#I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

6:59 AM

I’ve been told

that people in the army

do more by 7:00 am

than I do

in an entire day

but if I wake

at 6:59 am

and turn to you

to trace the outline of your lips

with mine

I will have done enough

and killed no one

in the process.

by Shane Koyczan

#this is just giselda from #i lombardi alla prima crociata #opera tag #opera #verdi #giuseppe verdi #the lombards at the first crusade #i lombardi #poetry #poems #words words words

[tonisemitoni]

Zitti zitti, piano piano - Concerto con Piero Barone, Claudia Corona e Thiago Felipe Stopa

In pieno centro, attorniata dall’oceanica movida (brutto neologismo) universitaria, all’angolo di Via Begatto a Via Armando Quadri è situata una piccola chiesa barocca, non più destinata al culto,  dedicata ai Santi Damiano e Cosma che necessiterebbe di un restauro. In essa si svolgono diverse attività, perlopiù musicali, e in essa ogni tanto il maestro Fulvio Massa organizza dei saggi o concerti…

View On WordPress

#Arturo Melocchi #Bologna #Cavalleria Rusticana #Chiesa Santi Damiano e Cosma #Claudia Corona #Ernani #Francesco Paolo Tosti #Franco Corelli #Gaetano Donizetti #Georges Bizet #Giacomo Puccini #Giuseppe Verdi #Hipolito Lazaro #I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata #I Puritani #I Vespri Sicilani #Il volo #Jaime Aragall #L&039;amico Fritz #La Rondine #Les Pêcheurs de Perles #Lucia di Lammermoor #Marco Belluzzi #Marechiare #Mario del Monaco #Miguel Fleta #Paride Venturi #Piero Barone #Pietro Mascagni #Placido Domingo

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.11 (before 1950)

660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor. 951 – Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou. 1144 - Robert of Chester completes his translation from Arabic to Latin of the Liber de compositione alchemiae, marking the birth of Western alchemy. 1534 – At the Convocation of Canterbury, the Catholic bishops comprising the Upper House of the Province of Canterbury agree to style Henry VIII supreme head of the English church and clergy "so far as the law of Christ allows". 1584 – A naval expedition led by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founds Nombre de Jesús, the first of two short-lived Spanish settlements in the Strait of Magellan. 1586 – Sir Francis Drake with an English force captures and occupies the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena de Indias for two months, obtaining a ransom and booty. 1659 – The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses. 1794 – First session of United States Senate opens to the public. 1808 – Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal. 1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry is accused of "gerrymandering" for the first time. 1823 – Carnival tragedy of 1823: About 110 boys are killed during a stampede at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti in Valletta, Malta. 1826 – University College London is founded as University of London. 1840 – Gaetano Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France. 1843 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy. 1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia. 1856 – The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is deposed. 1858 – Bernadette Soubirous's first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary occurs in Lourdes, France. 1861 – American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state. 1873 – King Amadeo I of Spain abdicates, triggering the proclamation of the First Spanish Republic. 1889 – The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted. 1903 – Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria. 1906 – Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos. 1919 – Friedrich Ebert (SPD), is elected President of Germany. 1929 – The Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty. 1937 – The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union. 1938 – BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term "robot". 1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore. 1946 – The New Testament of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first significant challenge to the Authorized King James Version, is published.

#Events

[dstrachan]

'VIEWS FROM THE EDGE' - w/c 5th February 2024

Patti Smith ‘People Have The Power’ 

Frank Zappa ‘Plastic People’

Colony 5 ‘Plastic World’

Van Morrison ‘Moondance’

The Specials ‘Vote For Me’

Goldfrapp ‘Rocket’

Bacon Lung ‘Bonfire Of The Vanities’

John Clark ‘The Maastricht Tapes’

Tiger Lilly ‘Walk A Mile’

Johnny Moped ‘Where’s Shergar?’

David Bowie ‘Suffragette City’

D Daly ‘Canary Wharf’

KO Beats ‘Chess’

Funk da galinha (Radio Edit) ‘Betobahia’

Orchestra Philarmonic San Venutti ‘I Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata T'assale Un Tremito’ 

Cata Raybaud ‘Knock Out’

Miles Davis ‘John McLaughlin’

Kildesco ‘Miles Away’

John Miles ‘Music’

Red Ant Band ‘She’ll Be Gone’

Atomic ‘Nowhere To Run’

Blondie ‘Atomic’

The Temptations ‘Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On’

Curtis Mayfield ‘Give It Up’

Jesse Rae ‘The Thistle’

The Tibbs ‘An Old Dog New Tricks’

#views from the edge #mad wasp radio #td1 radio #community radio

[aki1975]

Luciano Pavarotti - Giuseppe Verdi - Bella figlia dell’amore - Rigoletto - 1851

Giuseppe Verdi, nato suddito di Maria Luigia di Parma, studiò al Conservatorio di Milano grazie al supporto di Antonio Barezzi di cui sposò la figlia Margherita fino alla morte nel 1840.

La conoscenza con la cantante Giuseppina Strepponi e l’impresario Merelli permise a Verdi di debuttare, senza successo, alla Scala con Oberto nel 1839, ma soprattutto di avere il libretto del Nabucco da mettere in musica con cui raggiunse la fama nel 1842 e le relazioni, nel salotto di Clara Maffei, con i patrioti italiani. Nel 1849 Verdi scrisse La battaglia di Legnano e conobbe Mazzini.

Le sue opere sono ricche di personaggi che meritano di essere ricordati:

- simboli dei sentimenti risorgimentali, il popolo degli Ebrei nel Nabucco e I Lombardi alla prima crociata;

- i personaggi shakespeariani (Macbeth, Otello, Falstaff)

- per quanto rimasto dopo la censura, Rigoletto (1851, dal Roi s’amuse di Victor Hugo), buffone e deforme, ma pieno d’amore per la figlia Gilda insidiata dal seduttore Duca di Mantova (“La donna è mobile”, “Bella figlia dell’amore”);

- la prostituta Violetta della Traviata di Verdi, ispirata a La Signora delle Camelie di Dumas, che muore tisica rimpiangendo l’amore per Alfredo;

- l’Aida wagneriana.

#musica #opera #verdi

[lamilanomagazine]

Milano, le cinque giornate de La Scala nei quartieri cittadini

Milano, le cinque giornate de La Scala nei quartieri cittadini. Per cinque giorni, dal 27 settembre al 1° ottobre, “La Scala in città” occuperà luoghi e spazi dei quartieri milanesi proponendo gratuitamente ai cittadini 22 spettacoli in 18 differenti sedi diffuse nei nove Municipi di Milano, unendo musica, danza, teatro con una speciale attenzione ai più giovani e alle iniziative didattiche e formative.   “La Scala in città” La nuova edizione de “La Scala in città”, realizzata in collaborazione con Filarmonica della Scala e Accademia Teatro alla Scala nell’ambito dell’iniziativa “Milano è Viva” promossa dal Comune di Milano, vede il Teatro collaborare con le associazioni attive sul territorio: oltre all’Accademia scaligera, il centro PIME, l’associazione SONG, la cooperativa B-CAM e lo Spirit de Milan. Dopo l’ondata di musica su tutto il territorio cittadino nei primi tre giorni, venerdì 30 e sabato 1 saranno i cittadini e le cittadine dei diversi quartieri a essere invitati al Piermarini per una maratona di musica e danza. Filarmonica La proposta artistica si fa ancora più articolata: la Filarmonica partecipa in diverse formazioni - dagli Archi al Quartetto di Percussioni, dal Sestetto di Fiati agli Ottoni e Percussioni, dall’Ensemble strumentale al Trio Jazz - con otto programmi diversi che spaziano tra le epoche e le scuole nazionali dall’Italia agli Stati Uniti, dalla Mitteleuropa alla Francia e alla Russia. Coro Il programma del Coro diretto da Aberto Malazzi presenta in quattro appuntamenti un repertorio che, dalle origini del melodramma con L’Orfeo di Monteverdi, arriva alle pagine più celebri de “I Lombardi alla prima crociata” e di “Nabucco”. Corpo di Ballo Anche il Corpo di Ballo, diretto da Manuel Legris, è protagonista di quattro serate con un programma che include classici sulle punte firmati da Petipa e grandi del Novecento da Petit a Pistoni, ma anche creazioni disegnate sugli interpreti scaligeri da alcuni dei più prestigiosi coreografi di oggi, dallo stesso Legris a Mauro Bigonzetti e András Lukács, di cui il Corpo di Ballo presenta per la prima volta il duetto “Luminous” su musica di Max Richter. Eventi per i più giovani Novità dell’edizione 2022 sono gli eventi dedicati a bambini e bambine, ragazze e ragazzi ideati da Mario Acampa in veste di autore, regista e attore, insieme alle Voci bianche, ai solisti dell’Accademia di Canto e agli allievi e alle allieve della Scuola di Ballo, in linea con gli spettacoli presentati nell’ambito della programmazione del Teatro. Proprio lo spettacolo “Cantami una cartolina” con le Voci bianche dell’Accademia apre la programmazione martedì al Teatro Bruno Munari. Completano il programma il 27, 28 e 29 settembre le visite guidate ai Laboratori Ansaldo, il grande spazio dove nascono scenografie e costumi di opere e balletti della Scala. Info e biglietti Tutti gli spettacoli sono a ingresso gratuito con prenotazione obbligatoria.  È possibile prenotarsi sul sito www.lascalaincitta.it a partire dalle ore 15 di martedì 20 settembre. La rassegna “La Scala in città” è realizzata nell’ambito dell’iniziativa “Milano è Viva” promossa dal Comune di Milano con il sostegno del Ministero della Cultura. Read the full article

[opera-simplified]

Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata

I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards at the First Crusade)

Opera Simplified #6

The Basics:

Music: Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Temistocle Solera

Premiere: February 11, 1843; Teatro alla Scala, Milan.

