Artist: Little Tony
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
Se io fossi nato in Texas
Year:
Tracks: 11
Friday 27 June 2008
Monday 23 June 2008
Swedish Erotica
Artist: Swedish Erotica
Genre(s):
Rock: Hard-Rock
Rock
Discography:
Too Daze Gone...
Year: 2005
Tracks: 16
Swedish Erotica
Year: 1989
Tracks: 12
Wednesday 18 June 2008
Bush - The Things They Say 8553
"Consideration, respect, monogamy, openness, good communication, and to know my place!" Former BUSH frontman GAVIN ROSSDALE reveals the secret to his five-year marriage to GWEN STEFANI.
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Monday 16 June 2008
George Hall on Gounod, the 19th-century French Opera master
Before Bizet's Carmen, the world's most popular opera was Gounod's Faust, a cure for all box-office ills almost from the moment of its Parisian premiere in 1859. Not far behind in popularity was another work by the 19th-century French master, his Roméo et Juliette, first staged in 1867. But fashions change, and Charles
Gounod's operas, along with much of the French 19th-century repertory, lapsed from the international stage, virtually disappearing in the postwar era. Recently, though, Faust has regained some of its momentum, so too has Roméo, which makes its belated debut at the Salzburg Festival this summer and is part of Opera North's current Shakespeare season.
Whatever criticisms have been made of Faust over the years, no one has ever doubted Gounod's theatrical gifts, and in some respects Romeo and Juliet was a subject even better suited to them than Goethe's poetic drama. Gounod's strengths were best realised in scenes of intimacy. Though Faust has its share of noisy razzmatazz, it is in the nocturnal garden scene, in which Faust seduces Marguerite to music of fragrant delicacy, that Gounod's score reaches its highest point. In Roméo, Gounod was able to capitalise on these more subtle aspects of operatic writing in a work that concentrated on love at its most innocently romantic.
Gounod's librettists, Barbier and Carré, made a good job of refashioning Shakespeare's play for the opera stage, starting off with a lively ball scene and finding room for high drama in the duels. But they also included an unprecedented number of love duets - four in all - charting the trajectory of Romeo and Juliet's relationship from the exploratory formality of their first meeting, set as a deliberately old-fashioned madrigal, to the passionate re-engagement and then dying fall in the tomb scene.
In his days as a music critic, George Bernard Shaw could be caustic about Gounod - especially his lengthy oratorios - but he found much of his operatic music "irresistibly charming". It's a description that could be applied to Gounod himself. Born in Paris in 1818, the son of a painter and a pianist, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the prestigious Prix de Rome prize that allowed high-flying students a year in Italy to broaden their minds and imbibe art. In Gounod's case this involved enthusiastic exposure to the church music of Palestrina, and to the sermons of a Dominican preacher. A career as a priest briefly beckoned: he studied at a seminary while composing the first of his many religious works. But there were other temptations, notably the theatre and women. His first opera came about through the encouragement of Pauline Viardot, the younger sister of the legendary mezzo soprano Maria Malibran and herself an electrifying operatic actress (Dickens considered her command of the stage unsurpassed). She had the power to arrange a commission for an unknown composer at the elevated Paris Opéra, and duly starred in Gounod's Sapho - loosely based on the subject of the poet of Lesbos, though with any lesbian tendencies expunged - in both Paris and London in 1851. It was a critical rather than commercial success, but Gounod was nevertheless launched in high style.
It was Faust that pushed him into the front rank of opera composers, a position confirmed eight years later by Roméo et Juliette. His career was going splendidly when the Franco-Prussian war broke out - an event that indirectly led to the most bizarre episode of his life, which centred on his attachment to an extraordinary Englishwoman called Georgina Weldon. In 1852 Gounod had married Anna Zimmermann, the daughter of his piano teacher at the Paris Conservatoire. It seems unlikely that it was a happy marriage, and he later admitted to a number of affairs.
But it was as an apparently dutiful husband and father that in 1871 Gounod sought refuge for himself and his family in London from the horrors of the Siege of Paris. There, at a musical evening, he met Weldon, an ambitious amateur singer, 19 years his junior and also married. Their mutual attraction was instantaneous. When he heard her sing, he burst into tears and decided she must create a central role in his next opera, Polyeucte. Georgina - whose vocal career scarcely existed - was equally thrilled at having captured the attention of one of the most famous composers of the day.
As Gounod's fascination with Georgina grew, he decided on a radical step. Arriving at the Weldons' home in Tavistock Square one day in May 1872, he announced that he could no longer live with his wife. Within a few days, Mme Gounod had returned to Paris and Gounod had moved in with the Weldons. He would remain with them for three years, causing a scandal in both Paris and London.
