Quebec City – Musee de la Civilisation

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin

On one of the Internet discussion lists in Romanian that I am subscribed to, the subject of the identity of the Quebecois popped-up this week. This brought to my memory an evening spent this summer in the ‘Musee de la Civilisation’ in Quebec-City.

 

source http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g155033-d155603-w2-Musee_de_la_Civilisation-Quebec_City_Quebec.html

 

The occasion was the social event of the IETF-81 meeting that was hosted by the city.  Unfortunately, it was one of these trips which are more business than pleasure, so I skipped taking my camera. Yet, memories are still fresh for a few instant flashes backed-up by pictures and clips. Starting of course with the building which is designed to integrate well in the urban landscape of a city that cherishes its heritage but also expresses the ideas and motives of one of its architects, the Haifa-born Moshe Safdie (among other works of him I admired in the last few years – Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the international terminal at the Ben Gurion airport, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa).

 

source http://www.mcq.org/fr/mcq/expositions.php?idEx=w250

 

The connection in memory was caused by the permanent exhibition Le Temps des Quebecois which allows for a historical journey through the history of North America viewed from the perspective of the French community. It was fascinating and I recommend the exhibition (as well as the whole museum) for history fanz like myself who happen to travel to Quebec. Many facts will be unknown for the majority of the visitors,  and the perspective on events we know and think we fully understand may be very different.

 

(video source AndreCaronCaron)

 

The museum also hosted another two temporary exhibitions. With Rome – De ses origines a la capitale de l’Italie which was organized in cooperation with some of the big museums in the Italian capital was much more familiar grounds for me from an historical point of view, and yet had a few very interesting pieces of information – for example about the period after the fall of the Roman empire and before the late Middle Ages when popes made of the Eternal City the non-contested capital of Catholicism when the city was reduced to the proportions of a small city or big village as many other around. Sic transit gloria mundi – the saying that has its origins in Rome had a special meaning in those times.

 

(video source bwhotelquebec)

 

Last I would mention is DIEU(X) – Mode d’emplois which brought together the mosaic of the principal religious faiths, their principles, their symbols and key practices. Certainly some superficiality cannot be avoided in one exhibition that gets together what is expressed in full museums and thousand of books, but the fact itself of bringing these under one roof, of having them co-exist one near the other and allow the visitors to meet and understand the basics of all is a beautiful idea. I wish this exhibition or a similar one be brought to the young people in Israel, so many of them ignoring almost anything about other faiths than Judaism. 

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Playground of the Gods – Valle dei Templi

Posted on December 11, 2011 by admin

There are two historical and cultural objectives in Sicily that are an absolute must, places for which one must travel to Sicily, and if he is already on the island must not leave it without visiting them. I will write and post some pictures now about the first of them which is Valle dei Templi (Temples Valley), an archeological site located near the city of Agrigento in the South part of the island. The name of ‘valley’ is quite misleading, as we are talking actually about a thread of seven Greek temples located most of them on the top of a hill long of about two kilometers. This may be the most outstanding monument of the Greek antiquity after the Acropolis in Athens, and in any case the most fascinating of all I have had the luck to ever visit.

 

 

We entered through the Western gate, so the first temple that appeared to us was the Temple of Hera Lacinia (goddess protecting marriage and birth-giving). It was built in the 5th century BC and set to fire by the Carthaginians in 406BC. What is left today is the structure of columns (13 in length, 6 on width) which profiles an elegant silhouette visible from far away.

 

Tempio di Hera Lacinia

 

The big prize for anybody who visited Valle dei Templi during most of 2011 was the fact that the archeological site hosted an open air exhibition of the Polish monumental sculptor  Igor Mitoraj. His style and themes combine the classical techniques of sculpture with surrealistic influences, and the abrupt cuts and edges of his works suggest the work of time. They were a perfect complement of the ancient Greek ruins in the valley and as you will see in some of the following photos, the terrain looked in that sunny afternoon as a playground of the gods.

 

 

 

If you are to pick a time of the day for the visit late afternoon is probably the best bet. During summer it will spare you of some of the heat that must be scorching the whole area, especially as there is no place to hide from the Sun on the top of the hills. Later in the year (like in October when we visited) the sweetness of the sun in the final hours of the day envelops the area and the ruins seem to radiate warmness from within.

 

paleo-christian necropole

 

Another combination of art and antiquities that seem to belong to the imaginary spaces created by Dali or de Chirico. Entries to tombs in the necropolis dating from the late Roman and early-medieval era, identified as paleo-christian are flanked by two of the works of Mitoraj.

 

 

 

Tempio della Concordia

 

The Temple of Concordia is the best kept structure of the whole complex. The reason is that when Christianity became the official religion in the Roman empire (in the 4th century CE) it was transformed into a church. This led to works of maintenance and stegthening of the building to be conducted, but also for some of the characteristics of the original design (like the ‘pagan’ altar) to be removed or changed.

 

 

 

Another two of the Fascinating works of Mitoraj. The works are complex and there are are many details hidden by the larger structures (do you remember Dali’s drawers?) that become visible when you get near and walk around the works, but it is the game of forms and dimensions, of human and human-made forms that stays in memory.

 

villa Aurea

 

Villa Aurea is the place built by sir Alexander Hardcastle, one of the two personalities whose contributions were key in bringing out of the earth the monuments in the Temples Valley and pushing them into the cultural patrimony and later into the touristic circuits. Hardcastle, barely remembered today (the English version of wikipedia does not even have an entry for him) settled here in 1921 and between this time and 1933 brought an important contribution to the archeological discoveries and the recovery of the monuments which were still part covered under the hills. He followed in the tracks of Domenico Lo Faso Piertrasanta, who started the excavation and archeological works in the valley during the Napoleonic era.