Based on: Tommaso Grossi’s epic poem of the same name, available here in Italian.

Setting: Milan, Antioch, and various locations in the desert near Jerusalem; 1095-1099 CE.

Characters:

Arvino, a nobleman, one of the two sons of Lord Folco of Rò—tenor 

Viclinda, his wife—soprano

Pagano, his brother—bass

Giselda, Arvino and Viclinda’s daughter—soprano

Pirro, Arvino’s squire—bass

Acciano, Governor of Antioch—bass 

Sofia, his wife—soprano

Oronte, their son—tenor

A Prior of the City of Milan—tenor

Recommended Audio Recordings: if you can get over the presence of The Tenor Turned Baritone Who Shall Not Be Named [yours truly opts to skip over the parts featuring That Singer, as luckily there are not many such parts], this 1971 recording also starring Cristina Deutekom and Ruggero Raimondi is quite good (YouTube; Spotify). Another quite good recording, with That One Conductor From The Met Who Shall Not Be Named, June Anderson, Samuel Ramey, Luciano Pavarotti, Richard Leech, and young Patricia Racette and Ildebrando d’Arcangelo in supporting roles is this nice 1996 take (YouTube; Spotify). A third is this live recording from Parma in 2009 (YouTube; Spotify).

Recommended Video Recordings: The Met 1993 production, which has [unfortunately] the same conductor as the 1996 recording but also Ramey, Pavarotti, and the delightful Lauren Flanigan, is great (and also the source of the vast majority of the featured video clips). The 2009 Parma production is pretty good too, as is this 1999 Santiago production (Part I; Part II).

The Opera, Very Simplified: After one of the Folco brothers returns from exile to (allegedly) reconcile with his brother, who himself has been named leader of the Lombard forces for the First Crusade, things could not look more rosy. But when the brother just returned from exile horribly botches an attempt to murder the other brother, that combined with the family’s imminent departure for the Crusade throws the family into chaos, especially when the heiress to the family is captured by the enemy and summarily falls in love with a local prince...and who is the mysterious hermit helping the Lombards at every turn anyway?

A couple more things:

Here’s some quick geographical/historical context going in, courtesy of your history and European studies dual-degree student and series author.

DISCLAIMER: the author of this Opera Simplified would like to make explicitly clear that she roundly condemns both the Islamophobic nature of the Crusades and the Islamophobic sentiments that certain characters in this opera voice. At the same time, she has also written about how this opera was not intended to be Islamophobic, although there are certain potentially uncomfy aspects to the drama on account of the subject matter.

With that in mind,

THE OPERA:

Prelude (note: as written, this goes directly into the first act)

ACT I: La vendetta (Revenge) **

Scene 1:

Outside the Church of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, 1095. Joyful music can be heard coming from the church. A bunch of men come out of the church into the square.

Some Men: THIS IS SO WONDERFUL

Other Men: I know, right? Everyone looked so happy!

Some Men: Yeah, well, everyone except Pagano. He still looks like he’s filled with terror.

All the Men: YEAH HIS EYES ARE STILL HOLLOW AND HE STILL LOOKS LIKE HE’S TORMENTED LIKE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO 

I mean, we’re not saying it’s impossible to change, but really: it’s very rare for fury like a wolf’s to turn into peace like a lamb’s.

*A bunch of women run in.*

Women: Hey, it’s dark out, so out of curiosity, what’s going on in the church? Why does it sound so festive in there?

Men: Oh, haven’t you heard? It’s a ceremony of forgiveness and reconciliation between Pagano and his family. Pagano had to agree to it before his exile was allowed to be lifted.

Women: Exile? For what? Tell us!

Men: ...How do none of you know this story?

Women: Well, we do, but the audience doesn’t.

Men: *heavy collective sigh*...Fine.

So y’all know Viclinda, right?

Women: Yup! Great gal.

Men: Right. She was this young woman, very beautiful, very gentle and kind. So of course all the most eligible young bachelors in Milan wanted desperately to marry her. And two of those bachelors were Arvino and Pagano, the two sons of Lord Folco. And of course, Viclinda and Arvino fell head over heels for each other, and she picked him to be her husband.

Women: And now they’re such a wonderful couple!

Men: But that’s not all. Pagano couldn’t get over the rejection, so he swore revenge, and one day when Arvino and Viclinda were going to church, he tried to ambush and murder Arvino! Thank God it failed, but Pagano was sent into exile in the Holy Land so he could pray at all the holy places and repent of his sins. He’s been away for many years now, he’s done that, and now he’s been allowed to come back.

...You got that, audience?

Women: They can’t talk to you. That would be violating the commonly-accepted rules of operatic theatricality.

Men: SO WHY DID YOU HAVE US TELL THAT ENTIRE STORY IF WE CAN’T EVEN TELL WHETHER OR NOT THEY UNDERSTAND

Women: Because if you didn’t, they definitely wouldn’t. Now they have...a chance.

Men: Can’t they just read their program books?

Women: When has anyone ever read the program book? ***

Men: Touché.

Is there going to be any more of this quasi-metatheatrical, break-the-fourth-wall exposition-type thing?

Women: As far as we know, no.

Men: Good.

Women: HERE THE FAMILY COMES NOW THEY ALL LOOK SO HAPPY

Men: BUT PAGANO STILL LOOKS LIKE HE’S FILLED WITH TERROR

Everyone: YEAH HIS EYES ARE STILL HOLLOW AND HE STILL LOOKS LIKE HE’S TORMENTED LIKE ALL THOSE YEARS AGO 

I mean, we’re not saying it’s impossible to change, but really: it’s very rare for fury like a wolf’s to turn into peace like a lamb’s.

*Pagano, Arvino, Viclinda, Giselda, and Pirro appear, preceded by Priors of the City of Milan and servants with torches. Pagano kneels.*

Pagano: Because this is the scene of my attempted crime, it is only fitting that this is the place where I, humble and repentant, ask forgiveness of all of you, the world, and God.

Arvino: Come here! Let me seal your forgiveness with a kiss.

*They kiss each other on the cheek and embrace.*

People: LONG LIVE ARVINO HE’S SUCH A GREAT PERSON

Viclinda, Giselda, Pirro, and People: And now, let there be peace!

Pagano: (What shame I feel!)

Giselda: Dad, are you alright? What’s the matter? You’re shaking, you’re turning pale...this should be a happy moment! I’m so happy our whole family is finally back together for the first time in my life; are you not happy too?

Arvino: (For a moment, I trusted him, I could have shared anything with him, but one look at the fury in his eyes and my whole heart froze up and now I’m suspicious...)

Pagano: (Pirro, you understand me. Not even Heaven itself will protect them from me! They dared to hurt me when I loved her all those years ago, and now they want me to play nice and make peace with them! Not happening!)

Pirro: (Pagano, whatever order you give me will be exactly what I do. I know a lot of people who would be more than happy to assist you; we can all meet up tonight to plan.)

Viclinda: I’m just happy that things seem to be looking up...my love, are you not happy too?

People: THEY’VE RECONCILED BUT STILL LET’S ALL HOPE THIS ISN’T LIKE THE KISS WITH WHICH JUDAS BETRAYED JESUS BECAUSE WE ALL STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS

*One of the Priors of the City of Milan steps forward.*

The Prior: AND NOW FOR AN ANNOUNCEMENT

People: ooh we like announcements

The Prior: PETER THE HERMIT HAS BEEN GETTING EVERYONE SUPER-EXCITED ABOUT THE FIRST CRUSADE AND WELL LONG STORY SHORT THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY HAVE DECIDED THAT ARVINO WILL COMMAND THE LOMBARD CRUSADERS ****

Everyone: HOORAY

Arvino: I accept this challenge and I look forward to fulfilling my task even to bloodshed and beyond. 

Pagano, today just got even better! Let’s vow to remain faithful to one another forever!

Arvino and Pagano: LET’S FORGET ALL THE HATRED BETWEEN US AND FIGHT TOGETHER AGAINST THE ENEMY

Everyone Else: MAY SHAME AND DISHONOR STRIKE ANYONE WHO BREAKS THEIR SACRED OATH AND IF ANYONE KILLS ANYONE ELSE MAY THE KILLER NEVER KNOW A MOMENT OF PEACE ON THIS EARTH

*Everyone leaves. A chorus of nuns begins to sing from offstage.* *****

Nuns: THE NIGHT IS DARK AND FULL OF TERRORS SO HYMN TIME

Dear God, please let us have sweet dreams and bring peace to the world and foil the plots of those who want to violate their sacred word and betray others...and in return, we will sing even more joyfully tomorrow!

*Pagano and Pirro enter.*

Pagano: hahahahahahahaha that’s hilarious that you really think that your prayers will be heeded because I myself about to do the exact thing y’all are praying won’t happen and I am not going to fuck it up

Pirro, I need you to understand something: I’m not inherently a bad person; IT’S LOVE’S FAULT I’M LIKE THIS BECAUSE LOVE COULD HAVE EITHER MADE ME THE BEST AND MOST PIOUS PERSON ALIVE OR MADE ME ACT LIKE THIS AND LOOK WHAT IT PICKED

Nuns: Bring peace to the world...

Pagano: And as for you, Viclinda, did you really believe I could forget you? While you’ve been off being happy, I’ve only been hurting because MY LOVE FOR YOU HAS ONLY GROWN WITH TIME IT’S LIKE A VOLCANO

I’M NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN NEVER GONNA RUN AROUND OR DESERT YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU

Pirro: Hey, I’ve gotten a bunch of men together. You can rely on them to help you, just say the word.

