Carlo Rizzi on Aida
A bit of background to the creation of the opera Aida, on a page otherwise devoted to the opera itself: "In 1869 Ferdinand de Lesseps completed his work on the great Suez Canal, opening a maritime waterway between Port Said on the Mediterranean and Suez on the Red Sea. To mark this momentous achievement, the Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, decided to build a new opera house in Cairo. The Khedive was a great admirer of Giuseppe Verdi and asked the composer to write an ode for the occasion, but Verdi refused. Instead, the work that opened the new Khedival opera house in Cairo on November 1, 1869, was Verdi's earlier opera Rigoletto.The Khedive was not to be deterred, however, so when the Egyptologist Auguste Mariette suggested a story he had written entitled Aïda, based on an Ethiopian princess enslaved by the Egyptians, it was thought an excellent tale for a new opera by Verdi. The Khedive instructed Mariette to approach the composer. After much deliberation, Verdi agreed and on December 24, 1871, Aïda premiered in Cairo to great success. A few months later Aïda was heard for the first time in Europe at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, establishing this most popular of works firmly in the operatic repertoire, where it has remained ever since."
Zandra Rhodes on Aida
Zandra Rhodes on Aida
"High fashion and grand opera have a lot in common. Both are larger-than-life disciplines with oversize personalities, fragile egos and over-the-top flourishes.
So when Houston Grand Opera decided to dress up the warhorse Aïda, it seemed fitting to import colorful British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, whose flair for the dramatic matches her shocking pink hair.
It appears to be a match made in style heaven.
The 66-year-old designer, who defined "punk chic" in the 1970s and transformed the safety pin into a stylish fashion accessory, has created 168 costume combinations for the epic Verdi opera about a deadly love triangle in ancient Egypt."
There's a photo gallery of desgns for the costumes, and some of the costumes made up at:
So when Houston Grand Opera decided to dress up the warhorse Aïda, it seemed fitting to import colorful British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, whose flair for the dramatic matches her shocking pink hair.
It appears to be a match made in style heaven.
The 66-year-old designer, who defined "punk chic" in the 1970s and transformed the safety pin into a stylish fashion accessory, has created 168 costume combinations for the epic Verdi opera about a deadly love triangle in ancient Egypt."
There's a photo gallery of desgns for the costumes, and some of the costumes made up at:
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/photogallery/Zandra_Rhodes.html
Mummy III update
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117962923.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2564
Mummy III update
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117962923.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2564
"Brendan Fraser has closed a rich deal to return in The Mummy 3, but Rachel Weisz is not coming back. Rob Cohen will direct the pic, which is expected to begin production late in the summer. It will be set in China and will introduce Jet Li as a villain.
Universal is planning a summer 2008 release; franchise has earned more than $830 million worldwide. The Mummy bowed in 1999 and The Mummy Returns in 2001.
Weisz has won an Oscar and had a baby since the last installment, has dropped out of talks to reprise her role."
Universal is planning a summer 2008 release; franchise has earned more than $830 million worldwide. The Mummy bowed in 1999 and The Mummy Returns in 2001.
Weisz has won an Oscar and had a baby since the last installment, has dropped out of talks to reprise her role."
See the above page for more.
Book: Omm Sety's Egypt
http://www.ommsety.com/
St. Lynn's Press has just released a new book called, Omm Sety's Egypt, co-authored by Hanny el Zeini and Catherine Dees. The book describes the life of a brilliant, adventuring Englishwoman who worked under some of the greatest Egyptologists of the 20th century and 'saw' into the past. The authors present never-before-seen episodes from her amazing lfe, including important revelations about Egypt's lost history.
Book Review: Seven Ancient Wonders
http://tinyurl.com/2srm5w (thestar.com)
Seven Ancient Wonders. Author: Matthew Reilly. Publisher: Pan Macmillan, 535 pages.
Book: Omm Sety's Egypt
http://www.ommsety.com/
St. Lynn's Press has just released a new book called, Omm Sety's Egypt, co-authored by Hanny el Zeini and Catherine Dees. The book describes the life of a brilliant, adventuring Englishwoman who worked under some of the greatest Egyptologists of the 20th century and 'saw' into the past. The authors present never-before-seen episodes from her amazing lfe, including important revelations about Egypt's lost history.
Book Review: Seven Ancient Wonders
http://tinyurl.com/2srm5w (thestar.com)
Seven Ancient Wonders. Author: Matthew Reilly. Publisher: Pan Macmillan, 535 pages.
"The lack of subtlety in the plot, the dearth of character development, the frenetic pacing of the show ... oops, book, and the seemingly made-for-the-big-screen action sequences all indicate that this is not so much a novel as an adventure movie in the making.
With elements of the Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and even The Magnificent Seven appearing in the tale, it is as if Matthew Reilly had taken every adventure and conspiracy theme and amalgamated them into one.
Despite that, the premise of the tale is intriguing. Some 5,000 years ago, when the Great Pyramid stood erect in all its splendour, a 3m high golden capstone sat on its peak. The capstone, which contained a crystal in its heart, supposedly had the power to capture the enormous amount of energy released by the Tartarus Rotation, a monstrous sunspot occurring once every 4,500 years. "
With elements of the Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and even The Magnificent Seven appearing in the tale, it is as if Matthew Reilly had taken every adventure and conspiracy theme and amalgamated them into one.
Despite that, the premise of the tale is intriguing. Some 5,000 years ago, when the Great Pyramid stood erect in all its splendour, a 3m high golden capstone sat on its peak. The capstone, which contained a crystal in its heart, supposedly had the power to capture the enormous amount of energy released by the Tartarus Rotation, a monstrous sunspot occurring once every 4,500 years. "
See the above page for the full review.
Agatha Christie finds Death on the Nile
http://media-newswire.com/release_1047541.html
Agatha Christie finds Death on the Nile
http://media-newswire.com/release_1047541.html
"With more than two billion books sold worldwide, only the Bible and Shakespeare have outsold Agatha Christie, making her the best-selling novelist of all time. Now, fans of her Hercule Poirot novels and murder mystery devotees alike can pursue their passion online as Oberon Games and International Rights Management ( IRM ) today announced the downloadable PC game, Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile, will be available May 2007."
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