 

Tempio di Zeus Olimpico

 

The end of the itinerary on descends at the Eastern edge of the hill towards the remains of the Temple of Zeus Olimpico. Built in 480BC to celebrate the victory over the Carthaginians and the taking back of Sicily by the Greeks, it was the largest of all in the complex. Little remains today of the original structure, but some of the huge pieces of statues or columns give a hit on the dimensions of the monument. Just a few pieces are left here of the toys of the Giant Gods.

 

(video source SicilyTravelNet)

 

I found on youTube a short film made at the installation of the exhibits of Igor Mitoraj – it will give you an idea about the dimensions and the immense skill of the sculptor whose works danced with the forms and shades of the ancient Greek Temples for almost the whole duration of the last year.

 

 

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Gica Manescu – Gene si Stramosi

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin

Un nou text semnat de Gica Manescu. Un nou si remarcabil fragment de amintiri.

————————————————————————————————–

 

In urma cu catva timp am scris despre gene, mosteniri, avantaje si cercetari. Norocul unora, ghinionul altora.

Deocamdata cunostintele sunt inca in faze inaintate de cercetari, dar limitate, insuficiente. Sunt agatate de cromozomii cunoscuti  in genetica, de mai multa vreme.

Nu intru in amanunte, dar voi scrie despre unele caracteristici ale mele, in  sanul familiei, comparandu-le intre ele, care mi-au dat  de gandit. Nu de azi, de ieri.

Se presupune ca acei din asa zisa “patura nobila“ a judaismului, cohanimii, din care fac parte, ar fi rude intre ei.

Dar in  cei 3000 de ani scursi, cu cine sunt sau am fost ruda? Nici nu cercetez, nu e foarte important, iau viata asa cum este si ma limitez la cele sigure si stiute.

Acum un an, find in  Bucuresti am plecat cu Dan, fiul meu, la Focsani, ca nu mai fusesem de cateva zeci de ani la mormantul tatei si al bunicilor. Pe mama, “o vizitasem“ la  Giurgiului, in Bucuresti.

Nu sunt om al religiei, dar sentimentele, amintirile si obligatiile morale pe care le-am avut si le am in memorie si inima parca ma imping s-o fac.

La mormantul bunicului Solomon, am citit ca e fiul lui Efraim Hacohen. Ca suntem cohanim stiam, dar nu ii stiam numele. De multe ori sedeam langa “granpa“ si el imi povestea ca dintre cei 3 nepoti eu eram cel mai curios si intrebam, voind sa stiu.

Prin astea m-am deosebit eu de sora si fratele meu.

Am aflat ca strabunicul meu era un evreu sarac, sot bun si devotat, linistit, om al religiei in comunitatea mica a evreilor din orasul muntean de la Milcov. Aducea fiecare banut sotiei care avea in grija 3 baieti si o fata. Era un functionar umil, la autoritatile oraseneti, ca un vames la trecerea spre si din Moldova. Uneltele lui de munca erau cele necesare scrisului si o stanga subtire din metal cu un carlig, sa poata agata eventuale foi de tutun, ascunse sub  coviltirul carutelor venite din Turcia. Ne-voind sa ia “bacsisul“ unui traficant, cinstea era mai presus decat multe, in  discutiile inflacarate, care au atras trecatori, turcul a scos un pistol si l-a ucis. Strabunica mea a aflat acasa si plangand a adunat copiii langa ea.

Ce s-a intamplat mai departe n-am aflat, ca nici bunicul nu-si mai amintea.

Mai tarziu, el a fost trimis la un unchi in Bucuresti care avea un atelier de reparat mobila. Era ca un chin, la cei 9–10 ani sa care pe umar un scaun, spre seara intunecoasa si cuprins de frica, la intoarcerea cu banii in buzunar. Fratele cel mare, avea 16 ani, era ca seful familiei si scotea o paine amara dintr-o pravalioara cu articole gospodaresti. Farfurii, linguri, candele, cani si alte mici ustensile. Celalat frate a fugit in Bulgaria de frica sa nu fie prins cu arcanul pentru militarie. I s-a pierdut urma.  Au ramas in mintea familiei doar numele si figura speriata.


sursa - http://postcards.delcampe.com/page/item/id,145777154,var,Focsani-Romania-Rathaus,language,E.html

 

In  1872 bunicul Solomon a deschis un magazin al lui, apoi s-a insurat cu o focseneanca  ceva mai instarita si a avut o fata si 2 baieti. Tatal meu a fost mezinul. Matusa n-a avut copii, iar unchiul meu, de care auzisem numai, a plecat in USA la inceputul secolului 20, dar dupa  2 ani a revenit acasa, bolnav de TBC, si cu toate ingrjirile posibile atunci, a parasit familia pentru o lume necunoscuta.

Dupa Primul Razboi Mondial bunicul a adaugat pe firma “& fiul”. Tata i-a devenit tovaras si au extins mult activitatile comerciale. Erau fruntasi in oras.

Fara scoala, doar Heiderul – scoala  cu caracter religios judaic – a invatat sa citeasca si sa scrie romaneste, a devenit un cetatean stimat si onorat de concetateni.

Activ in problemele de cult, a devenit ‘gabai’ – administrator – la Templul Coral. De Iom Kipur, ca un Cohen onorat, binecuvanta enoriasii.

A fost pentru mine, ca un intelept al trecutului. M-am atasat de el si atent, ascultam ce imi povestea

Ii erau dragi si ceilalti nepoti, si cadourile le primeam fara deosebire.

Si in familia noastra, am simtit caldura parintilor si bunatatea lor. Ne dadeau frau liber, dar sa fim harnici, sa stim ce e promisiunea care trebuie onorata, si intrebarile sa nu ramana fara raspuns. Punctualitatea era ce ne-a intrat in sange. In 17 ani de scoli, am intarziat o singura data, in  clasa II–a, ca am asteptat un prieten care voia sa ma insoteasca.

Nu i-am deziluzionat si am crescut in dragoste si stima reciproca. Parintii n-au precupetit nimic pentru noi.