Pagano: Let me see them.

*Pirro points to some nearby bushes, where the hired assassins are hidden.*

They need to set the palace on fire.

*The assassins come out of the bushes.*

It’s a very dangerous job I’m asking you to do: Arvino has lots of servants and guards. However, anyone who does their job well will be richly rewarded for their efforts.

Assassins: WE’RE NOT AFRAID WE DO THIS ALL THE TIME AND WE’RE REALLY GOOD AT OUR JOB AND WE LOVE IT LIKE WE CAN JUST GO KILL SOMEONE AND THEN GRAB A BITE TO EAT RIGHT AFTERWARDS IT’S GREAT

Nuns: Foil the plots of those who want to violate their sacred word and betray others...

Pagano: AT LAST MY REVENGE IS WITHIN SIGHT AFTER SO MANY YEARS OF BEING OBSESSIVELY IN LOVE AND OBSESSED WITH GETTING THIS ONE WOMAN AT ALL COSTS I DON’T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE JUST THAT ONCE UPON OF TIME I WOULD HAVE EVEN GLADLY SPILLED MY BLOOD IF IT MEANT WINNING HER BUT NOW I’LL WIN HER AND THE ONLY PERSON SPILLING BLOOD WILL BE ARVINO

Pirro and Assassins: JUST TELL US WHAT TO DO AND WE WILL DO IT

*They all leave.*

Scene 2:

A large passageway in the Folco family’s palace, which leads to Arvino’s rooms on the left and another set of rooms on the right. A single lamp lights the way. Viclinda enters, visibly worried.

Viclinda: I’m trembling all over, even in the depths of my soul...no. I don’t think he’s truly sorry for what he tried to do to Arvino and me. His face...that was a look of anger, not of repentance. 

*Giselda enters.*

There you are, Giselda! Come here. This whole situation, it just feels so dangerous, and I’m willing to do just about anything to keep that danger away...so you and I, let us make a vow right here before God: if He protects Arvino tonight, you and I will go barefoot to the Holy Sepulchre and pray there. ******

*Arvino emerges from his rooms.*

Arvino: Viclinda, dear, take Giselda with you and go into my rooms, but do not go to bed just yet.

Giselda: Oh God! What’s happening? I don’t understand, what’s this danger everyone’s afraid of?

Arvino: My father will be staying with you two in my rooms for the night. I’ll go investigate—I think I hear people running around, here, in the middle of the night! To be fair, it could just be me being paranoid what with Pagano being back and all, but it never hurt anyone to check and make sure everything’s okay. You two, turn in for the night.

*He leaves.*

Giselda: Holy Virgin, hear my prayer...

*Giselda and Viclinda kneel.*

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Virgin, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, that He may look upon us in mercy at the hour of our death. Amen.

*They rise and go into Arvino’s rooms, leaving the passageway empty. After a few moments, Pagano and Pirro enter.*

Pirro: Come, the time is right: the coast is clear, and a servant told me that Arvino is already sound asleep in his room.

Pagano: Excellent! Put out that lamp. In just a minute, there will be plenty of light because THE FLAMES WILL BE LIT TO SIGNAL THE TRIUMPH OF MY VENGEANCE

Anyway, wait here.

*He cautiously enters Arvino’s rooms. Moments later, fire appears elsewhere in the palace.*

Pirro: THE HIRED MEN ARE SETTING EVERYTHING ON FIRE AND ALSO I HEAR SWORDS LET’S GO

*He draws his sword and runs off. Giselda runs out of Arvino’s rooms and off to find her father. Shortly after this Pagano enters, holding Viclinda at dagger point.*

Viclinda: OH MY GOD PAGANO YOU HORRIBLE MAN ARVINO HELP ME

Pagano: ASKING ME AT DAGGER POINT TO RELEASE YOU DOES NOT MAKE IT ANY MORE LIKELY THAT I WILL RELEASE YOU SO SHUT UP AND COME WITH ME

Viclinda: I WOULD RATHER DIE AT YOUR FEET

Pagano: WELL I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU DIE BECAUSE I WANT YOU OH AND WHO EXACTLY IS GOING TO SAVE YOU FROM ME???

NO ONE WILL FREE YOU FROM ME AND THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WILL ANSWER YOUR CRIES AND YOUR SCREAMING ARE MY HIRED ASSASSINS SO DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT RESISTING

*The fire within the palace is extinguished.*

ONCE AGAIN THERE IS NO ONE TO HEAR YOU

*Enter Arvino with Giselda, Pirro, servants, and other people.*

Arvino: ACTUALLY I’M HERE AND I HEAR HER

Pagano: (WHAT?! ARVINO?!?! HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!!!)

Arvino: Well, I’m still very much alive and unharmed, thank you. ALSO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING

Pagano: Wait...but I stabbed someone...I thought I killed you...and my sword is covered in blood...

So if I didn’t stab you at all, let alone kill you...then who did I kill?

Giselda and Viclinda: THAT WAS YOUR FATHER

Pagano: I KILLED WHO NOW?!?!?!?!

Everyone Else: WAIT OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK

*Pagano drops his dagger.*

Everyone Except Pagano: PAGANO YOU ARE A MONSTER FROM HELL AND WHY CAN’T THE EARTH JUST SWALLOW YOU UP OR GOD STRIKE YOU DOWN WITH LIGHTNING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE HEAVEN RECOILS FROM YOU IN HORROR

Pagano: CAN THE EARTH JUST SWALLOW ME UP OR GOD STRIKE ME DOWN WITH LIGHTNING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS WENT REALLY, REALLY WRONG AND NOW HEAVEN RECOILS FROM ME IN HORROR

Arvino: MOTHERFUCKER YOU MURDERED YOUR OWN FATHER SO NOW I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU BECAUSE FAIR IS FAIR AND THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT HYPOCRITICAL AT ALL AND YOU’LL DIE UPON THE CORPSE OF THE FATHER YOU MURDERED

*He makes to stab Pagano but Giselda intervenes.*

Giselda: EVERYONE PLEASE STOP TRYING TO MURDER EACH OTHER BECAUSE TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT AND ALSO IT’S NOT GOING TO RESOLVE ANYTHING IT’LL JUST MAKE EVERYTHING WORSE

Pagano: OH SO ARVINO NOW YOU’RE HESITATING??? LOOK I’LL JUST TAKE MY OWN LIFE THEN SO ALL’S AVENGED

*He grabs his sword and attempts to kill himself, but the guards prevent him.*

The People: YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL BE TO LIVE WITH YOUR GUILT IN EXILE BECAUSE THAT’LL BE MORE OF A TORMENT TO YOU THAN DEATH

Pagano: GOD HAS STRUCK ME WITH THE MARK OF CAIN BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY KILLED MY OWN FATHER AND NOW I’LL HAVE TO LIVE WITH MY TERROR UNTIL I DIE AND NO MATTER WHERE I GO I WILL NEVER KNOW ANY PEACE BECAUSE MY DEMONS WILL ALWAYS BE THERE

Everyone Else: GOD HAS STRUCK YOU WITH THE MARK OF CAIN AND TERROR WILL CONSUME YOU EVEN MORE THAN ALL THE TORMENTS OF HELL AND NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO YOU WILL NEVER KNOW ANY PEACE BECAUSE YOUR DEMONS WILL ALWAYS BE THERE

Notes

ACT II: L’uomo della caverna (The Man of the Cave)

Because Solera apparently thought it would be a great idea to scatter a bunch of exposition in a rather confusing manner throughout Act II, here’s a roundup of most of the major stuff that happened in between acts.

Scene 1:

A hall in Acciano’s palace in Antioch, 1098. Acciano is seated on his throne; before him stand ambassadors, soldiers, and people.

Ambassadors: SO ALL OF THESE THINGS YOU’RE SAYING ARE TRUE?!?!

Acciano: ...Yup. I saw them and their weapons with my own two eyeballs.

Ambassadors: THE SHEER AUDACITY THEY HAVE TO THINK THAT THEY CAN JUST UP AND LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND RUN ALL OVER OURS BUT THEY WILL BE STRUCK DOWN BY THE PROPHET MOHAMMED’S THUNDERBOLTS

Acciano: They’re cruel and mean and ruthless! All they do is rape and pillage and murder and all they leave behind is destruction!

Everyone: ALLAH WE ARE UNDER ATTACK SO COME DOWN AND HELP FIGHT FOR US AND PUNISH THE ENEMY AND THAT WILL MAKE US EVEN BRAVER 

WE SWEAR TO PUT ASIDE OUR DIFFERENCES AND RIVALRIES SO WE CAN RISE AS ONE AND DO OUR BEST SO WITH YOUR HELP THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO ESCAPE

*They exit. Oronte and Sofia, the latter veiled, meet up.*

Oronte: Mom, what’s Giselda doing? How is she?

Sofia: The bad news: she’s still pretty much the same—she’s still sighing, weeping, crying out for her family...poor girl. The good news: she loves you.

Oronte: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY THERE IS NO ONE ON EARTH HAPPIER THAN ME BECAUSE I LOVE HER SO MUCH

Sofia: (Dear God, please let this be a way to touch my son’s mind and heart!)

Oronte: If only I could make her as happy as I am! If only I could use my love to make the universe even more harmonious and beautiful, especially for her! If only we could go to Heaven together and fly where no other mortals can go and try to keep us apart!

Sofia: About that last thing you said...You do know that you cannot marry her if one of you doesn’t convert, and it would be better if you were the one to convert to her faith.

