How quickly they grow . . .
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Opéra de Compiègne
On January 31st, Maggie and I headed out of the city with my piano accompanist and friend, Dominique, who had invited us to go to the Opéra de Compiègne with him. Compiègne is a city of around 40,000 an hour to the northeast of Paris and boasts a fine château and forest, both of which have some historical importance (armistices ending WWI and ending the German invasion of France during WWII were signed in the forest). Napoleon III liked the château enough to tack on a sizable opera house in the mid-19th century, which became the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne. It was there that we were to see a two-part production: Le Gendarme Incompris (1920), a play by Jean Cocteau and Raymond Radiguet with incidental music and songs by Francis Poulenc; and Les Mamelles de Tiresias, an opera bouffa by Poulenc based on Guillaume d'Apollinaire's 1903 play. This was a great pre-birthday present, since my dissertation focuses on all these early-20th-century artists, and since Poulenc is one of my favorite composers.
We had a hard time understanding Le Gendarme Incompris, what with the cross-dressing, affected Italian accents, and the lack of sub- or surtitles. In fact, I fell asleep partway through (I'm terrible!) and totally missed the following scene, which included one of Poulenc's songs. (This clip is from a 2009 production in Toulon.)
We still couldn't tell you exactly what Le Gendarme incompris is about, but c'est pas grave (it's no big deal), because Dominique couldn't explain it to us afterwards either.
On the other hand, I already knew Les Mamelles de Tirésias from reading about Poulenc, and from a recording I have. The basic premise of this so-called Surrealist work ("so-called" because it was written before the advent of Surrealism, and because there's no such thing as Surrealist music) is that Thérèse, a normally submissive housewife, rebels against femininity and spontaneously changes sex (her breasts turn into balloons and float away), not only leaving her husband to fend for himself, but becoming a famous general (Tiresias) who leads a successful campaign against childbirth. Her husband, put off by the whole affair and fearful for the future of the country, figures out a way to have children by himself, and manages to (re)produce 40,049 in a single day. At the end Thérèse/Tirésias comes back, repents of her errant ways, and joins the husband and the rest of the cast in singing the praises (literally) of childbearing. The last line of the opera, repeated over and over again in blatant symbolism, urges the French to make as many babies as possible. This was relevant during WWI (when Apollinaire's play was first performed), after WWII (when Poulenc's opera was premiered), and today (when European birthrates are dropping precipitously).
It's a great piece, with lots of catchy tunes and clever orchestration. For a post-war opera, it might be considered a little reactionary (it's a crowd-pleaser), but it's also typical Poulenc, which is what I like about it. For a snippet of the opera, I first offer Poulenc himself accompanying Denise Duval, who created the role of Thérèse/Tirésias in 1947, in a concert version of the beginning of the work. The second clip gives a glimpse of staging, costumes, and the silliness of it all (especially from 1:00 in), from a 2007 Prague State Opera production.
It's delicious stuff, and of course it's best savored live. Afterwards, thanks to Dominique's connections we were able to go backstage, meet the performers, and even go to the cast party! We truly live charmed lives here.
(Thanks to the Compiège Tourism Office for this shot of the Théatre Impérial.)
We still couldn't tell you exactly what Le Gendarme incompris is about, but c'est pas grave (it's no big deal), because Dominique couldn't explain it to us afterwards either.
On the other hand, I already knew Les Mamelles de Tirésias from reading about Poulenc, and from a recording I have. The basic premise of this so-called Surrealist work ("so-called" because it was written before the advent of Surrealism, and because there's no such thing as Surrealist music) is that Thérèse, a normally submissive housewife, rebels against femininity and spontaneously changes sex (her breasts turn into balloons and float away), not only leaving her husband to fend for himself, but becoming a famous general (Tiresias) who leads a successful campaign against childbirth. Her husband, put off by the whole affair and fearful for the future of the country, figures out a way to have children by himself, and manages to (re)produce 40,049 in a single day. At the end Thérèse/Tirésias comes back, repents of her errant ways, and joins the husband and the rest of the cast in singing the praises (literally) of childbearing. The last line of the opera, repeated over and over again in blatant symbolism, urges the French to make as many babies as possible. This was relevant during WWI (when Apollinaire's play was first performed), after WWII (when Poulenc's opera was premiered), and today (when European birthrates are dropping precipitously).
It's a great piece, with lots of catchy tunes and clever orchestration. For a post-war opera, it might be considered a little reactionary (it's a crowd-pleaser), but it's also typical Poulenc, which is what I like about it. For a snippet of the opera, I first offer Poulenc himself accompanying Denise Duval, who created the role of Thérèse/Tirésias in 1947, in a concert version of the beginning of the work. The second clip gives a glimpse of staging, costumes, and the silliness of it all (especially from 1:00 in), from a 2007 Prague State Opera production.
It's delicious stuff, and of course it's best savored live. Afterwards, thanks to Dominique's connections we were able to go backstage, meet the performers, and even go to the cast party! We truly live charmed lives here.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Happy Birthday Louis!
Today is Louis's birthday! Yay!
It is also the start of our 6th month in Paris. Wow!
We've been really busy lately celebrating Louis's birthday, so you'll have to wait until all the festivities are finally over to hear all about it. We have just enough time to post this photo and ask you to guess where it was taken. Hint: we're NOT in a train station.
It is also the start of our 6th month in Paris. Wow!
We've been really busy lately celebrating Louis's birthday, so you'll have to wait until all the festivities are finally over to hear all about it. We have just enough time to post this photo and ask you to guess where it was taken. Hint: we're NOT in a train station.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Monopoly
For my birthday this year, my ever-so-thoughtful sister gave me a gift certificate to Amazon.fr - the French version of Amazon.com. This gift was perfect. I waited a few weeks (ok, over a month) before I used the certificate because I wanted to see what we would end up needing/wanting the most here in Paris. I considered several options: a milk foamer/steamer, a new toy for Panda, or perhaps some new jewelry? In the end, I chose something that I think will be useful in the coming months (when we have visitors) as well as when we return to Somerville (and miss Paris). Yesterday, Louis and I christened the brand-new Monopoly game that was purchased from Amazon.fr! (While it is not exactly a "Paris" version of Monopoly, all the properties are named after streets in Paris. Look carefully and you'll see the Boulevard de Belleville card!)
THANKS, EDEN!
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