Din copilarie deja, doream sa am niste trasaturi de comportare si apropiere de oameni, ca parintii si bunicii.

Intelegerea mai buna am avut-o in  adolescenta. Daca ar fi fost  posibile imagini, semne, indicii.etc. ale mele si ale fratilor mei, simultane, nu s-ar fi putut observa nici o deosebire. Identitate perfecta.

 

sursa http://info.e5.ro/poze/Vederi-vechi/Focsani-vechi/Focsani-Str.Unirii.jpg.html

 

Fata de familie, prieteni, colegi sau egali,  subalterni dar si superiori.

Dar pe de alta parte, intuiam ca eu am in firea mea ceva deosebit fata de ei. Nu puteam preciza ce si in ce directie sau gandire. Am fost uimit,  cand in copilarie si adolescenta, am fost  cu alti copii sau prieteni si fara sa stim,  intr-un  focar de boala contagioasa.  Singurul ramas sanatos am fost eu. Imunitatea imi este crescuta.

Cititul era o pasiune a familiei si cartile erau totdeauna la capatai.

In activitatile casnice, gospodaresti, sora mea era ambidextra, eu fara deosebire, dar primul nascut, cu 4 ani mai in varsta, atat in casa cat si la condusul ocazional al unui automobil (desi avea permis si pentru camioane, obtinut de vreme indelungata) avea “doua maini stangi“. Dar la jocul de bridge, le folosea bine pe ambele.

In scoala primara am terminat cele 4 clase, cu premiul intai. Se auzeau unele voci care sustineau ca gratie tatalui meu, membru in conducerea Comunitatii, de care depindea si invatamantul. Am fost jignit la cei 11 ani ai mei. Am rugat-o pe mama sa-mi dea cateva  notiuni de franceza si in septembrie, am intrat in clasa I-a  la Liceul  “Unirea“. Am invatat, am avut note bune si l-am invins pe Ionescu Gheorghe, concurent ambitios. Am terminat cu premiul intai, am simtit o multumire si am fost  mandru ca am facut dovada cinstei si a corectitudinei.

In clasa II-a am fost bolnav, o nefrita si am lipsit mult de la scoala. Cu tratamente si dieta, mie, copilului caruia ii placeau mancarurile bine preparate, indiferent care, predominand carnea. Aveam permisiunea o data pe saptamana, sa mananc un sfert de pasare si nu eram pe locul meu la masa familiei. Eram singur, inainte  celorlalti. Supe de legume, gris, cartofi, macaroane, fructe. Vointa a avut succes si m-am vindecat .

N-am mai luat premii, nici n-am cautat, dar am fost  printre primii si am absolvit bacalaureatul in iunie 1934, avand ca Presedinte al comisiei, pe profesorul de filozofie Tudor Vianu

In  toamna am intrat la Facultatea de medicina din Iasi.

Mi-am dat seama ca am o inclinatie spre a scrie si am inceput cu poezii mici, continuand apoi cu povestiri, amintiri, scenete de spectacole ocazionale, neprofesioniste.

Am devenit in Israel si la Toronto, colaborator al unor publicatii in limba romana.

Apoi pentru mine,  au aparut listele internetice si m-am inhamat in ele.

La inceputul adolescentei am inteles ca atat bunicul cat si tata erau  in  afara de treburile lor comerciale si familiale preocupati si de cele orasenesti si ale Comunitatii evreesti.

Am aflat ca in 1916, cand trupele romane s-au retras pe frontul de la Marasesti, nemtii se apropiau de Focsani. La Milcov 3 cetateni de frunte, unul era bunicul meu, care stia un pic de germana, dar mai mult idis, au intampinat pe generalul Mackenzen si armata lui cu paine si sare si i-au condus in oras. Repartizati in cazarmile goale. Nostim a fost in 1918, cand ei au plecat si generalul,  comandantul trupelor romanesti revenite de pe front, a intrat in cazarma. Nemtii luasera ce era a lor.  Ce nou veniti, nu aveau oale de gatit mancarea cazona. Generalul s-a dus la magazinul bunicului, s-au salutat, ca vechi cunostinte si a comandat oalele cele mai mari. Dar magazinul era aproape gol, doar unele obiecte simple, necesare.

A oferit doar niste oale de nevoile nocturne, dar de dimensiuni , rar de gasit o persoana potrivita. Comandantul i-a multumit, niste miltari le-au luat, a platit si au plecat.

De la Dr. Zvi ben Dov (Pincu Zilberman), fost elev de al meu si care a studiat arhiva orasului pentru documentarea in istoria lui, publicand si cartea respectiva, am aflat ceva nou. Prin 1908, tatal meu, avea 23 ani, cu inca 2 prieteni, au dat viata, unei cantine, cu o masa calda, petru evreii saraci.

La sfarsitul anlor 20, s-a luptat pentru buna organizare a Comunitatii evreesti si sub Landau, a devenit Secretarul general, fac-totum-ul. Mai tarziu, cu farm. Freier, a intarit sectia Lojei Bnei Brit si apoi a Societatii de ajutor “Fraterna”.  Comitetele respective l-au ales Secretar general. Era  ocupat pana peste cap. Mai fusese numit jurat la Tribunal si tutorele a 4 copii ramasi orfani de tata la varste mici. Nu se plangea si era multumit de cele ce facea.

Noi il admiram si trageam invataturi.

Ma framantam ca in mintea mea, in  afara de scoala, joaca si lectura, imi treceau niste idei deosebite. Va dau doua exemple.

Prin 1931, aparusera pe piata romaneasca , “ Ghetare“, dulapase din lemn vopsit,  captusite cu tabla si un loc pentru ghiata. Favorabile pentru unele gospodarii care nu aveau beciuri, pivnite adanci si racoroase pentru pastrarea alimentelor vara.