Oronte: Oh, I completely agree with you!

Sofia: Thank God!

Oronte: You know, I keep thinking that she must be right and that her God must be the true God!

I mean, think about it: how could Heaven create such a wonderful, lovely angel of a woman and not grant her divine truth? Please, take me to her, let me see her, let me find comfort for my mind and heart with her!

Sofia: AN ANGEL HAS GRANTED YOU THIS LOVE IN ORDER TO SAVE YOU

Oronte: HOW COULD SHE BE WRONG LET ME SEE HER AND FIND COMFORT WITH HER

*They leave.*

Scene 2:

A mountain overhang outside of Antioch, which has the opening to a cave; June 2, 1098. A hermit emerges from the cave. **

The Hermit: Still nothing...absolutely nothing! WHEN WILL THE CRUSADERS EVER GET HERE??? WILL I NEVER GET THE CHANCE TO REDEEM MYSELF BY FIGHTING AGAINST THOSE WICKED MUSLIMS???

Still nothing...absolutely nothing! When will I ever have peace? But really, that is folly to even think about—I do not deserve peace. But God alone is just, and may He bless grief and suffering.

And yet...when I hear the Crusaders cry “God wills it!”, when I see their crosses shine...MY HEART WILL COME ALIVE AND I’LL TAKE MY SWORD AND FIGHT AND WIN FORGIVENESS

*He sees a figure in the distance.*

Wait, who’s coming here?...He’s dressed in Muslim garb; I need to get inside my refuge!

*He turns to retreat into the cave as Pirro enters.*

Pirro: DON’T LEAVE HAVE MERCY ON ME EVERYONE’S SAYING YOU’RE THE ONE TO COME TO WITH SPIRITUAL MATTERS AND SUCH BECAUSE YOU’RE SO HOLY AND I NEED ABSOLUTION

*He kneels before the Hermit.*

Okay, so: my name is Pirro. I’m originally from Lombardy but I assisted in what turned out to be a patricide, so I fled here and renounced my faith, but I feel HORRIBLE about that so PLEASE FORGIVE ME

The Hermit: Get up! Take heart! It’s not too late for you.

Pirro: If it's relevant at all, I’m also in charge of the gates of Antioch.

*Loud noises and military music can be heard in the distance.*

The Hermit: What’s that noise?

Pirro: Those are the Crusaders.

The Hermit: DID YOU SAY THOSE ARE THE CRUSADERS ARE YOU TELLING ME THE TRUTH

*Pirro nods.*

WELL THEN WE CAN BOTH FIND FORGIVENESS WITH THE CRUSADE THANKS BE TO GOD THERE IS NO LIMIT TO HIS MERCY

Pirro, I will grant you full forgiveness of your sins if you open the gates of that wicked city to the Crusaders and let them in and give the city over to Heaven!

*The military music is now much closer.*

Pirro: I SWEAR THAT I MYSELF WILL OPEN THE GATES OF ANTIOCH TO THE CRUSADERS TONIGHT

The Hermit: THEY’RE ALMOST HERE HALLELUJAH

*The Crusaders begin to arrive at the hermitage.*

OH MY GOD THEY’RE LOMBARDS

Pirro: AND I’M STILL IN HOT WATER WITH THEM

The Hermit: Go, claim sanctuary in my cave.

*The two of them go into the cave. The Hermit quickly reemerges with a sword and donning a helmet as the Lombard Crusaders, led by Arvino, enter.*

NOW I CAN USE YOU AND BE A WARRIOR AGAIN MY WONDERFUL SWORD AND HELMET

Arvino: Are you the hermit who lives here?

The Hermit: Yes, that would be me. What do you ask of me?

Arvino: Your prayers, so we do not have any chance of being struck with God’s wrath. You’re the only one who can intercede with God to prevent that!

The Hermit: ...Do you know who I am?

Arvino: YEAH YOU’RE THE SUPER-EFFECTIVE HERMIT EVERYONE IN THE AREA TOLD US ABOUT THEY SAID THAT GOD HIMSELF APPEARS TO YOU

Anyway, I have a bit of a problem on my hands: my daughter Giselda was kidnapped by a band of Muslims. I tried to pursue them and get her back, but they were too fast for us, so as far as I know she’s being held prisoner in Antioch. And also this is definitely the only thing I’m worried about right now and her safety and well-being are definitely my top priority and this is definitely the only reason we’re trying to get into Antioch.

The Hermit: Tell me one thing: do you have a large and strong army?

Arvino: Yes.

The Hermit: Alright, then you should be seeing your beloved daughter very soon.

Arvino: I’m just going to completely ignore you saying that and instead show you the AMAZING army we’ve put together!

*He leads the Hermit to a lookout point.*

See that? That’s all of Europe right there, all gathered under Godfrey of Bouillon and ready to strike! ***

The Hermit: THAT’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE but anyway it’s starting to get dark so we need to get a move on

FOLLOW ME BECAUSE I SWEAR TO YOU THAT TONIGHT YOU WILL BE WITHIN THE WALLS OF ANTIOCH AND THIS IS DEFINITELY DIVINE INTERVENTION AND MY SUPER-STRONG FAITH AND I’M NOT SAYING THAT BECAUSE I JUST GOT INTEL OR ANYTHING

Arvino: YOU’VE CALLED US TO GLORY AND WE ARE BURNING WITH HOLY ZEAL READY TO FIGHT

Everyone: STUPID ALLAH OUR WRATH WILL FALL UPON YOU AND WE WILL WIPE ISLAM OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH SO THE HOLY WORD OF OUR GOD WILL RESOUND EVERYWHERE

THE CROSS IS ALREADY SHINING WITH LIGHT THAT LOOKS LIKE THE BLOOD WE’LL SHED WHEN WE TRIUMPH OVER THE BARBARIC INFIDELS AND KILL THEM ****

*They all leave.*

Scene 3:

Inside the harem of Acciano’s palace in Antioch, later the same day. Giselda is dejectedly sitting on a sofa; the other women of the harem are scattered around the room, gossiping about her.

Women: LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL FOREIGN GIRL WHO CAPTURES EVERYONE’S HEARTS LET’S ALL DANCE AROUND HER

Why is she always crying when she has the best of everything and Oronte only loves her? Hmm, why did you leave your family and your home behind? Was it perhaps because you couldn’t find a lover to suit your whims and thought you’d have better luck here? 

Look at those splendid eyes...oh, what does the foreign beauty desire? We’ll definitely do it for her! Such a foolish and proud girl—she’ll soon see her family and people be beaten and die!

Alright, let’s go, she’s too depressed, perhaps she wants to be alone and pray again...what a strange girl, this foreign beauty!

*They run off, leaving Giselda alone.*

Giselda: MOM I KNOW YOU’RE NOT HERE ANYMORE BUT PLEASE I NEED YOU MY PEACE IS GONE AND I’M SUFFERING

Why did you leave me? Now I’m here, alone, in a strange land trying to figure my life out for the first time...and I’m in love with someone my faith says I should not love, which only makes me feel worse...PLEASE HELP ME

I’ve prayed that you will miraculously be returned to me, but if such prayers are useless and you cannot come back from Heaven, then let me die and join you! All I can see in my future is endless suffering...why can I not just die? Let me die and see you again!

Women: *from offstage* WHO WILL SAVE US

Giselda: WHAT’S GOING ON

Women: *still offstage* EVERYONE OUT RUN FOR YOUR LIVES

Crusaders: *also offstage* KILL THEM ALL

*Turkish soldiers, Crusaders, and women of the harem all run onstage in confusion.*

Women: WHO WILL SAVE US FROM THESE BARBARIANS IF THE PROPHET HAS ABANDONED US

Giselda: THE CRUSADERS ARE HERE?!?!

*Sofia runs onstage in a state of panic.*

Sofia: GISELDA A TRAITOR OPENED THE GATES TO THE CRUSADERS AND NOW THEY’RE MASSACRING AND PILLAGING EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING AND ALSO THEY KILLED BOTH MY HUSBAND AND MY SON

Giselda: WAIT WHAT THE FUCK

*Arvino enters with the Hermit and more Crusaders. Sofia points to him.*

Sofia: THERE’S THE MAN WHO KILLED THEM BOTH

Giselda: MY FATHER?!?!?!?! MY OWN FATHER?!?!?!?!?!?!

The Hermit: *pointing to Giselda* As promised, here she is, safe and sound.

Arvino: GISELDA LET ME EMBRACE YOU AGAIN

Giselda: *recoiling from him* ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT YOU ARE COVERED IN HUMAN BLOOD

Sofia: What grief I feel...

Giselda: No!...No!

IT IS NOT THE JUST CAUSE OF GOD TO DROWN THE EARTH IN HUMAN BLOOD THIS IS INSANITY AND YOU ALL JUST WANT THE WEALTH OF THE MUSLIMS AND YOU’RE USING RELIGION AS A COVER BECAUSE HEAVEN NEVER WANTED THIS

No! God does not will it. GOD DOES NOT WILL IT

Arvino and the Crusaders: WHAT AM I HEARING?!?!?!?!?!?!

The Hermit and Sofia: (Oh, poor girl!)