When he launched a new choral society at the recently opened Royal Albert Hall, it was Georgina who sang the solo part in his cantata Gallia, lamenting the recent sufferings of France, and repeated it when he took the work to Paris. But the performances of Gallia were the high point of Georgina's vocal career. Few others were impressed by her, and when her relationship with Gounod ended there were few offers of vocal engagements. He, on the other hand, spent his time at her home quite profitably, writing incidental music for a Parisian production of Jeanne d'Arc and working on his vast oratorio The Redemption. But his relationship with Georgina was bumpy, and her advice often spectacularly bad. She persuaded Gounod not to accept the highly prestigious post of director of the Paris Conservatoire. Worse, dissatisfied with the level of payment from his English publisher, Novello, the two of them concocted a series of articles in which Gounod clearly libelled the firm. They sued, and he lost. He refused to pay up and prison threatened until his mother-in-law discharged the debt.
Whatever the nature of the appeal of the Weldon household, Gounod must have realised that his relationship with Georgina was destroying his career. After suffering a nervous collapse in 1874, he was escorted back to Paris by a doctor sent by his family to rescue him.
Georgina retaliated by holding on to the manuscript of Polyeucte, which Gounod was forced to rewrite from memory, and later sued him in the courts for expenses relating to his stay at her home, including £282 for having his works engraved, £140 for his board and lodging, and £48 for her participation in rehearsals. But the biggest item was a staggering £5,000 for "damages as compensation for the injury done by infamous calumnies, lies and libels". The total came close to £10,000, and she won. Gounod never paid it, effectively debarring himself from ever returning to England.
In Gounod's anodyne autobiography there is no mention of Georgina, though in her own various publications she has plenty to say about him. There would be no rapprochement, although after Gounod's death in 1893 Georgina, by then an ardent spiritualist, renewed communication with him through a medium, with gratifying results. In fact her relationship with the dead composer was probably better than it had ever been while he was alive, when it was anything but Romeo and Juliet.
· Roméo et Juliette is at the Lowry, Salford, tonight, and at New Victoria Theatre, Woking on June 17 and 20
See Also
Steve Roach / Kevin Braheny
Artist: Steve Roach / Kevin Braheny
Genre(s):
New Age
Discography:
Western Spaces
Year: 1987
Tracks: 7
Kate Beckinsale - Beckinsale Prefers Sex To Cooking
Jan Garbarek
Artist: Jan Garbarek
Genre(s):
Jazz
Other
Soundtrack
New Age
Avantgarde
Discography:
The Insider
Year: 1999
Tracks: 16
Rites
Year: 1999
Tracks: 16
Mnemosyne Vol.2
Year: 1999
Tracks: 10
Mnemosyne Vol.1
Year: 1999
Tracks: 10
Visible World
Year: 1996
Tracks: 15
Madar
Year: 1994
Tracks: 9
Ragas and Sagas
Year: 1992
Tracks: 5
Star
Year: 1991
Tracks: 8
I Took Up The Runes
Year: 1990
Tracks: 10
Rosensfole
Year: 1989
Tracks: 8
Nude Ants CD2
Year: 1988
Tracks: 6
Legend of the Seven Dreams
Year: 1988
Tracks: 9
All Those Born With Wings
Year: 1986
Tracks: 6
Vision
Year: 1984
Tracks: 5
It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice
Year: 1984
Tracks: 7
Paths, Prints
Year: 1982
Tracks: 8
Eventyr
Year: 1980
Tracks: 8
Eventyr
Year: 1980
Tracks: 8
Aftenland
Year: 1980
Tracks: 9
Places
Year: 1978
Tracks: 4
Photo With Blue Sky, White Cloud, Wires, Windows and A Red Roof
Year: 1978
Tracks: 6
Photo With
Year: 1978
Tracks: 6
Dis
Year: 1977
Tracks: 6
Dansere
Year: 1976
Tracks: 6
Triptykon
Year: 1973
Tracks: 7
Sart
Year: 1971
Tracks: 6
Witchi-Tai-To
Year:
Tracks: 5
Wayfarer
Year:
Tracks: 6
Twelve Moons
Year:
Tracks: 10
Rites CD2
Year:
Tracks: 9
Rites CD1
Year:
Tracks: 7
Rites Cd 1
Year:
Tracks: 7
Khan - Ragas and Sagas
Year:
Tracks: 5
Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek's icy musical note and liberal utilization of distance and long tones has farsighted been perfect for the ECM sound and, as a result, he is on many recordings for that mark, both as a leader and as a sideman. He had north Korean won a challenger for amateur malarky players second in 1962, stellar to his first gigs. Garbarek worked steadily in Norway passim the remainder of the 1960s, usually as a leader but besides for four-spot years with George Russell (world Health Organization was in Scandinavia for a long stretch). Garbarek began recording for ECM in the early '70s and, although he had opportunities to toy with Chick Corea and Don Cherry, his connection with Keith Jarrett's European quartet in the mid-'70s made him famous, resulting in the classic recordings My Song and Belonging. In the 1980s, Garbarek's groups included bassist Eberhard Weber and at various multiplication guitarists Bill Frisell and David Torn. Garbarek, whose sound is about unchanged since the 1970s, collaborated with the Hilliard Ensemble in 1993 (a vocal quartet telling Renaissance euphony) and the result was a astonishingly popular recording. Visible World followed in 1995, and little Joe years later on he resurfaced with Rites. In April of 1999, Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble returned with Mnemosyne.
