Word: french
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Once again, the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris has given French opera critics a case of the vapors - but this time, two British new wave pop stars are at the center of the uproar. Since Jean-Luc Choplin became director in 2006, the historic opera house's repertoire of classic opera has increasingly taken a back seat to newer, bolder commissions in a bid to make the Chatelet stage a true crossroads for the arts. From a Bollywood-style remake of the 1923 opera-ballet Padmavati, to a stage mutation of the sci-fi horror film The Fly, the Chatelet...
...title of the opera refers to the transcendent and reconciliatory power of the human voice, whether scared or profane. However, in the ears of critics at the French dailies, the experiment has proved to be less than pitch-perfect. Le Figaro, for example, declared Welcome to the Voice "rock and opera's wedding gone wrong," slipping into "platitudes." Meanwhile, the daily Liberation, criticized the libretto's "naivete...
...your comfort zone," says Sting. "As an artist, it's vital to have that kind of experience to grow, otherwise you're trapped in a box. Being in the box is never really interesting - I like to step outside of it, even at the risk of personal failure." The French critics may not agree, but with its easy juxtaposition of styles and obstinately hopeful narrative, Welcome to the Voice does make for a decidedly modern opera. And judging from the packed houses and endless ovations during its five-night Paris run, it seems the vox populi, at least, has declared...
...from the general applause Britain's leaders received for their bank-bailout plans just six weeks ago. "A general decrease in value-added tax is perhaps the answer for some countries, but for Germany and France it is not," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, following a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on a common European response to the economic downturn. Asked Sarkozy: "Should we use up our available room for maneuver on reducing prices when prices are already falling...
...countries have exposed the limitations of peacekeeping as much as Congo. MONUC (the initials for the French translation of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) appears overwhelmed as rival military forces, from rebels to the nation's army, take turns ravaging parts of the country. Alan Doss is perhaps the world's foremost expert on peacekeeping. In a lifetime career at the U.N., he ran the peacekeeping operations in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone before being transferred to Congo in October 2007. He spoke to TIME's Africa bureau chief, Alex Perry, by telephone...