Giselda: GOD HAS LIFTED THE BLINDFOLD FROM MY EYES THE VANQUISHED WILL RISE AND THEY WILL HAVE THEIR REVENGE AND IT WILL BE TERRIBLE AND NONE OF YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR HOMELAND

YOU HAVE SLAUGHTERED INNOCENT HUMAN BEINGS AND SUCH SLAUGHTER HAS ALWAYS OFFENDED GOD BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT ALL HUMANKIND

Arvino: YOU ARE COMMITTING BLASPHEMY AND SACRILEGE

Giselda: YOUR HEADS WILL BECOME THE PLAYTHINGS OF THE WIND AND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS REGION THE PEOPLE OF THIS REGION WILL DO TO ALL EUROPE BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER THE WORD OF GOD FOR HUMAN BLOOD TO BE SHED LIKE THIS

NO GOD DOES NOT WILL THIS HE ONLY CAME DOWN TO EARTH TO SPEAK OF PEACE HE DOES NOT WILL THIS

The Hermit: (GISELDA SHUT UP YOU’RE BEING RASH AND THIS WILL NOT GO OVER WELL FOR YOU)

Arvino: *drawing his dagger* MAY YOUR DEATH WIPE THOSE BLASPHEMOUS OBSCENE WORDS FROM YOUR LIPS 

Giselda: STRIKE ME AND KILL ME THEN I DON’T FUCKING CARE ANYMORE IF ANYTHING IT WILL ONLY PROVE MY POINT

*Arvino attempts to stab Giselda but is stopped by the Hermit.*

The Hermit, Sofia, the Crusaders, and the Women: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING CAN’T YOU SEE THAT SHE’S LOST HER MIND

Arvino: FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE I GUESS THAT’S FAIR

Giselda: I HAVEN’T LOST MY MIND STRIKE ME DOWN I DON’T FUCKING CARE ANYMORE

*The scene descends into mass confusion.*

Notes

 ACT III: La conversione (The Conversion)

Scene 1:

The Kidron Valley, in which are scattered several hills, of which the most important is the Mount of Olives. Jerusalem can be seen in the distance; an unspecified but presumably significant amount of time (although no more than a year) after the previous act. Crusaders and pilgrims cross the scene. **

Crusaders and Pilgrims: JERUSALEM THE PROMISED CITY WE ARE ALMOST THERE WE’VE SHED SO MUCH BLOOD ALREADY IN THE NAME OF GOD AND OUR PALM GARLANDS ARE READY FOR WHEN WE ARRIVE

Women: WE LOVE SEEING THESE HOLY PLACES AND WEEPING AT THEM AND WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO DIE HERE AND THEN OUR SOULS WILL FLY TO GOD 

Men: HERE ARE ALL THE HOLY PLACES OF CHRIST’S FINAL DAYS AND DEATH AND RESURRECTION

Crusaders and Pilgrims: WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO DIE HERE AND THEN OUR SOULS WILL FLY TO GOD 

THIS LAND IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND SACRED PLACE AND THE LIVING GOD WILL COME HERE AND BE TERROR TO THE INFIDELS

*They go out singing.*

JERUSALEM!!!...Jerusalem...

*Giselda wanders in.*

Giselda: I’m wandering alone...where am I? I had to get out of there, I felt like I was being suffocated in my father’s tent...I need air, free air; here everything is open, free desert...there’s no sounds, not even song...

My mind cannot bring itself to think about God...I can think of nothing but love...

*During these last words, Oronte, still very much alive, enters.*

Oronte: GISELDA IT’S YOU

Giselda: *seeing him* OH MY GOD I MUST BE LOSING MY MARBLES

Oronte: NO YOU’RE NOT I’M HERE WITH YOU YOU’RE IN MY ARMS

Giselda: No...this has to be a dream...

*She starts sobbing.*

But my tears are bathing your forehead, so this must be real...

Oronte: GISELDA YOU DIDN’T FORGET ME

Giselda: OF COURSE NOT I’VE SPENT ALL MY TIME MOURNING YOU BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD

Oronte: Well, when the Crusaders attacked, I was just thrown down and hurt. I wanted to see you again more than anything, so I fled and I’ve been wandering around here ever since, trying to find you...I found these garments that look a little more like what your people wear and put them on, just so I might have a better chance of seeing you one more time...that’s all I wanted: to see you one more time and then die!

Giselda: NO YOU WON’T DIE 

Oronte: I’ve lost everything: my family, my home, my throne, my friends, and any chance at life with you!

Giselda: YOU HAVEN’T LOST THAT CHANCE I WILL RUN AWAY WITH YOU

Oronte: Giselda, you really want to do that?

Giselda: YES I LOVE YOU

Oronte: Giselda, I love you too and that’s exactly why I would encourage you to not do that.

Listen: my life is cursed—I have virtually nothing to offer you. Like I said, I’ve lost everything and now I live by wandering. I shelter in caves when I can but sometimes I simply must face storms all alone in the open. If we were to somehow marry, your wedding bed would be the desert sands and you would only have the hyenas to sing to you. This poor life and my love are all I can offer you. Are you sure you would be willing to live like this?

Giselda: WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR LET’S GO WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME

Oronte: Are you sure about this?

Giselda: I LOVE YOU AND THAT’S WHAT MATTERS

Oronte: I LOVE YOU TOO LET US DEFY EVERYTHING ON EARTH TOGETHER

Giselda: YOU’RE EVERYTHING TO ME 

Oronte: YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN THE KINGDOM I LOST

Giselda: Wait! One more look. Goodbye. Goodbye world. Goodbye, Lombard tents. Goodbye to breezes like the ones from home....and everything I’ve ever known. Something better and more beautiful and more divine is waiting for me. Mother up in Heaven, forgive me...this is such a great love, and it will redeem us...

Oronte: You’re leaving your entire world behind for me...and I am for you...we will weep together and love each other like we have one heart! And the God you worship—I will worship the very same God!

Crusaders: *nearby* TO ARMS

Oronte: WHAT’S THAT NOISE

Giselda: The Lombards...their camp is nearby...they’re probably going to pursue us...I’m afraid for you...

Crusaders: TO ARMS

Giselda and Oronte: ALRIGHT LET’S GO NOTHING IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH CAN DIVIDE US EXCEPT DEATH 

Crusaders: TO ARMS TO ARMS TO ARMS

*Giselda and Oronte run off together.*

Scene 2:

Arvino’s tent in the Lombards’ camp, near the Kidron Valley. Arvino is alone.

Arvino: WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL DID I JUST SEE?!?!?!?!

So horrible, so disgraceful—I am simply paralyzed with rage and terror...to review: my daughter ran off with a Muslim prince, a man DAMNED BY GOD—I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least the Hermit and a bunch of my men went chasing after them, I guess.

GISELDA YOU WICKED IMPIOUS DISGRACEFUL WHORE AND DISHONOR TO MY NAME I WISH YOU HAD DIED IN YOUR CRADLE BECAUSE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN YOU GROWING UP TO BE A SACRILIGEOUS WICKED EVIL WOMAN AND I ALSO WISH THAT YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN AT ALL 

*Several Crusaders enter.*

What’s going on?

Crusaders: There have been multiple confirmed sightings of Pagano lurking around our tents—

Arvino: OH MY GOD YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

Crusaders: WHY IS HE HERE OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE WRATH OF GOD STRIKING US WITH SO MANY MISFORTUNES SO WE ALL NEED TO GET TOGETHER AND PUNISH HIM BECAUSE HE CANNOT ESCAPE ALL OF US

Arvino: WELL OBVIOUSLY HEAVEN AND I HAVE BOTH MADE A MISTAKE BY NOT PUNISHING HIM BUT I AM ALREADY SO READY TO KILL THAT WICKED BASTARD AND EVEN IF HE WERE HIDDEN IN HELL ITSELF HE COULDN’T ESCAPE ME

*They all leave together.*

Scene 3:

This scene begins with a mini violin concerto because why not. It’s gorgeous.

The interior of a grotto. Through an opening in the rear can be seen the banks of the Jordan River. Giselda enters, supporting Oronte, who has been mortally wounded.

Giselda: Here...rest here...

*She lays him down on a boulder.*

What a horrible wound those cruel men gave you!

Oronte: Giselda...I’m dying...

Giselda: (I am disgusted, I am revolted, I dedicate my entire life to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and this is the thanks I get?!)

Oronte: GISELDA I’M DYING

Giselda: I KNOW FOR MERCY’S SAKE I LOVE YOU AND PLEASE BE QUIET BECAUSE SHOUTING WILL ONLY MAKE IT WORSE

You’ll recover...you have to...I’ve already bound up and closed your wound...

Oronte: Giselda, you are so kind, but it’s useless...

Giselda: ALRIGHT GOD MY FAMILY AND I HAVE ALL WORSHIPPED YOU BUT I HAVE SOME CHOICE WORDS TO SAY TO YOU

YOU TOOK MY MOM FROM ME AND LEFT ME ON EARTH IN MY SORROW AND THEN I FOUND TRUE LOVE AND NOW YOU’RE TAKING HIM FROM ME TOO BECAUSE YOU ARE CRUEL AND—

*The Hermit enters.*

The Hermit: WHO HERE IS BLASPHEMING AND CHALLENGING GOD

*He takes one look at Giselda and Oronte.*

This love is a sinful one.

Giselda: ...Why do I suddenly feel really awful?

The Hermit: That’s Catholic guilt for you.

Oronte: Who are you?

The Hermit: I am a man who can bring you new life if you turn to our faith.

Giselda: God inspires him...

Oronte: Giselda, at last, you’ve really done it...I’ve wished for this many times that it would be able to happen...and now, thanks to you, it is...sir, you are a man of God...come here...

The Hermit: You do not call upon Heaven in vain—in this moment, it shows you its glories!

*He retrieves some water from a spring in the cave connected to the Jordan.*

May the holy waters of the River Jordan grant you new life. While you are at the point of death, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

*And as such, he baptizes Oronte.*

Giselda: Now no one, not even Heaven itself, can honestly say our love is a sin...

ORONTE I’M BEGGING YOU PLEASE LIVE

Oronte: I suddenly feel new vigor, new life flowing through me...through all my veins...and it feels so wonderful...help me, Giselda! I can barely see you anymore!