Cover Story: Shiloh Can't Wait to be a Big Sis!
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have much to celebrate with the impending arrival of their twins and the recent success of Angie's film Kung Fu Panda at the box office. And no one is more excited than their youngest child, 2-year old Shiloh.
The toe-headed tot is finally coming around to accepting that she's going to be a big sister and friends say it's a big relief in the Jolie-Pitt household.
"It took her a while, but now she's as excited as the rest of the family," a Jolie-Pitt insider tells OK!. "She puts her hands on Angie's stomach to feel the twins kick and she jumps back and starts grinning!"
Little Shiloh is taking other baby steps as well. The 2-year-old has begun sleeping in a big-girl bed and is even almost potty trained.
"She's got her pull-up diapers and tells Mom and Dad when she has to go to the bathroom," a source tells OK!. "She's trying to get the hang of it all on her own � just like she did with walking."
For the entire scoop on how Shiloh is coping with being a big sister, pick up the new OK! � on newsstands everywhere Thursday!
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Jonas Brothers add more summer shows
Currently in the midst of a European roadtrip, pop-rockers the Jonas Brothers [ tickets ] continue filling the cracks in their ambitious North American tour schedule.Due to launch on the Fourth of July, the outing now includes a two-night stand in Anaheim, CA; a one-off engagement in Baltimore; a third night at New York City's Madison Square Garden; and September dates set in University Park, PA; Tampa; and West Palm Beach, FL.As previously reported, teen singer/songwriter Demi Lovato will tag along as the opening act during the run, which is set to visit more than 40 cities. The itinerary is included below.The group's jam-packed tour schedule will couch the Aug. 12 release of the siblings trio's third album, "A Little Bit Longer, which features leadoff single "Burnin' Up." The Jonas Brothers co-wrote all the new songs and recorded much of the album on the road in a specially outfitted Gibson tour bus. John Fields returns as executive producer.The new record follows the band's platinum-selling, self-titled sophomore set, which debuted last August at No. 5 on The Billboard 200. That album has spawned pop hits including "S.O.S.," "Hold On" and "When You Look Me in the Eyes." In addition to their musical pursuits, the Jonas Brothers--20-year-old Kevin, 18-year-old Joe, and 15-year-old Nick--also have several other projects on their plate. They star in the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie "Camp Rock," which premieres June 20, as well as the Disney Channel series "J.O.N.A.S!," set to debut this fall.Next year, the guys will head to the big screen for a Disney Digital 3-D flick capturing the "Burnin' Up" concert tour.
Capital Grille: Indulgence beckons in plush steakhouse
One wonders why, with 31 locations nationwide, The Capital Grille would venture into Seattle, a market already well-marbled with many fine steakhouses, from the homegrown variety — Metropolitan Grill, Daniel's Broiler and El Gaucho come to mind — to chains like Morton's and Ruth's Chris. Do we need The Capital Grille?
Or maybe that's akin to asking a woman with a closet full of shoes why she needs another pair.
Judging from the lunch and dinner crowds filling the plush dining room and mirrored bar on recent visits, The Capital Grille, which opened downtown in February, is finding an audience. Most were in business attire, making them the perfect extras for a set designed to look like those exclusive men's clubs of yore.
A thick, Oriental-patterned carpet covers the floor, antlered stag heads gaze down from mahogany columns and ornate frames hold life-size portraits of local luminaries from Chief Sealth to Eddie Bauer. Other familiar names are etched on the brass plates of private booze lockers prominently placed near the front door. Along the upper ledges of the capacious booths, magnums of wine stand tall as if ripe for plucking, should the whim to celebrate overtake one of these titans of commerce. It is all reminiscent of an earlier century, another Gilded Age.
"Recession?" I thought. "What recession?"
Once seated, you are handed a four-page, poster-sized card. On the front is the menu; the inside spread catalogs the restaurant's global wine cache. Bottle prices start just under $30 and quickly soar to three figures, particularly if you've a mind to ask for the separate reserve wine list, where the DeLilles, the Drouhins and the Gajas are gathered.
