-formal attire. 'We feel closer to people than when we're all sitting in the 1,500-seat auditorium,' she said. Rush to the Balconies The connoisseurs know to flock to the balconies and the auditorium's red velvet armchairs, considered the most comfortable places to spend the night. Adrien Mangili was relishing the experience for the third time with family and friends. 'You have to come early to get a dressing room, to be able to sleep and have a little privacy,' he said, as his seven-year-old daughter Phedre enthusiastically pulled on pyjamas. If you get a good spot, 'it is easier for the kids to fall asleep,' he said. Before turning in, the children and adults spend hours exploring the darkened opera house, guided by ushers holding fluorescent rods. Their strolls were punctuated by musical interludes performed by a Baroque music ensemble called 'The Argonauts'. 'It's soothing, but it doesn't put you to sleep,' said Heloise Garcia, a 20-year-old student stretched out on the main stage. Those unable to secure a box rolled out their sleeping backs in corridors, foyers and on the floor of the auditorium, under a ceiling spotted with a thousand pinholes of light in the shape of the Milky Way. Carolina Marques Lopes, a lawyer, showed off a yellow dog soft toy she brought along. 'This is in case the Phantom comes to visit,' she joked. Stefanie Neves, captivated by the main foyer with its frescoes and paintings, said: 'We brought inflatable queen-size beds.' She and her friends wanted 'to be able to fully enjoy the music and still get a few hours of sleep,' she explained. Before lying down, Neves looked up at an overhead imposing chandelier and pushed her mattress farther away, just in case. Chopin to Pink Floyd Later that night, she and others dozed as an Italian pianist and performer, Marino Formenti, played piece after piece, at whim. 'I decided not to impose a programme, but to bring a number of very different compositions that I like to play, from Baroque to Chopin, to rock music, Pink Floyd, the Beatles,' he told AFP. Near the piano, a young couple danced, entwined, one barefoot and the other in socks, as a woman and child wearing matching panda pyjamas wandered past. Nicolas Wisard, stretched out on his mat, savoured the view. 'It's almost as good as Versailles, the Palace of Mirrors,' he said. As dawn ticked closer, snoring filled the Great Hall's acoustics, while a silent black and white movie played on a giant screen. 'It was really cool,' said Megan Bonfils as she groggily woke to music. 'Being with the artists and in this incredible place…in socks.' — AFP This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition
Al Etihad
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Jessica Pratt and Javier Camarena perform opera gala at Abu Dhabi Festival
17 Apr 2025 23:49 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)The Abu Dhabi Festival has presented some world-class acts this year and this weekend is no the Red Theater at NYUAD's Art Center on Saadiyat Island, this Sunday, April 20, at 7.30pm, star soprano Jessica Pratt and top tenor Javier Camarena bring their artistry to a thrilling opera gala with the Korean National University of Arts Symphony Orchestra conducted by Toufic Maatouk. Hailed by the New York Times as possessing "gleaming sound, free and easy high notes, agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace", British-born Pratt is one of today's most admired interpreters of the Bel Canto repertoire. Mexican Opera star Camarena was recognised as Male Singer of the Year by the International Opera Awards in 2021and has made a name for himself in operas by Puccini, Bellini, Donizetti and Mozart. Together, they will perform arias and duets from Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Mascagni, Massenet and Verdi. Maatouk has earned global recognition for leading ensembles around the world and has been praised for his insightful direction and consummate command of the orchestra.
Jordan Times
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Jordan Times
A night at the Geneva opera -- that is a literal snoozefest
GENEVA — In most places, a night at the opera conjures up images of polite audiences in eveningwear sitting upright to enjoy a bit of Bel Canto. In Geneva, though, once a year the crowd includes children, the eveningwear is pyjamas and socks -- and the seats are scoped out for how comfortable they are to sleep in. Welcome to Sleepover in the city's 19th-century opera house, when it opens its doors to a small number of enthusiasts. From 8 pm they wander its fresco-covered foyers, listen to performed music... and spend the night dozing in an auditorium lit up like a starry night. "It's pretty crazy," said law professor Carine Lutz, as a friend next to her rolled out a sleeping bag at the foot of the stage. They were among 180 people who rushed in with suitcases and shopping bags stuffed with quilts to stake out a nocturnal niche in the Grand Theatre. Among them were many families with children, who marvelled at the giant mirrors with gilded frames, the angels and nymphs painted above, and, of course, some music. "I think purists might find it difficult to imagine that one could sleep here, on the same stage where major operas are usually performed," Lutz told AFP. Grand Theatre dramaturge Clara Pons explained that the unusual offering was designed "to open up spaces to things you don't usually do there, like for instance running around in your pyjamas", rather than in ultra-formal attire. "We feel closer to people than when we're all sitting in the 1,500-seat auditorium," she said. Rush to the balconies The connoisseurs know to flock to the balconies and the auditorium's red velvet armchairs, considered the most comfortable places to spend the night. Adrien Mangili was relishing the experience for the third time with