Giselda: No...Oronte, please don’t die...wait for me...we’ve lived through so much together already, so it’s only fair that we should die together...not have it be like this...

The Hermit: He’s dying; take this moment seriously. Both of you, turn your heads and fix your gazes, your whole beings upon God!

Giselda: Why are you leaving me behind when I love you so much? Why won’t the angels let me go to Heaven with you right now?

The Hermit: Young lady, your love here on earth may have been rewarded with nothing but sorrow, but take heart! One day, among the angels, your love will be rewarded with bliss! Have hope!

Oronte: Giselda...come here...let me feel your tears...

You have opened Heaven up to me, Giselda, and I will wait for you...I’m dying...I will wait for you in Heaven!

*He dies.*

ACT IV: Il Santo Sepolcro (The Holy Sepulchre)

Scene 1:

A cave near Jerusalem. Giselda is sleeping alone inside when she begins to have a vision of celestial spirits. Summer 1099.

Celestial Spirits: GISELDA REJOICE THANKS TO YOU A SOUL HAS BEEN REDEEMED AND IS COMING INTO PARADISE AND YOU DESERVE SOME OF THAT HEAVENLY JOY SO COME...COME!!!

*Giselda rises, but is still dreaming.*

Giselda: The cave is shining with these ethereal spirits...yes! yes! I beg you, let me die, let me see the eternal dawn, let me join those I love in Heaven...

Oronte? Are you there among the angels? Why aren’t you saying anything? LET ME SEE HIM LET HIM TALK TO ME

*Her prayer is summarily granted and Oronte’s soul appears.*

Oronte: Thanks to you, Giselda, I’m in Heaven and God has already accepted my prayers...I must tell you something.

Giselda, your people are dying of thirst in the desert and they are losing all hope. Run to them, tell them to have hope, and tell them that the fountain of Siloam will be gushing fresh water for them! ***

Oronte and the Celestial Spirits: Come, Giselda, for your share of heavenly joy...come...

*The vision disappears and Giselda fully awakens.*

Giselda: A miracle...a cave changed into Heaven and then back again...no, it must have been a dream! But suddenly I feel so much strength in my heart...no, it was not a dream!

IT WASN’T A DREAM I CAN STILL HEAR HIS VOICE AND SEE THAT VISION OF HIM HOLDING THE PALM LEAVES OF THE BLESSED SOULS SO I’LL GO TELL THEM ABOUT THE FOUNTAIN LET’S GO EVERYONE THE WATER WILL REVIVE YOU

*She runs off.*

Scene 2:

The Lombard camp, in the desert near the tomb of Rachel outside of Bethlehem; July 15, 1099. The Crusaders and pilgrims are exhausted and dehydrated. ****

Crusaders and Pilgrims: Dear God, we have followed Your will here on this Crusade, but we’re fighting a losing battle, we’re exhausted, we’re on the brink of death by thirst...O Lord, do not let us become fodder for mockery by the enemy!

Lombardy is such a beautiful place...don’t you remember the breezes and waters and vineyards of home? GREAT NOW THAT THOUGHT JUST MAKES OUR CURRENT CONDITIONS SEEM EVEN WORSE AND ALSO WE’RE MASSIVELY HOMESICK NOW

Giselda, Arvino, and the Hermit: *in the distance* EVERYONE GO TO THE FOUNTAIN OF SILOAM

Crusaders and Pilgrims: WHAT IS IT

*Giselda, Arvino, and the Hermit run in.*

Giselda: HEAVEN HAS HEARD YOUR PRAYERS THE FOUNTAIN OF SILOAM IS GUSHING FRESH WATER

Crusaders and Pilgrims: THIS IS THE BEST NEWS EVER

Arvino: ALRIGHT EVERYONE LAST TIME Y’ALL ABANDONED THE PROJECT BECAUSE YOU WERE EXHAUSTED COWARDS BUT I KNOW THAT NOW YOU HAVE WATER YOU WON’T FUCK THIS UP AGAIN SO LET’S GO STRIKE DOWN SOME INFIDELS

Y’ALL HEAR THOSE TRUMPETS GODFREY OF BOUILLON IS GIVING US THE SIGNAL AND TODAY THE HOLY LAND WILL BE OURS

Everyone: IT’S WARTIME EVERYONE LET’S GO

Arvino and the Hermit: OUR HOLY BANNERS ARE GLEAMING WITH BLOOD AND TERROR AND WE WILL HAVE VICTORY

Everyone: LET’S FLY LIKE THE WIND LET’S GO TO WAR

*Everyone rushes off.*

*In between scenes, the Crusaders capture the city of Jerusalem. In the process, the Hermit is mortally wounded. This scene is normally just implied during the interlude, but it is sometimes staged, as in the video linked here.*

Scene 3:

The Lombard camp, in the desert outside of Jerusalem. Early morning, July 16, 1099. The Hermit enters, supported by Giselda and Arvino on either side.

Arvino: Here’s my tent; you can rest here. But why aren’t you talking?

Giselda: He’s horribly wounded! He was the first man to scale the walls.

Arvino: ...That didn’t answer my question.

The Hermit: GO AWAY actually wait who are you?

Arvino: Don’t you know me? We’ve met and fought together before. I’m the commander of the Lombard forces, Arvino.

The Hermit: *looking at his hands* ARVINO?!?!?!?! NO BE QUIET I HAVE YOUR BLOOD ON MY HANDS HELL OPEN BENEATH ME I AM COVERED IN OUR FATHER’S BLOOD

Arvino: Wait, what?

Giselda: Be calm...you’re safe here...near me. Remember me? You saved my life once.

The Hermit: That voice...it feels like my heart is opening...you’re an angel...an angel of forgiveness!

Arvino: Wait...who are you?

The Hermit: I am Pagano!

Giselda and Arvino: WAIT WHAT

Pagano: I’m going to die...I only have a little time left, I can feel it...

Arvino, my brother, my soul is about to appear before God! I HAVE DONE WHAT I CAN TO ATONE AND REDEEM MYSELF PLEASE DO NOT CONDEMN ME

Giselda: Father, he really has done what he could...God has forgiven him, so forgive him too...

Pagano: My brother, forgive me...

Arvino: *embracing him* Very well, you’ve won...

Giselda and Arvino: The rest of us will all forgive you too.

Pagano: I’m so happy...now grant me...before I die...one last look...at Jerusalem!

*The sun rises, revealing Jerusalem in the distance.*

Crusaders: O LORD WE PRAISE YOU FOR VICTORY AND SALVATION AND GLORY

Pagano: Thanks be to God that I was able to live long enough to see this moment come...and that in my last moments He has mercy on me and remembers this man the world once recoiled from in horror!

Arvino: As I forgive you, intercede with God for me so my sins may be forgiven...

Giselda: Go in peace! You will join my mother and my true love in Heaven...when you get there, all three of you, pray to God that I will be allowed to die soon and join you!

Everyone: O LORD WE PRAISE YOU FOR VICTORY AND SALVATION AND GLORY AMEN

*Pagano dies.*

Notes

THE END

#opera #opera tag #opera simplified #I Lombardi alla prima crociata #I Lombardi #The Lombards at the First Crusade #Verdi #Giuseppe Verdi #Solera #Temistocle Solera #oh look hahahaha I'm back after another extended hiatus lol

[dolenteimmagine]

Giuseppe Verdi, I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata: Preludio e introduzione

Manno Wolf-Ferrari, Conductor Orchestra Lirica di Milano della RAI 1951

#I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata #Giuseppe Verdi #Manno Wolf-Ferrari #Opera

[monotonous-minutia]

the same 5 you sent me!

Un giorno di regno: Funniest trick or prank you’ve ever pulled on someone? Alternatively, do you think humor is a good way to deal with problems and sucky things in life?

okay I actually really love telling this story. When I was maybe 11-12 (so my little brother was like 8? 9?) my little brother was going off about something and I called him out for some inaccuracy or other and he rolled his eyes and said "Forget I ever said anything."

A couple minutes later we were all eating dinner and he pipes up with something and I look at him and say "OH MY GOD, HE CAN TALK!" He just stopped and stared at me and I said "This is the first time we've ever heard you speak, it's a miracle."

He was all like "What the heck are you talking about" so I said "You told us to forget you ever said anything, so I did."

He was so mad. He now claims he doesn't remember it though.

I Lombardi alla prima crociata: Was there ever a time you just said “fuck it” and decided to do your own thing, even if (and especially if) you knew you would get a lot of hate for it? If so, what was it like? If not, what would you do?

When I was 15 I cut my own hair without asking my parents first. I'd been begging them for years to let me get a pixie cut but they wouldn't let me. They made me keep my hair so long it went well past halfway down my back. After a bit they let me cut it to shoulder-length but never shorter than that, and I got really sick of it because my hair is super thick and oily and a pain to take care of especially when it's long and at one point there was just so much of it tying it back would give me a headache because I probably had like five pounds of hair hanging off my head (maybe not really but it felt like that.) My mom was weirdly obsessed with my hair and dictated how it was all the time and kept saying short hair would make me look ugly and I should be grateful my hair was so beautiful and it would help get me a husband and yada yada.

so ANYWAY I was coming out of the shower and I saw my mom's hair-cutting scissors (she always cut my brother's hair) lying on the sink and I was just "Fuck it" and I pulled a full-on Mulan and tied my hair back and chopped the entire foot-long ponytail off. instant pixie cut. It was EXHILARATING. I felt defiant and free.

My parents were LIVID but there was not much they could do about it and I just couldn't stop smirking.