As steakhouses go, this one isn't as pricey across the board as some that serve exclusively prime meats. Still, steaks cost upward of $40 at dinner, and that's a la carte; sides are extra.
If you want prime, your choices are limited to the 22-ounce Delmonico ($42) or (when available) a 20-ounce dry-aged, bone-in New York strip ($55). The porterhouse and smaller, boneless New York strips, both dry-aged, are choice cuts, as is filet mignon. Have them plain, or with embellishments such as crushed peppercorns, a Kona coffee crust or a porcini rub.
I tried both options with mixed results. I ordered the Delmonico dusted with porcini and glazed with balsamic. The rangy bone-in rib-eye is a fine, flavorful steak, but its charms were obscured by an overpoweringly salty seasoning. A boneless sirloin strip, unadorned but for its own well-seasoned jus, was entirely satisfying. The meat had a faint mineral tang, the texture was pliant and light marbling contributed a rich mouth feel.
Not everyone who eats here is asking, "Where's the beef?" Three guys at the next table slipped off their suit jackets to better attack fat fillets of halibut, tuna and salmon. Those, along with chops and chicken, are less costly than the steaks. Grilled halibut ($33) was an impressive catch; faultlessly cooked, it rested against gently gingered rice on a plate rimmed with mango coulis and cilantro oil.
Seafood stands out among starters as well. Pan-fried calamari tossed with garlicky hot cherry peppers has the crispy, crunchy coating good fried chicken gets. Fresh corn salad and terrific tartar sauce loaded with capers and pickles accompany loosely bound lobster and crab cakes, lush patties dense with lumps of seafood.
Memo to those saving up for their next tank of gas: Lunch makes a smaller ding in the wallet. A 10-ounce sirloin strip is $26, and most other entrees are under $20, including the cheeseburger and "lollipop lamb chops," three petite rib chops on long, slender bones arrayed alongside a vinaigrette-dressed salad spiked with feta, pepperoncini and cured black olives.
"Everyone is ordering the cheeseburger today," observed our waitress. No wonder. At $14, the ground sirloin patty, soft, slightly smoky and exceedingly moist under a cheddar melt, is affordable and delicious. It's served with lettuce, pickles and slices of yellow and red tomato but in a manner that befits the pomp and circumstance of the room, on a specially designed plate with separate slots for little bowls of ketchup, Dijon-spiked mayo and chive-peppercorn aioli.
A momentary quandary over whether to have the truffle Parmesan fries or the housemade potato chips with the cheeseburger was resolved by the waitress. "Have the fries, and I'll bring you some chips too," she suggested. Next time, I'll bespeak those gossamer chips and skip the limp fries.
Servers dressed in old-fashioned jackets and long aprons are glib marketers and facilitators of your dining experience. They are forthcoming with menu and wine guidance, assiduous in the topping off of iced tea or water and fastidious about scraping crumbs from the white tablecloth that result from repeated assaults on the sumptuously stocked breadbasket. When an order is up, reinforcements are called so that everyone at the table gets their food at once. There is no synchronized lifting of silver domes; it just seems that way.
In this indulgent atmosphere it is hard to forego dessert. My friends and I split a lovely raspberry-bedecked wedge of flourless chocolate espresso cake, envious of three svelte young lionesses right out of "Lipstick Jungle" in the booth opposite. Their dress sizes added together wouldn't equal mine, yet not only weren't they sharing their crème brûlée, cheesecake and ice cream, they were chasing it with champagne.
Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com
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Jim Jones Performance Cancelled Over Violent Lyrics
New Jersey city officials have reportedly canceled a HIV Testing Day concert which was supposed to be headlined by Jim Jones at a city school because of the rapper's lyrics.
According to The New Jersey Journal, Jones was slated to perform at a city school on National HIV Testing Day (June 27) but city officials were not too impressed with the rapper's lyrical content.
"When it was brought to the attention of the Mayor's Office staff that Mr. Jones was the star of the concert, a careful review of Mr. Jones' lyrics was done and ultimately the decision was made to cancel the show," said City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill.
"Mr. Jones' lyrics speak of violence to women and police, of the drug trade and guns, and other activities that Mayor Healy could not endorse by sponsoring an event featuring Mr. Jones," she added.
According to The New Jersey Journal, Jones was slated to perform at a city school on National HIV Testing Day (June 27) but city officials were not too impressed with the rapper's lyrical content.
"When it was brought to the attention of the Mayor's Office staff that Mr. Jones was the star of the concert, a careful review of Mr. Jones' lyrics was done and ultimately the decision was made to cancel the show," said City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill.
"Mr. Jones' lyrics speak of violence to women and police, of the drug trade and guns, and other activities that Mayor Healy could not endorse by sponsoring an event featuring Mr. Jones," she added.
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