Život v Cizine (was La Vie Expatriée)
I'm finally satisfying a long-held dream of living abroad.
I started with six months in France followed by two and half years in the Czech Republic.
Now, I'm giving Turkey a try.
- Život v Cizine
(was La Vie Expatriée)Previous Posts
- Obcan Havel (Citizen Havel)
- Dutiful Pedestrians, Revisited
- Prague Zoo and Trojský Zámek
- The Butter Museum at Máslovice
- Eclipse Crossword
- Trip to Vienna and comparative Advent markets
- Clubbing carp for Christmas
- Camera out of whack
- How do you solve a problem like Maria?
- NY Times article on Mariánské Lázne
- Commonplace Book
- Flash Portfolio
- Thought for the Day
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Night at the Opera
My Friday night visit to hear Martinů's Řecké pašije (Greek Passion) marked my first visit to any serious theater since leaving California. The opera is based on Nikos Kazantzakis's novel Christ Recrucified.
Brief synopsis:
The preparations for the annual Passion play in the Greek village of Lycovrissi are interrupted by the arrival of refugees whose village has been destroyed by a Turkish attack. The refugees are defended by the shepherd Manolios, who had been chosen for the role of Jesus Christ. Other villagers, particularly the Passion play's Mary Magdalene (who in real life is also the village prostitute), St. James, St. Peter, and St. John, similarly attempt to help the refugees, but the priest, Grigoris, leads resistance to their presence. Finally, in an argument, the villager Panait, the Passion's Judas, kills Manolios, and the refugees leave the village in search of a new home.
This was my first visit to the National Theater (Národní Divadlo), since it's not open to visitors except for performances. It's a really lovely theater (alas that I'm still camera-less).
The performance itself was wonderfully sung and beautifully staged, and I very much enjoyed the evening out.
Labels: Greek Passion, Narodni Divadlo, opera, Prague
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