Yesterday, prompted by the advice of a colleague I’ll always heed when it comes to culture and art, we organized an impromptu expedition to the theatre to see a play that’s been acclaimed by both the public and critics, a Latvian 4-hours piéce called Rohtko (anagram intended, and I wonder how many people noticed the […]
The new exhibition at Palazzo Reale, showcasing works by Patrizia Mussa, complements the inauguration of the new operatic season at La Scala, a theatre that makes a point of not doing anything people might like (if I see again the Dame aux Camélias I might scream). It is part of many events organized throughout the […]
On Friday evening, we went to see a Rocky Horror Show rendition put together for the 50th Anniversary of the show, and currently touring Europe. I don’t even know how many times we’ve seen this anymore: every time a new group comes to town, we try and grab a ticket. We missed them last year, […]
EDIT: this article was written before the author in question was accused of sexual assault by multiple women. His answer addressing their accusations couldn’t unfortunately convince me of his innocence. I discourage you from giving him any money. Is there anything more Halloweenish than Neil Gaiman? Oh yes, there is: an album by Neil Gaiman […]
If you ask someone for a Christmas classical piece, they’ll most likely answer The Nutcracker. Everyone knows that. But what happens if you ask the same about Halloween? There probably won’t be such a unanimous answer. Some might say Carl Orff‘s Carmina Burana, for the haunting fake medieval mood. Except there’s nothing haunting about it […]
Probably not the best song from Nightwish, certainly not my favourite though I like this a lot, it’s possibly the most haunting. Ghost River is part of the underrated album Imaginaerum, composed for a generic vocalist during a transition period in the life of the band, and the whole album is “about the celebration of […]
I know this opinion might be unpopular with music connoisseurs, but I liked what Deep Purple did with their 2017 studio album Infinite. My favourite track has to be “The Surprising”, and it’s a perfect feature for this Spooky Season with its haunting atmosphere, its mythical and biblical echoes. With the narrative voice intruding into […]
When we talked about the boar’s head as a traditional Christmas dish, we mentioned “Boar’s Head Carol”, one of the oldest Christmas carols to date. Today we take a look at another Christmas Carol from the XVI Century, and perhaps the one with the most enthralling history of them all: the Coventry Carol. It’s usually […]
Today on my Patreon, the post is free to read even if you’re not subscribed. We take a look at the ultimate evil Fairy Godmother, Carabosse, and her sister Magotine. Carabosse is famous for being the wicked fairy in the Sleeping Beauty ballet (stage name Maleficent, I guess) but who invented the character? Step in […]
My main character uses silly rhimes a lot, both as a trick while thinking and when he has to time something. Since the novel is set in 1701, and many nursery rhymes and tunes were not collected until a century and a half later, I had to ask myself which ones I could refer to […]