Macbeth: What are your biggest ambitions?

Right now I just want to finish my novel. But eventually I want to do something important. I've worked in human services for almost a decade so I am grateful to be able to say I've helped a lot of people but it never seems like enough. I want to be able to leave the world knowing I did something really good, and I guess I'm still trying to figure out what that is.

Rigoletto: Of whom or what are you fiercely protective?

my kids. every child I've ever worked with. and every child I ever will. Also my little brother.

La traviata: What makes you different from the people around you? Do you feel like an outsider in your world—if so, why; if not, why not?

I feel like I can't answer this without being a) so general it's cliche or b) so specific I'm just dumping my entire life story on here.

#thanks for the ask!!

[cristianesimocattolico]

Dicono che è risorto: il piacere di una riscoperta

In questo tempo di Pasqua 2021, anno secondo della Pandemia, quanto mai opportuna viene la riedizione di un famoso libro di Vittorio Messori: Dicono che è risorto. Un’indagine sul sepolcro vuoto di Gesù (Ares). Infatti, per l’incredulo è relativamente facile credere nella Passione, ma anche i credenti fanno fatica con la Resurrezione. Messori offre le prove in questo grande classico indispensabile.

di Rino Cammilleri (04-04-2021)

In questo tempo di Pasqua 2021, anno secondo della Pandemia, quanto mai opportuna viene la riedizione di un famoso libro di Vittorio Messori: Dicono che è risorto. Un’indagine sul sepolcro vuoto di Gesù (Ares, pp. 416, €. 19,90). Infatti, per l’incredulo è relativamente facile credere nella Passione, ma anche i credenti fanno fatica con la Resurrezione. Sì, perché di resurrezioni nella Scrittura ce ne sono diverse, la più clamorosa è quella di Lazzaro. Ma erano resurrezioni a tempo, perché i resuscitati (da un profeta, da Gesù, da un santo) dopo qualche tempo tornavano a morire, e definitivamente.

La Resurrezione di Cristo, invece, è unica: Gesù risorge senza che nessuno lo richiami in vita, e non muore più, per sempre. Ora, dice Pascal, «non sapere è assai meglio che sapere in modo sbagliato». Da qui la meticolosa indagine di Messori sull’enigma del Sepolcro Vuoto. Innanzitutto, quel che vi trovarono dentro i primi accorsi, Pietro e Paolo. Sì, le donne e Maddalena videro il Risorto prima, ma non erano entrate nella tomba. Giovanni, più giovane, arriva prima, ma non entra: cede il passo a Pietro, il capo. Solo dopo entra anche lui. E che vedono? La lunga pietra su cui stava il corpo. Su di essa, la sindone ancora avvolta dalle bende e il sudario, che avvolgeva il capo, è ancora lì, nella stessa posizione di quando fu avvolto.

Solo che dentro non c’è niente. Chi ruba cadaveri guardati a vista (c’era un corpo di guardie, messe lì dai farisei) non perde certo tempo a svolgere le bende, aprire la sindone, svolgere il sudario e poi, tolto il cadavere, rimettere tutto a posto com’era prima. E poi, perché farlo? No, Gesù attraversò letteralmente l’involucro che lo avvolgeva e, come sappiamo, il flash della Resurrezione lasciò un’impronta sulla sindone.

Volutamente. Poi attraversò anche la pietra che chiudeva la tomba. Solo dopo, un angelo la rovesciò e vi si sedette sopra, sconvolgendo le guardie che, infatti, scapparono. I sinedriti fecero loro dire di essersi addormentati e che erano stati i discepoli del giustiziato a trafugarne il cadavere. Non erano certo romani, che il loro centurione avrebbe fatto mettere a morte (a bastonate) se trovati dormienti a un turno di sentinella.

Tuttavia, come fa notare sant’Agostino, anche la versione ufficiale dei sinedriti fa acqua: se dormivano, come fanno a sapere chi è stato a portar via il cadavere? Sia come sia, per molti (anche teologi) la Resurrezione è un pio mito fabbricato col tempo dai cristiani. E’, tuttavia, uno stravagante mito: il Risorto mica appare al Sinedrio e a Pilato per dire «visto, che avevo ragione io?». No, si mostra, in sordina, agli amici più stretti. E, anche qui, tutto finisce in una mangiata: il primo miracolo, Cana, avviene a tavola; il miracolo più grande, l’Eucarestia, pure; il Risorto, appena apparso, chiede un piatto di pesce arrostito; e pure l’apparizione sul lago di Tiberiade finisce in "pic-nic". Non è così che si inventa, dice l’insospettabile Rousseau.

Per giunta, non è facilmente riconoscibile: la Maddalena lo scambia per un giardiniere, i due di Emmaus lo riconosco solo (ancora!) a tavola. Messori riempie un intero e corposo libro di mille particolari che dimostrano (dimostrano!) la storicità della Resurrezione. Anche se certo progressismo clericale ancora oggi fa il difficile. Non per niente Messori ricorda che «certi cattolici milanesi, non sopportando che la Facoltà Teologica si aprisse nella piazza chiamata, da sempre, «delle Crociate», insistettero presso le sconcertate autorità comunali perché lo slargo venisse ribattezzato «Paolo VI». Città che, tra l’altro, ha nel suo stemma proprio l’emblema delle crociate, cui partecipò generosamente con uomini e con denaro, sin dalla prima, la sola vittoriosa». C’è anche un’opera lirica al riguardo: I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata. Ma non è il caso, anticipando troppo di togliere ai lettori il piacere della scoperta di questo fondamentale libro.

#vittorio messori #rino cammilleri

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

I Lombardi alla prima crociata (Liège, 2023): Reactions, Part II

and we’re back!

no it is NOT a just cause (but nevertheless this is still one of the best early verdi choruses)

ah yes, a map of the old city in the background. real subtle.

i think somebody (giselda) might have missed their entrance. either that or this is the world’s most awkwardly placed pause.

mood

RUMORS OF ORONTE’S DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED

he just wants her to have a good life and doesn’t think he can give it to her 😭

PROTECT THEM

the choices we have to make and the things we have to leave behind…

shit shit shit

giselda i have some bad news for you about the rest of this act

pagano: on my way to cockblock my niece (also love the all too conveniently placed staircase)

ARVINO YOU ARE LITCHRALLY THE WORST

but this tenor ain’t half-bad actually!

and now it’s time for Violin Concertos With Verdi, the part of the show where verdi decides to write a mini violin concerto into the opera because he can

and the loudest applause thus far goes to…the violinist!

nooooooooooooo oronte

giselda has a weapon what will she do

oh honey

how about you shut the fuck up, pagano

what, did you just wave your arms and make water appear

this scene is really beautiful tho

was it ever, really?

please just let them be together :(

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

okay that’s just CRUEL

wait there’s an organ part in this scene???

well at least she’s got that going for her

Area Soprano Still Wants To Die (honestly, understandable)

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Area Soprano Now Has To Save Her People (and inexplicably, switch sides AGAIN, which is a massive fail)

nobody cares about your problems

“what is GISELDA doing back here???”

welp

it litchrally took him IDENTIFYING HIMSELF BY NAME for his own family to know who he was

ah, Bad Opera Disguises never get old

world’s kitschiest ending chorus

well rip pagano i guess

giselda, are you okay???

#opera #opera tag #i lombardi alla prima crociata #i lombardi #the lombards at the first crusade #opera liveblog #verdi #giuseppe verdi #this was…meh.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.11

660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor. 951 – Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou. 1534 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England. 1584 – A naval expedition led by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founds Nombre de Jesús, the first of two short-lived Spanish settlements in the Strait of Magellan. 1586 – Sir Francis Drake with an English force captures and occupies the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena de Indias for two months, obtaining a ransom and booty. 1659 – The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses. 1794 – First session of United States Senate opens to the public. 1808 – Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal. 1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry is accused of "gerrymandering" for the first time. 1823 – Carnival tragedy of 1823: About 110 boys are killed during a stampede at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti in Valletta, Malta. 1826 – University College London is founded as University of London. 1840 – Gaetano Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France. 1843 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy. 1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia. 1856 – The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is deposed. 1858 – Bernadette Soubirous's first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary occurs in Lourdes, France. 1861 – American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state. 1873 – King Amadeo I of Spain abdicates, forming the First Spanish Republic. 1889 – The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted. 1903 – Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria. 1906 – Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos. 1919 – Friedrich Ebert (SPD), is elected President of Germany. 1929 – The Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty. 1937 – The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union. 1938 – BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term "robot". 1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore. 1953 – Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denies all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. 1953 – Israeli-Soviet relations are severed. 1959 – The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom. 1970 – Japan launches Ohsumi, becoming the fourth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster. 1971 – Cold War: the Seabed Arms Control Treaty opened for signature outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters. 1978 – Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314 crashes at the Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada with 42 deaths and seven survivors. 1979 – The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner. 1990 – Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing's world Heavyweight title. 1997 – Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. 1999 – Pluto crosses Neptune's orbit, ending a nearly 20-year period when it was closer to the Sun than the gas giant; Pluto is not expected to interact with Neptune's orbit again until 2231. 2001 – A Dutch programmer launched the Anna Kournikova virus infecting millions of emails via a trick photo of the tennis star. 2008 – Rebel East Timorese soldiers seriously wound President José Ramos-Horta. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed in the attack. 2011 – Arab Spring: The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 17 days of protests. 2013 – The Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI would resign the papacy as a result of his advanced age. 2013 – Militants claiming to be from the Sultanate of Sulu invade Lahad Datu District, Sabah, Malaysia, beginning the Lahad Datu standoff. 2014 – A military transport plane crashes in a mountainous area of Oum El Bouaghi Province in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people. 2015 – A university student was murdered as she resisted an attempted rape in Turkey, sparking nationwide protests and public outcry against harassment and violence against women. 2016 – A man shoots six people dead at an education center in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia. 2017 – North Korea test fires a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan. 2018 – Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes near Moscow, Russia with 71 deaths and no survivors. 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic: The World Health Organization officially names the coronavirus outbreak as COVID-19, with the virus being designated SARS-CoV-2.