Tata comandase si astepta livrarea. In ziua respectiva l-am rugat sa ma lase sa aranjez eu vitrina cu geam mare, spre strada pricipala.

A acceptat, am  cumparat un carton mare alb si un creion cu negru puternic.

Cu rigla si creionul simplu, am desenat un ghetar, putin din profil si am scris cu litere mari, in relief negru – AVEM GHETARE.

Lumea se oprea si devenea interesata.

Nu mult dupa asta Uzina electrica a fost capabila sa extinda electrificarea majortatii caselor din oras. Trebuiau lampi, cantitati mari. Tata le-a comandat si aranjatul vitrinei a fost sarcina mea. Am golit tot ce era in ea, am  rugat pe unul dintre salariati sa ma ajute, sa fixam niste polite pe pereti. De jos in sus, am pus o candela, ca opait, o lumanare intr-un  sfesnic din lut ars, o lampa mica cu petrol, una mai mare cu abatjour alb. Pe plafonul magazinului erau atarnate tot felul de lampi. Am  apropiat una cu doua brate, becurile aprinse – cineva facuse legatura cu electricitatea si prin deschizatura  din magazin a vitrinei se lumina totul in jur. Alta reclama n-a mai trebuit. Doar ea e sufletul comertului.

Ai mei au fost incantati si bunicul mi-a facut un cadou. Niste bani, pe care i-am pus  pe carnetul de economii. Cand intrasem in liceu, mi-a cumparat un  ceas Omega, pe care nici nu mai stiu cati ani l-am purtat.

Credeam  ca memoria mea e una normala. Daca recitam o poezie sau explicam ceva dascalilor, era ca am invatat.

Devenind student,  am aflat ca tratate sau manuale pentru specialitatile ce le vom  invata,  erau in numar, poate cat degetele unei maini.

 

sursa http://www.flickr.com/photos/64111924@N05/page5/

 

Majoritatea profesorilor cereau sa explicam din cele predate de ei. Deci cat mai multe de notat. Asa  am reusit sa scriu rapid, cu unele prescurtari ale cuvintelor, sa le inteleg la citire. Se adunau 2-3 caiete si inaintea unui examen le citeam. Am inteles ca am o iscusinta deosbita. Cu ochii, parca vedeam  paginile si unele schite. Cam  dupa doua lecturi, avem in minte, o buna parte din continut. Dupa a treia oara stiam totul pe din afara.

Am tras concluzia favorabila mie si am facut uz de ea.

Importanta mare a acestei insusiri am gasit-o cand m-am propus profesor de Stinte naturale la Liceul evreesc din  Focsani. Ultima data cand am invatat materia asta a fost in anii scolarizaraii liceale.

Am cumparat cele 8 manuale si dupa progamul scolar,  stiam zilele si clasele unde aveam orele mele. Seara de inainte, invatam materiile respective,   exersam cele 2-3 schite pentru desenul pe tabla si asta era. Creta si buretele umed cadeau in  sarcina elevilor.

Vorbeam curgator, fara sa ma uit pe vreo notita. Inainte ascultasem 2-3 elevi nu numai din predarea precedenta ci si din cea anterioara.

In cei 4 ani, cel mai greu a fost primul. Apoi aveam deja inmagazinate in memorie, multe din cele invatate pentru a doua oara in  viata mea.

Ce fel de dascal am fost? se pare ca bun. Eram prieten cu scolarii si ne stimam, la nivelurile respective.

Aici pun punct la povestirea lunga si detailata. Ma cunoasteti mai bine, si in adancime si va puneti poate aceiasi intrebare : Cum a fost posibil ?

Eu nu stiu si nici nu pot afla. Genele mele sunt cu mai multe radacini in cei 3000 de ani. Cu cine ma inrudesc?

Cate generatii au fost sarite sau active in transmiterea insusirilor deosebite? Ce forte m-au adus sa fiu cum sunt,  la cei  peste 95 ani.

Inchei cu ce a scris poetul:  “Nu cerceta aceste legi / Ca esti nebun de  le-ntelegi.”

Asa  ma comport.

 

Gica Manescu – Decembrie 2011

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When Almodovar was a Punk

Posted on December 6, 2011 by admin

While some of my friends watched (and were delighted by) the latest movie of Almodovar the cinematheque in my village screened his second movie, made almost 30 years ago – ‘Labyrinth of Passion‘. A couple of months ago I had seen ‘Do You Remember Dolly Bell?’ (made one year earlier than the film of the Spaniard) the first film of Kusturica, now this one, and beyond the similarities of the game of identifying in early works the spark of genius of the later great movies there is also an abyssal difference between the two. While Kustirica’s movie show the restrains of the censorship his work was subjected to in the still-Communist Yugoslavia, Almodovar’s film shouts FREEDOM.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084228/

 

Indeed, Laberinto de pasiones is a film that could have been only in 1982 and in Spain. The young director seems to be drunken by the light and colors of a world that just woke up after several decades of dictatorship. His characters live in a Madrid that has become the heaven of all kinds of experiments – in music, in love, in the way people live. There is absolutely nothing that reminds the films of Carlos Saura or Bunuel, the film is made by a young director whose career started with the liberation of Spain, and who celebrates his freedom in making movies and experiments with characters and a social medium on the fringe.

 

(video source kevinwasi)

 

Did I already say that watching this film is fun? Just saying that one of the characters is the son of the Shah of (T)Iran who happens to be gay but then is ‘cured’ by a nymphomaniac named Sexilia – you already got a feeling of the material Almodovar plays with. He also crosses the line to play a gay punk singer in travesty (see above) in one of the several delicacies of the film. Sure, there is a lot of trash around, and not all of it is that original, but then you have Banderas playing a gay terrorist who falls for his target before knowing whom he gets in bed with. All the story is told with a kind of detachment that makes you feel the protective smile of the director when looking at his characters and actors.

