France
The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire, BBC TwoThursday, 07 August 2014
We call it the First World War, but in Western Europe at least, most of the scrutiny is confined to what happened to Britain, France and Germany (with a side order of Russia) from 1914-18. The writer and presenter of this two-part series, David... Read more... |
Prom 16: Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Goetzel/Prom 17: Les Arts Florissants, ChristieWednesday, 30 July 2014
The sprightly tread of Handel’s Queen of Sheba, attended by two wonderful Turkish oboists, wove the most fragile of gold threads between full orchestral exotica and Rameau motets of infinite variety last night. Not that any more links need be found... Read more... |
Grand CentralFriday, 18 July 2014
Finding a new angle for a forbidden romance film must be tough. Telling the story of a couple where one is married, in a relationship or in some other situation impeding the path of true love or lust is not enough. New settings are needed. In the... Read more... |
Nightmare in Aix: Sarah Connolly on a shocking first nightTuesday, 08 July 2014
I felt so shocked by the events that took place during the premiere of Handel’s Ariodante on 3 July in the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence last week, and so disappointed that our painstaking work with director Richard Jones over the last six weeks had... Read more... |
CD: Pulcinella - BestioleThursday, 03 July 2014
French band Pulcinella is little known over here, but the release of their third album Bestiole (meaning nothing more ribald than “tiny creatures”, apparently), coincides with a brief UK tour, and is looking like the beginnings of a breakthrough. A... Read more... |
Don Quichotte, Grange Park OperaTuesday, 24 June 2014
Grange Park Opera has a strong penchant for French repertoire, and has been valiant, consistent and highly imaginative in presenting it ever since 1998, when Wasfi Kani and Michael Moody first started inviting opera-goers to the unique setting of a... Read more... |
D-Day Sacrifice, National GeographicWednesday, 04 June 2014
With the 70th anniversary of D-Day following hard on the heels of the extensive World War One commemorations, battle fatigue is becoming a very real concern for TV-watchers. Breaking the mould of retrospective war documentaries becomes increasingly... Read more... |
DVD: Stranger by the LakeFriday, 23 May 2014
Miss this “gay” film at your peril - a thriller with a stronger story than most. Directed and written by Alain Guiraudie (King of Escape), Stranger at the Lake’s a stealthy ineluctable drama that draws the audience in as few other films can, with... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Lyon: Britten FêtedFriday, 23 May 2014
“Assez vu” (“seen enough”) is the first line of Benjamin Britten’s last Rimbaud setting in his electric song cycle Les Illuminations. Victor Hugo and Paul Verlaine had been the objects of his 14-year old attention in the Quatre Chansons françaises;... Read more... |
Before the Winter ChillSaturday, 10 May 2014
French cinema is full of long-term marriages hit by a meteor in the form of an attractive younger female. So there is a heavy sense of déjà vu to Before the Winter Chill. It also features another increasingly common trope of modern French film,... Read more... |
Paths of GloryTuesday, 06 May 2014
Paths of Glory (1957) stars Kirk Douglas as a First World War colonel who's as fearless leading his poilus on a suicide mission as he is arguing for mercy for three of the survivors. A lawyer in peacetime, he defends them when they are tried as... Read more... |
Chris Marker: A Grin Without A Cat, Whitechapel GallerySunday, 20 April 2014
If you’re not already familiar with at least some aspects of Chris Marker’s work, this exhibition will feel overwhelming, if not confusing. You may have to pay a second visit to get the most out of it, or even make sense of it. It’s certainly a... Read more... |
