This month, the Florida Grand Opera broadens its repertoire with Leos Janácek’s ‘Katya Kabanova’. The Czech-born composer’s stormy marriage to a German girl half his age inspired this tragedy set in a small Russian town in the 1860s. Boris, a young man dependant on his overbearing uncle, falls in love with Katya, the wife of a local merchant. Following a moonlit assignation, however, Katya breaks down and confesses her indiscretion to her husband. Tormented by guilt, she then throws herself in the Volga River.
Tag Archives: fol
Nicholson Baker
Baker achieved notoriety outside the literary world when it was revealed that Monica Lewinsky had bought President Clinton a copy of his phone-sex novel ‘Vox’. Baker’s non-fiction is first-rate too and his latest ‘Double Fold’, which examines the policy of US libraries (including the Library of Congress and CIA) of ‘Destroying to Preserve’ their irreplaceable card catalogues, continues his excellence. The topic leads Baker into a passionate defense of paper and this talk should give the loquacious author plenty of opportunities to unload his fascinating mind.
Mansun
One of the most enduring attractions of Chester’s finest rock export – the trio known as Mansun – is that they refuse to be allocated space in any one of rock’s pigeonholes. Their music touches on all rock style of the last 30 years – from progressive rock to punk. While their new album, ‘Little Kix’, has not set their home country alight in the same way as their earlier efforts, here in Japan they still have a fanatical following largely composed of young women, and these gigs are sure to be sell-outs.
Nicholson Baker
Baker achieved notoriety outside the literary world when it was revealed that Monica Lewinsky had bought President Clinton a copy of his phone-sex novel ‘Vox’. Baker’s non-fiction is first-rate too and his latest ‘Double Fold’, which examines the policy of US libraries (including the Library of Congress and CIA) of ‘Destroying to Preserve’ their irreplaceable card catalogues, continues his excellence. The topic leads Baker into a passionate defense of paper and this talk should give the loquacious author plenty of opportunities to unload his fascinating mind.
Joy Williams
The title of Joy Williams’ latest novel, ‘The Quick and the Dead’, sounds like a Sergio Leone movie. It is set in the dry expanses of Arizona. Williams, a Key West resident, has been compared to David Lynch and Thomas Pynchon, in her cynical depiction of sinister power structures challenged by the quirky antics of marginal figures. ‘The Quick and the Dead’ follows several eccentric characters: three motherless girls, a gay piano teacher who always wears a tuxedo and an alcoholic visited by the ghost of his wife. Tonight, Williams reads at Books&Books.
The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition
One of the greatest tales of survival in expedition history unfolds as this exhibition brings to life the epic story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 ‘Endurance’ expedition. More than 150 photographs taken by ship photographer Frank Hurley are displayed chronologically alongside rare film footage. Printed from glass plate negatives, they capture the courageous crew and the extreme hardships they faced. Visitors confront the towering waves and strong winds that Shackleton and his rescue team faced and are invited to experience the difficulty of open-boat navigation.
Iphigenia at Aulis
The National Theatre brings another Greek tragedy to the stage at the Abbey, following the acclaimed production of ‘Medea’ starring Fiona Shaw. Euripides’ ‘Iphigenia at Aulis’ is a powerful examination of nationalism and the price of war, told through the eyes of one family and their eldest daughter, Iphigenia. This contemporary production will be directed by Katie Mitchell, whose work includes ‘The Phoenician Women’ for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the critically acclaimed production of ‘The Oresteia’ at the Royal National Theatre in London.