 

(video source ea285)

 

No, this film is not a masterpiece, and if I had seen it by or close to the time it was made I am not sure whether I would have liked it, or identified the huge director Almodovar will become starting a few films later. If there is anything close in genre it is rather the low cost comedies that by that time I would have seen in Romania (later the boorekas movies in Israel). There is however in this film enough craziness and bluntness to break away from the crowd, and a hidden tear behind the laughs that I am pretty sure that could not have escaped me completely.

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Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci Open the Season at the New Israeli Opera

Posted on December 4, 2011 by admin

The last few decades of the 19th century in Italy must the time and the place for the fans of opera. Verdi was the national hero and his opera greater than life were making an international career after having brought up the spirits of the nation during the revolutionary years. Opera houses were built in all the important cities of Italy, and small companies were traveling to the most remote places making out of the genre a popular entertainment. In this atmosphere of effervescence a popular contest was hold in 1883, and then repeated a few years later for a one act popular opera inspired from the contemporary reality and easier to stage and perform for the wider audiences. The winner out of the 73 entries was ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ by Pietro Mascagni – a story of passion and revenge located in Sicily at Easter time.   I do not know if the composers and critics of the time were already using the term of verismo but the piece of the young composer was to become a representative creation of the genre, and one of the most popular pieces in the repertory of world opera.

 

source http://www.israel-opera.co.il/Eng/?CategoryID=423&ArticleID=1298

 

Cavalleria Rusticana and its companion one act opera Pagliacci are the safe opening bet of the New Israeli Opera season. The production belongs to the Teatro Real (Royal Theater) in Madrid and directed by Giancarlo del Monaco. The musical direction in the Tel Aviv production belongs to the artistic director of the ensemble David Stern (the son of the famous violinist Isaac Stern) and I am sorry to say but the lack of discipline of the opera orchestra could be felt in the performance last night. Hopefully they will improve in coordination and accuracy, this was only the second or third performance.

 

(video source anisimovatatiana)

 

The star of the first part was without any doubt the Ukrainian soprano Tatiana Anisimova with a sensual and vibrant voice and dramatic presence on stage. You can see her above in a fragment of the Spanish version of the staging of the opera.

 

(video source Gabba02)

 

Here is another scene (the famous Easter procession) from a different performance of the opera, with Fiorenza Cossotto singing the role of Santuzza.

 

source http://www.israel-opera.co.il/Eng/?CategoryID=423&ArticleID=1298

 

Since 1893 Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is paired with Cavalleria. The same themes of love, jealousy, treason, revenge are combined in a more sophisticated mix that adds the theme of the tragic dimension of the art of clowns – dear to Italian opera composers and later to film directors. While the musical quality of the performance in Tel Aviv was good, it was the staging of this second part that drew the attention. The theater in theater intrigue in the second act is well staged and acted, in a clear and eloquent manner, and the neo-realistic post WWII sets and costumes fit well the veristic idea. Israeli soprano Ira Bertman faces well the three Italian partners in the only feminine role of the opera. I can only wonder why the younger generation of Israeli singers includes so many young gifted female performers with no men showing up to match the feminine presence.

 

(video source tomfroekjaer)

 

(video source cronhole)

 

(video source Gabba02)

 

Vesti la giubba is the most famous area in Pagliacci, and one of the most popular pieces in the world opera repertory. I found on youTube a few wonderful interpretations, starting with Enrico Caruso’s three different recordings made more than one century ago until the ones from Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo.

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Carte: Italo Calvino – Orasele invizibile

Posted on November 30, 2011 by admin 
Greu de categorisit o carte cum este 'Orasele invizibile' a lui Italo
Calvino. Structura exterioara aduce cu cea a colectiilor de povestiri
orientale, cele '1001 de nopti' vin imediat in minte la lectura
dialogurilor intre hanul mongol Kubilai Han si calatorul venetian Marco
Polo si chiar si evolutia relatiilor intre cei doi (unul dintre
putinele elemente dinamice in narativul cartii) are ceva din tensiunea
dintre conducatorul ultra-puternic si supusul care isi castiga
favorurile sau doar timpul incercand sa croseteze noi tesaturi din
panzele fragile ale imaginatiei.  O examinare mai atenta dezvaluie insa
nu numai o rigurozitate a compozitiei ci si reguli matematice ale caror
sens ascuns pare sa promita semnificatii misterioase: cele noua capitole
include fiecare cate cinci povestiri cu exceptia primului si ultimului
care au cate zece fiecare; cincizeci si cinci de relatari deci, fiecare
cuprinzand descrierea cate unui oras imaginar, descrieri grupate in
unsprezece categorii (numar prim!) de cate cinci fiecare. In sectiunile
intermediare nu sunt amestecate niciodata doua povestiri din aceeasi
categorie. Simetrie deci si joc aritmetic secund. Nici numele oraselor
nu par a fi alese la intamplare. Toate orasele pe care Calvino le pune
pe seama lui don Marco au nume de femei, adaugand dimensiunea erotica
la fantasticul fermecat al relatarii.  



Dincolo de structura narativa cititorul descopera o colectie relatari
produs al imaginatiei scriitorului, imbinand relectia sociala si
filozofica cu tonul poetic. Daca ar fi sa caracterizez senzatia pe
care mi-a lasat-o lectura acestei carti unice cea mai aproapriata
asociatie ar fi cea a citirii unei carti de poezie, una dintre acele
carti in care satisfactia lecturii se imbina cu bucuria cunoasterii,
in care sentimentele si rationamentul  se combina cu permanente
trimiteri la repere culturale si de civilizatie familiare. La momentul
aparitiei cartii preocuparile ecologice si sociale legate de
extinderea urbana necontrolata erau deja la ordinea zilei, si Calvino
nu a ezitat sa infiltreze in fiecare elemente si mesaje sociale care
sunt perfect aplicabile si contemporaneitatii:'opulenta Leoniei se
masoara nu atat dupa lucrurile fabricate vandute cumparate in fiecare
zi, cat dupa lucrurile aruncate in fiecare zi, pentru a le face loc
celor noi' (pag. 102)