family and friends. "You have to come early to get a dressing room, to be able to sleep and have a little privacy," he said, as his seven-year-old daughter Phedre enthusiastically pulled on pyjamas. If you get a good spot, "it is easier for the kids to fall asleep," he said. Before turning in, the children and adults spend hours exploring the darkened opera house, guided by ushers holding fluorescent rods. Their strolls were punctuated by musical interludes performed by a Baroque music ensemble called "The Argonauts". "It's soothing, but it doesn't put you to sleep," said Heloise Garcia, a 20-year-old student stretched out on the main stage. Those unable to secure a box rolled out their sleeping backs in corridors, foyers and on the floor of the auditorium, under a ceiling spotted with a thousand pinholes of light in the shape of the Milky Way. Carolina Marques Lopes, a lawyer, showed off a yellow dog soft toy she brought along. "This is in case the Phantom comes to visit," she joked. Stefanie Neves, captivated by the main foyer with its frescoes and paintings, said: "We brought inflatable queen-size beds." She and her friends wanted "to be able to fully enjoy the music and still get a few hours of sleep," she explained. Before lying down, Neves looked up at an overhead imposing chandelier and pushed her mattress farther away, just in case. Chopin to Pink Floyd Later that night, she and others dozed as an Italian pianist and performer, Marino Formenti, played piece after piece, at whim. "I decided not to impose a programme, but to bring a number of very different compositions that I like to play, from Baroque to Chopin, to rock music, Pink Floyd, the Beatles," he told AFP. Near the piano, a young couple danced, entwined, one barefoot and the other in socks, as a woman and child wearing matching panda pyjamas wandered past. Nicolas Wisard, stretched out on his mat, savoured the view. "It's almost as good as Versailles, the Palace of Mirrors," he said As dawn ticked closer, snoring filled the Great Hall's acoustics, while a silent black and white movie played on a giant screen. "It was really cool," said Megan Bonfils as she groggily woke to music. "Being with the artists and in this incredible place... in socks."
Gulf Today
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
A night at the Geneva opera — that is a literal snoozefest
In most places, a night at the opera conjures up images of polite audiences in eveningwear sitting upright to enjoy a bit of Bel Canto. In Geneva, though, once a year the crowd includes children, the eveningwear is pyjamas and socks — and the seats are scoped out for how comfortable they are to sleep in. Welcome to Sleepover in the city's 19th-century opera house, when it opens its doors to a small number of enthusiasts. From 8 pm they wander its fresco-covered foyers, listen to performed music... and spend the night dozing in an auditorium lit up like a starry night. 'It's pretty crazy,' said law professor Carine Lutz, as a friend next to her rolled out a sleeping bag at the foot of the stage. They were among 180 people who rushed in with suitcases and shopping bags stuffed with quilts to stake out a nocturnal niche in the Grand Theatre. Among them were many families with children, who marvelled at the giant mirrors with gilded frames, the angels and nymphs painted above, and, of course, some music. 'I think purists might find it difficult to imagine that one could sleep here, on the same stage where major operas are usually performed,' Lutz said. Grand Theatre dramaturge Clara Pons explained that the unusual offering was designed 'to open up spaces to things you don't usually do there, like for instance running around in your pyjamas,' rather than in ultra-formal attire. 'We feel closer to people than when we're all sitting in the 1,500-seat auditorium,' she said. The connoisseurs know to flock to the balconies and the auditorium's red velvet armchairs, considered the most comfortable places to spend the night. Adrien Mangili was relishing the experience for the third time with family and friends. 'You have to come early to get a dressing room, to be able to sleep and have a little privacy,' he said, as his seven-year-old daughter Phedre enthusiastically pulled on pyjamas. If you get a good spot, 'it is easier for the kids to fall asleep,' he said. Before turning in, the children and adults spend hours exploring the darkened opera house, guided by ushers holding fluorescent rods. Their strolls were punctuated by musical interludes performed by a Baroque music ensemble called 'The Argonauts'. 'It's soothing, but it doesn't put you to sleep,' said Heloise Garcia, a 20-year-old student stretched out on the main stage. Those unable to secure a box rolled out their sleeping backs in corridors, foyers and on the floor of the auditorium, under a ceiling spotted with a thousand pinholes of light in the shape of the Milky Way. Carolina Marques Lopes, a lawyer, showed off a yellow dog soft toy she brought along. 'This is in case the Phantom comes to visit,' she joked. Stefanie Neves, captivated by the main foyer with its frescoes and paintings, said: 'We brought inflatable queen-size beds.' She and her friends wanted 'to be able to fully enjoy the music and still get a few hours of sleep,' she explained. Before lying down, Neves looked up at an overhead imposing chandelier and pushed her mattress farther away, just in case. Later that night, she and others dozed as an Italian pianist and performer, Marino Formenti, played piece after piece, at whim. 'I decided not to impose a programme, but to bring a number of very different compositions that I like to play, from Baroque to Chopin, to rock music, Pink Floyd, the Beatles,' he told AFP. Near the piano, a young couple danced, entwined, one barefoot and the other in socks, as a woman and child wearing matching panda pyjamas wandered past. Nicolas Wisard, stretched out on his mat, savoured the view. 'It's almost as good as Versailles, the Palace of Mirrors,' he said. As dawn ticked closer, snoring filled the Great Hall's acoustics, while a silent black and white movie played on a giant screen. 'It was really cool,' said Megan Bonfils as she groggily woke to music. 'Being with the artists and in this incredible place... in socks.' Agence France-Presse