Placerea citirii fiecareia dintre descrierile oraselor invizibie
este imensa si fiecare poate fi citita separat, ca un poem, iar
ordinea citirii nu prea conteaza. Din acest punct de vedere este o
carte de o perfecta simetrie, fara niciun aparent inceput sau
sfarsit. Multe dintre secvente sunt mai degraba calatorii in propria
imaginatie decat in memorie, calatorii in timp mai mult decat
calatorii in spatiu. Adevaratul spatiu este cel al imaginatiei
povestitorului: 

'Feriti-va sa le spuneti ca, uneori, orase diferite se succed pe
aceeasi intindere de pamant si sub acelasi nume, se nasc si mor
fara sa le fi cunoscut, fara sa fi putut comunica. Cateodata, pana
si numele locuitorilor raman aceleasi, si tonul vocilor, chiar si
trasaturile fetelor; dar zeii care locuiesc dedesuptul numelor si
deasupra locurilor au plecat fara sa spuna un cuvant si in locul
lor s-au cuibarit zei straini. Zadarnic este sa te intrebi daca
acestia sunt mai buni sau mai rai decat cei vechi, fiinca nu
exista niciun raport intre ei, dupa cum vechile carti postale nu
arata Maurilla asa cum era, ci un alt oras care, intamplator, se
numea Maurilia, la fel ca acesta' (pag. 30)


Publicata in 1972, cand Italo Calvino se afla in fruntea pleiadei
de scriitori italieni dintre cei mai cunoscuti ai epocii ajungand
la rangul de cel mai tradus prozator din peninsula in intreaga lume,
'Orasele invizibile' apare acum la editura ALLFA in colectia
'Strada Fictiunii' intr-o traducere precisa si eficienta semnata de
Oana Bosca-Malin, care nu da impresia ca traducatoarea ar fi tradat
prea mult continutul si limbajul cartii. Este o lectura redusa in
dimensiuni dar concentrata in continut si senzatii, una dintre acele
carti care definesc profilul unui scriitor in memoria cititorilor sai.
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Temples in Taiwan

Posted on November 26, 2011 by admin

One way to look at Taiwan is to think about it as a small scale version of what China could have become if history had taken a different turn. While mainland China went after 1949 through the radical changes brought up by the Communist take over, the island of Taiwan became host not only of the defeated nationalist government but also of some of the treasures of imperial China (like much of the Forbidden City thesaurus today at the National Palace Museum in Taipei) and continued cultural or religious traditions which were forbidden or at least much diminished in the rest of China. However this view risks to be somehow simplistic, as Taiwan itself has a history of its own which is to a large extent different and sometimes even antagonistic to the one of the Middle Empire, a history that mixes the seek getting rid of the successive foreign occupations while integrating their influences and the attraction of the great empire across the straights. There is no better way of understanding the culture of Taiwan than visiting its temples, marvels or architecture and art by themselves but also a mix of influences where the dominant Buddhism coexists with Confucianisms, Taoism and local beliefs in a way only religions of the Far East can do one near the other rather than one against the other as religions clash in the rest of the world.

 

Longshan Temple in Taipei

 

All the temples I could visit during my stay in Taiwan are located in Taipei, and I have seen them all in one day. Liliana had the chance to see a few more out of the capital city of the island. The first we got to is probably the largest, the most beautiful and the most crowded temple in Taiwan – the Longshan Temple. It is located in the Wanhua district which is the Old Taipei whose buildings date mostly from the first half of the 20th century when the island was under Japanese rule. The neighborhood is by no means impressive, think like south Tel Aviv or Athens around the old airport, but as in the two Mediterranean cities districts this is where real life is. The first characteristics of the Taiwanese temples is visible from the first one – the dimensions are not meant to impose, and although the style and the decorations are exceptional, the buildings are organically integrated in the day to day life, they do not tend to impose or dominate.

 

column at the Longshan Temple

 

It is when entering inside that you get the feeling of the complexity of the gathering of art and faith you are living through. The Longshan temple of Taipei was built the first time in 1738 by colons from the mainland province of Fujian, and was many times destroyed and rebuilt since then, the last major destruction taking place at the end of the second world war. It is said that much of the temple was then destroyed but the wooden statue of the goddess Guanyin, goddess of goodness stayed intact.

 

roof at Longshan Temple

 

The visitor meets here some of the best examples of the splendors that are characteristic to the Taiwanese temples – the columns sculpted in stone, bronze or wood, the golden altars, the roofs with the arched shapes and the decorations that profile arabesques on the skies, the statues of the deities which sometimes smile, sometimes are angry, never indifferent, more human than representations of deities in other religions.

 

Crouching Tiger at the Longshan Temple

 

One of the motives met in the Taiwanese art is the crouching tiger which lent its identity to the country and the fellow Asian fast developing economies in the last decades of the 20th century. If the economic push-up may have cooled down the art in the temples remained.

 

fountain at the Longshan Temple

 

Integration with nature is another theme which can be found in or around the temples, including the Longshan, maybe also an effect of the Japanese influence in the period of half a century they ruled over Taiwan between 1895 and 1945. Even if it is located in the middle of the city Longshan has a masterly man-made natural oasis with a fountain decorated with golden statues of sirens and dragons.

 

praying at the Longshan Temple

 

The most striking aspect for me was however the fact that all the temples that we visited in Taiwan were active temples, full of active practicing believers. I had visited several temples in Beijing, the sensation was that they were museums, and the ratio between visitors and believers was 99 to 1 and more. Here the situation is quite the inverse, an active and effervescent religious life dominates the atmosphere, and the visitors are the exception. Young and old people, women and men and mothers and fathers with children, people of all social conditions come and pray, and you feel that praying is part of their life and they are part of the permanent living soul of the temples.

 

flowers for the gods

 

The way people pray and relate to their gods may seem sometimes strange to the Western visitor. They bring flowers and food, they burn incense and knee and talk. Food offers may range from bags of potato chips to elaborated trays with roasted duck. What happens with all this food? it is used to feed the monks and nuns in the monasteries and if there is more left it will be distributed to the poor in charities.

 

asking for the advice of the gods

 

One distinct tradition is consulting the opinion of gods on day to day issues, small or big, by throwing pieces of painted wood with crescent shapes. The position of the fallen pieces is read by the believers in ways known only to them and used as advice.

 

entrance of the Quingshan Temple

 

We continued our itinerary in the Wanhua district with the Quingshan Temple. The name of the temple comes from a  king whose statue was brought to Taiwan and at the very place the temple was built became that heavy that the porters could not further move it, which lead them to the conclusion that it is the wish of the king to have a temple raised here in his honor. This is what happened and the year was 1854.

 

one of the fierce guardians - Qingshan Temple

 

The statues of two fierce generals of the king not only keep guard of the temple, but also of the law and morals of the whole neighborhood, which it is said they patrol sometimes at night. There are many such stories in Taipei, which seems to be a city haunted at least as Edinburgh in Scotland is. Even the modern hotel we stayed in was said to be haunted by ghosts. Take a look at the statues and observe the striking difference to statues in the Western iconographic not only in the relation between divinity and the person who looks at the statue, but also in style, colors, closing. If there is a similarity it is more to carnivals and rites in the Spanish and Latino-American versions of Catholicism. The gods of the Far East are mostly exuberant and colorful, and not cold and cast in stone.

 

Quingshan Temple - the ceiling

 

One of the beautiful elements of the Quingshan temple is the octagonal  ceiling of the first hall, with delicate carvings. The number eight is considered in Chinese numerology as auspicious and lucky.

 

Qingshan Temple - the altar

 

There are three levels in the Quingshan temple, each of them with praying halls, columns and altars. The rich decoration and the collection of objects – ceramics, wood carvings, golden statues – can be admired for hours.

 

Quingshui Temple - the entrance

 

The third temple in the neighborhood is the Quingshui Temple. It is built at the end of the 18th century and well preserved. The access is through an alley boarded by small restaurants. The god the temple is dedicated to is a protector of the Anxi province (where the tea of oolong originates from) but his protection extended to the city of Taipei since the temple was built.

 

Quingshui Temple - decoration in the interior courtyard

 

In the courtyard we could admire the combination of the sculpted columns with traversal ornamentation of stone, wood, ivory, bronze – the mix of colors and materials providing an effect of richness and joy which is almost Baroque in its consistency and elegance.

 

Buddha statues near Keelung

 

Liliana had more time during the week that followed and visited a few more places out of Taipei, and the itineraries of the trips included more temples. Above are the statues of the Buddha in the temple near Keelung. Observe the huge ‘happy Buddha’ in the first plane and also the swastika symbol, which has of course nothing to do with the Nazis. In Chinese writing the symbol means eternity and Buddhism.

 

temple in Bitou

 

The temple at Cape Bitou is located in a natural environment that includes a lot of natural formations, one of them visible in the background of the picture taken by Liliana.

 

Zushi Temple in Sanxia

 

The place that probably I should be mostly sorry to have missed is the Zushi Temple in Sanxia. Most of its elaborated sculptures in stone and wood were created by or under the supervision of the local master Li Mei-shu (1902-1983).

 

column at Zushi Temple

 

Li Mei-shu was a painter, a professor of fine arts and a renovator and decorator of temples. The temple in Sanxia built initially in 1769 was destroyed during the war and it was Li Mei-shu who took over the renovation and decoration, achieving a masterpiece of the traditional art on a traditional structure brought back to life.

 

wooden decoration at Zushi Temple

 

He was an artist of many media – wood, stone, sculptures and carvings. The delicacy of the line, the realism of the expressions and the elegance of the details are striking in all.

 

roof at Zushi Temple

 

The combination of art – new and old – and of a vibrant and active religious life is the strongest characteristic that remains in memory from visits in the temples of Taiwan. When you visit churches in the Western world one has the feeling that the period of great artistic achievements of the religious art is well past, and the newer forms of expression are seldom equal to the ones created many centuries ago by the masters. It is not the case of the Buddhist religious expression the way we experienced it in Taiwan. I actually am pretty sure that creating art continues as we speak and new forms and objects will be added in the future to the treasures that we could admire during our visit.

 

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‘Sof Tov’ by Anat Gov at the Cameri Theater

Posted on November 25, 2011 by admin

In her book On Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, MD describes five stages of coping with the malady that she observed in the psychology of many people hit by cancer. The stages may last for different periods of time and will replace each other or may exist simultaneously: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. There is one common feeling through all these stages: Hope.

This information is well known by everybody who faced a disease that can be terminal or who had somebody close and dear who had to cope with such a malady.  Playwright Anat Gov not only has the chutzpah to bring to stage the very delicate and emotional subjects of dealing with cancer and the perspective of death, but also does it with artistic tools and from a perspective different from the one taken by the majority of the artists or writers who did it before.

 

source http://cameri.co.il/index.php?page_id=2195

 

There is no melodrama in the text of Sof Tov (which could be translated as Good End or even Happy End) written by Anat Gov and the staging of Edna Maze at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv. We are watching a comedy and a musical and if there is anything that is close in genre it is not the psychological journal or reflections on life and death but rather the kitsch medical soap operas that are quite popular on TV. However, the subject and the approach are unexpected. A famous actress enters hospital for chemotherapy for an advanced form of cancer. Statistics are not on her side, the disease was discovered late, she can at best win a few more years of life spent in hospitals and treatments, probably slowing but unable to stop the disease. She seems unable or unwilling to cope with the five stages of the relationship between sick people and fate, and decides to fight back her own way, refusing treatment soon after it started. Does she have the right to do it to herself and her family, has the medical personnel around the right to assist or must they continue the treatment against her own will? The moral and emotional questions asked by the play are smart and difficult if not impossible to answer. The amazing thing is that the low key approach and the comical register work so well in dealing with them on stage.