BBC News
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'In my novels, there is more kindness than you might see in other books': Author Ann Patchett on writing amid chaos
In the latest episode of Influential, US writer Ann Patchett shares how seeing kindness around her influences the way she approaches her characters. The world needs "life-changing books", Ann Patchett once wrote in an essay in The New York Times. She wasn't referring to her own works, yet admirers of the best-selling US author would argue that this is exactly what she has achieved, with acclaimed novels including Bel Canto, and the Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted The Dutch House, along with her award-winning 2005 memoir, Truth and Beauty: A Friendship. Patchett, who cites John Updike and Roxane Gay as influences on her deep body of work, brushes off praise. Reflecting on her books, she says that it took her years to finally feel like she was a successful writer, even when The New York Times included the prize-winning 2001 novel Bel Canto in its best books of the 21st Century list. "I just didn't think you could make art and be successful," she tells the BBC's Katty Kay. They sat down at Parnassus Books, the bookshop Patchett she opened in 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee, a city which is also the setting for her 1992 novel The Patron Saint of Liars and her 2013 memoir-fiction hybrid, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. "[It] never occurred to me." Some may see an author opening a bookshop as self-serving, but Patchett explains that she approached it like a civic duty. She didn't want to live in a city without one, and after she saw her local bookshops shutting, she co-founded her own. "It wasn't that I wanted to open a bookstore – I really fell into it backwards," she says. "It's been a wonderful thing. It's been a huge joy." Patchett rose to prominence in the world of fiction, crafting stories that brought together unexpected situations, and even more unexpected characters. Take, for instance, the home for unwed mothers in The Patron Saint of Liars or the depths of the Amazon rainforest in 2011's State of Wonder. She describes the scenarios in her books as "people in confinement", even though the stories span everything from events on a meditation retreat to hostage situations – and her own memoirs. "The setting is the fun," she says of that commonality, though she's quick to point out that there's always something deeper going on. Readers have been transported to Alpine peaks, the jungles of South America, the cities of Los Angeles and Chicago – but Patchett points out that within those far-flung places, it's first and foremost the characters that she hopes fans connect with. "The setting is the frosting, but it is always the relationships." More like this: • Misty Copeland is 'not scared' to face a career beyond dance • Ina Garten on her internet appeal: 'Young people don't have mom in the kitchen' • Entrepreneur Jane Wurwand on why 'high-touch will overshadow high-tech' in business Patchett has said before she doesn't watch television and that she has resisted the siren song of social media. "I am very interested in protecting my brain and not just being constantly interrupted," she tells Kay. She uses a flip phone, she doesn't remember her number and she avoids both smartphones and social media. "I've never texted. That seems like a really bad idea. I don't want people to be able to get me all the time." She may not participate, but she is aware of the digital world – and it does make its way into her work. When Kay asks her how she captures readers' attention when they all have feeds to scroll, Patchett doesn't see this as an issue. "There are always going to be people who want to read," she says. "There isn't one truth about the way people are, how they get their entertainment, how they get their education." Reflecting on the characters in her books, Patchett explains that she is more drawn to kindness than anything else. When she looks at everything happening around her, she doesn't just see chaos and doom. "In my novels, there probably is more kindness than you might see in other books, but not more kindness than you might see in your daily life," she says. When Commonwealth, her seventh novel, was published in 2016, she spoke to fellow writer Zadie Smith, who offered an insight that Patchett had never considered. "'Autobiographical fiction isn't what has happened to us. It's what we're afraid of happening. It's what we fixate on and think about and worry about,'" Patchett recalls Smith saying. "In that moment, I thought, what am I afraid of? Who am I afraid of being? What do I think about all the time?" Addressing those questions head-on has allowed Patchett to craft characters that have resonated with readers. She says that her fans bring her first-edition hardcover copies of Bel Canto at festivals (she's quick to remind everyone that every hardcover of Bel Canto is a first edition), and tell her that she's managed to create something very special with every book. As ever, she downplays such praise. "I do it because I love to do it, I don't feel any pressure," she says. "If I never wrote a book again, the world would keep going just fine." Influential with Katty Kay airs on Fridays at 21:30 ET on the BBC News channel. -- For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