 

source http://cameri.co.il/index.php?page_id=2195

 

The mix of comedy text, music and dance on such a serious subject succeed to ask the right questions, put in move emotions and entertain most of the time in the version of the play created by Edna Maze. The emphasize is on the strong acting with a wonderful Anat Waxman in the main role, and a supporting cast in which the three actresses playing each one of the other three fellow patients creates wonderful portraits of the ex-rock girl, of the Auschwitz survivor and of the young haredi woman brought together by the destiny of the same malady. Oded Leopold as the doctor was the only actor which I liked less in the performance, he fits the exterior of the role but does not catch and relay the human vibration. Dancing and singing are not the best, the Cameri knows to do much better, and certainly Broadway or West End will do better if they will have the inspiration to take and remake this play. I am pretty sure that they will do it, as the daring and well written text of the play deserves an international career.

 

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Cartile Hanei Fratu la Targul de Carte Gaudeamus

Posted on November 23, 2011 by admin

Duminica 27 noiembrie va avea loc in Bucuresti la Targul de Carte Gaudeamus lansarea primelor doua volume dintr-o serie care isi propune sa recupereze scrierile (o parte deja publicate, altele inedite) ale Hanei Luana Fratu. Conform informatiei publicate pe Facebook de editura Brumar vor prezenta cartea la lansare Anni-Lorei Mainka, Radu-Ilarion Munteanu si Robert Serban.

 

 

Publicarea cartii este frumoasa initiativa a familiei Hanei si rezultatul trudei unui grup de prieteni entuziasti adunati pe o lista internetica, care si-au dedicat in anul scurs de la disparitia prietenei lor timpul si energia pentru a munci cu dragoste la recuperarea si publicarea scrierilor ei. Cu aceasta ocazie este anuntat si un concurs anual promovat de o fundatie initiata de familie, care doreste sa incurajeze publicarea tinerilor scriitori debutanti.

 

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Taipei 101

Posted on November 22, 2011 by admin

Too many trips accumulated and too little time was available to me to write about them, or at least post some commented pictures on the blog. I will try to catch up but I will probably mix and alternate information from different trips – in Romania last fall, in Sicily earlier this fall and now from my most recent business trip to Taipei in Taiwan.

 

Let me thus start with information and pictures about Taipei 101. No, it’s not a basics training course, although the name may be fit from some points of view. It is about the tallest building in Taiwan, and the third in height world-wide, a building which kept the title of highest in the world for five years after it was inaugurated in 2004, and is 180 meters higher than the Eiffel Tour. It was the first building which crossed the 500 meters height threshold. 101 is the number of levels over the ground, and there are five more underground. It is also a symbol of exceeded perfection in a culture that has a cult of the numbers close to the Jewish obsession with numerology – one more than 100, one of the ‘perfect numbers’ for the Chinese.

 

The mayor of Taipei made a present for all those who registered for the social event of the IETF conference a free access ticket to the 89th floor, where the indoor observatory is located. We did not use them for many days, as rain and fog hit the city the day after we came in and lasted for most of our stay. The silhouette of many superposed pagoda shapes is however visible from distance in any weather conditions and dominates this part of the city same as the Eiffel tower seems to dwarf everything around in Paris.

 

Each evening of the week the tower is lit with another of the seven primary colors. On this shot the color seems to be violet so it must have been Sunday.

 

Here are the flags around and a more unusual perspective of the tower.

 

 

Most of the floors are occupied by offices. On the list there are many banks and the stock exchange, but also various global or foreign corporate brand names as Google Taiwan, L’Oreal or Starbucks. The lower five floors are ocupied by commercial spaces, the highest ones by the indoor and outdoor (which we did not caught open) observatories and by restaurants. Here is one of the two quite exclusive restaurants where we ate one of the evenings our traditional (during the IETF week) gourmet dinner. Unfortunately it was a rainy night, and the top of the tower was in the clouds (no, not networking clouds, but real ones!)

 

Here is a different perspective of the tower in a picture taken in between two of the 14 columns sustaining the Sun Yat-Sen memorial located at less then one kilometer from the tower.

 

And then Saturday came, my first (and only) free day after a very busy week of meetings. We woke up with the sun shining and with blue skies the first time during the week. We hurried through the breakfast and were wise to do it, we crossed the street from our hotel to the tower, we stood in the lines and eventually we were up there. In this picture you can see the Grand Hyatt hotel where we stayed on the right, the fairs building near it and the convention center where the IETF meeting was hold across the street, near the ‘small’ tower building.

 

By the time we were up there and started to take pictures the sunshine and blue skies had disappeared and clouds started to take control. We could see however most of the city and the suburbs from all directions.

 

 

The city of Taipei is surrounded by mountains to which the rather fierce character of the inhabitants is due, the character of people in a city that never fell to a foreign occupier (and they were a few during the history).

 

 

Modern construction in Taipei seems to have been designed with bird of if you prefer skyscraper view in mind. Clear contours, elaborated gardens and grounds for every sport you can imagine.

 

We descended one level from the 89th to the 88th store, were we admired one of the keys of the secret of the stability of this architectural wonder. A huge pendulum named by engineers ‘tuned mass dumper’ ensures that the silhouette of the tower stands to the threats of hurricanes and earthquakes which are not that rare in the region.

 

 

By the time we reached the line to descend back with the fastest elevator in the world (according to the promotion materials), fog gathered again around the highest levels and rained soon started. Friends told us that the observatories closed in the afternoon because of the bad weather. As that was also our last day in Taipei, it had really been ‘then or never’.

 

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