#Events

[abcblog260]

Peristyle Driver

July 15, 2020 - The 66th Split Summer Festival was officially opened on Tuesday evening at Peristyle with Verdi's opera I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata. This year's edition, respecting all epidemiological measures, brings art back to the ancient stages under the starry night sky.

Peristyle Driver Job

Peristyle Driver Jobs

Peristyle Driver Download

Peristyle Drivers

Reconstruction of a Roman peristylum (peristyle) surrounding a peristylium (courtyard) of Pompeii

Split's center at Peristyle within Diocletian's Palace.

The Peristyle was, quite literally, built for parties – parties with dancing, to be exact. In 1907, architect Paul Andry created this neo-classical open-air pavilion with a colonnade, and the structure has been lovingly maintained over the years through several renovation projects, including one by the generous donation of Mea and Vincent Saia in 1989 and the most recent, in 2012.

Welcome and thanks for checking out the Peristyle Podcast, our internet radio show covering the USC Trojan football team.Every week host Ryan Abraham brings you multiple Trojan podcasts, with a variety of guests and opinions talking about football, basketball, recruiting and more!

In the Peristyle, John William Waterhouse (1849–1917). Rochdale Art Gallery, Rochdale, England.

Ceiling decoration in the peristyle hall of the Medinet Habu

In Hellenistic Greek(1) and Roman architecture,(2) a peristyle (/ˈpɛrɪstaɪl/; from Greekπερίστυλον)(3)(4) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön (τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, 'four arcades')(5) is a rarely used archaic term for this feature.(6) The peristyle in a Greek temple is a peristasis (περίστασις).(7) In the Christian ecclesiastical architecture that developed from the Roman basilica, a courtyard peristyle and its garden came to be known as a cloister.

Etymology(edit)

The Greek word περίστυλον perístylon is composed of περί peri, 'around' or 'surrounded', and στῦλος stylos, 'column' or 'pillar', together meaning 'surrounded by columns/pillars'. It was Latinised into peristylium.

In Roman architecture(edit)

In rural settings, a wealthy Roman could surround a villa with terraced gardens; within the city, Romans created their gardens inside the domus. The peristylium was an open courtyard within the house; the columns or square pillars surrounding the garden supported a shady roofed portico whose inner walls were often embellished with elaborate wall paintings of landscapes and trompe-l'œil architecture. Sometimes the lararium, a shrine for the Lares, the gods of the household, was located in this portico, or it might be found in the atrium. The courtyard might contain flowers and shrubs, fountains, benches, sculptures and even fish ponds.(8) Romans devoted as large a space to the peristyle as site constraints permitted; even in the grandest development of the urban peristyle house, as it evolved in Roman North Africa, often one range of the portico was eliminated, for a larger open space.(9)

The end of the Roman domus is one mark of the extinction of late antiquity (the Late Classical culture): 'the disappearance of the Roman peristyle house marks the end of the ancient world and its way of life,' remarked Simon P. Ellis.(10) 'No new peristyle houses were built after A.D. 550.' Noting that as houses and villas were increasingly abandoned in the fifth century, a few palatial structures were expanded and enriched, as power and classical culture became concentrated in a narrowing class, and public life withdrew to the basilica, or audience chamber, of the magnate. In the Eastern Roman empire, late antiquity lingered longer: Ellis identified the latest-known peristyle house built from scratch as the House of the Falconer at Argos, dating from the style of its floor mosaics about 530–550.(11) Existing houses were subdivided in many cases, to accommodate a larger and less elite population in a warren of small spaces, and columned porticoes were enclosed in small cubicles, as at the House of Hesychius at Cyrene.(12)

Other uses(edit)

Although ancient Egyptian architecture predates Greek and Roman architecture, historians frequently use the Greek term peristyle to describe similar, earlier structures in ancient Egyptian palace architecture and in Levantine houses known as liwan houses.

See also(edit)

Notes(edit)

^J.A. Dickmann. 'The peristyle and the transformation of domestic space in Hellenistic Pompeii', Journal of Roman Archeology 1997.

^A. Frazer, 'Modes of European Courtyard Design before the Medieval Cloister' Gesta, 1973; K.E. Meyer, 'Axial peristyle houses in the western empire,' Journal of Roman Archaeology, 1999; S. Hales, The Roman House and Social Identity 2003.

^Harper, Douglas. 'peristyle'. Online Etymology Dictionary.

^περίστυλον. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.

^τετράστοον in Liddell and Scott.

^'Tetrastoön' . Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 671.

^περίστασις in Liddell and Scott.

^E.B. MacDougall, W.M.F. Jashemski, eds., Ancient Roman Gardens: Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture, 1979.

^Yvon Thébert, 'Private life and domestic architecture in Roman Africa', in Paul Veyne, ed. A History of Private Life, I: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium (1985, Arthur Goldhammer, tr., 1987) esp. 'The peristyle', pp 357-64.

^Simon P. Ellis, 'The End of the Roman House' American Journal of Archaeology92.4 (October 1988:565-576) opened the article's abstract with these words.

^Ellis notes G. Akerström-Hougen, The Calendar and Hunting Mosaics of the Falconer in Argos, Stockholm, 1974; a somewhat later peristyle house, at Hermione in the Peloponnesus, of the end of the 6th century, was not initiated at this late date but a partial reconstruction of an earlier elite dwelling (Ellis 1988:565).

^Noted by Ellis p. 567.

External links(edit)

Media related to Peristylia at Wikimedia Commons

Barbara McManus, 'The Peristylium': a reconstruction of a peristyle

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peristyle&oldid=1004883254'

From The VODOU Page (http://members.aol.com/racine125/index1.html)

The ancestors, zanset yo in Haitian Creole, are ever with a Vodouisant. He/she lives, breathes and acts with the awareness of their presence. The national anthem of Haiti begins, 'For the country, and for the ancestors, we walk united..'.

In the countryside of Haiti, each family compound includes a family graveyard. The tombs of family members are as elaborate as the family can afford. Some resemble small houses built above ground, with the crypt below. The structures built for wealthy families may even comprise a small sitting room, complete with a picture of the deceased and good quality chairs. When a newcomer enters the family compound for an extended visit, courtesy requires that her or she make a small libation of water at the tombs, so that the ancestors will welcome the person. Family members and guests may also, at any time, make an 'illumination'. Candles or beeswax tapers are lighted, placed on the tombs, and a short prayer is said.

In the city, the law requires burial in the city graveyard. Again, structures may be quite elaborate, and large padlocks and other security devices are used to prevent graverobbers from making off with the metal coffin findings, bones, or other articles of the dead person.

The bones of dead individuals are considered to have great magical powers, particularly if the dead person was a Houngan, Mambo, or in any other way notable or distinguished, for good or ill.

Peristyle Driver Job

A Vodouisant is buried with Roman Catholic ceremony, and a wake is held for nine nights after the death. The ninth night is called the denye priye, the last prayer. After the last prayer, the Catholic part of the death ritual is closed.

At some point either before or after the Roman Catholic ceremony, the Vodou ceremony of desounin is held. In this ceremony, the component parts of the person's soul and life force, and the primary lwa in the head of the person, are ritualistically separated and consigned to their correct destinations. The desounin of a well known and highly respected Houngan, such as my initiatory Houngan Luc Gedeon, Bon Houngan Jambe Malheur, may be attended by hundreds of white robed, weeping mourners. It is at this time that the inheritor of any family lwa liberated from the deceased is usually revealed, as the chosen individual becomes briefly possessed.

One year and one day after the death of the individual, the ceremony retire mo nan dlo, take the dead out of the water, may be performed. The spirit of the dead person is called up through a vessel of water, under a white sheet, and ritually installed in a clean clay pot called a govi. The voice of the dead individual may speak from the govi, or through the mouth of another person briefly possessed for the purpose. The govi is reverently placed in the djevo, or inner room of the temple.

Sometimes the spririt of a departed ancestor may return of it's own accord, as a 'lwa Ghede' . My own initiatory Houngan (see Biography of a Houngan ) had in his head a Ghede named Ghede Arapice La Croix, who revealed to me that he had once been a black Haitian man, born on Nov. 2, All Souls' Day, in the Bel Air district of Port-au-Prince. His outspoken nature and inability to tolerate injustice got him murdered by a neighborhood strongman at the age of 21. Then followed a long spritual odyssey (see Biography of a Lwa). One day, he saw Luc Gedeon in the woods with the govi of another lwa, Kanga, working on a cure for a sick person. Arapice asked Kanga for permission to enter the govi with him, but Kanga refused, and made Arapice hang around immaterially outside Luc Gedeon's peristyle for another year. Then Kanga required a ceremony of installation for Ghede Arapice la Croix.

When Luc Gedeon, Bon Houngan Jambe Malheur, became possessed for the first time by Ghede Arapice la Croix, Arapice demonstrated his power and his loyalty to Luc by sitting down in the middle of the huge ceremonial bonfire. Screams of fear from the congregation and tears of terror from Luc's family did not dissuade him - and in a moment the terror turned to wonder as not a hair of Luc's head nor a thread of his clothes was burned. Arapice then entered the peristyle and was reverently installed in his very own govi, where he remains until today, manifesting through one of the younger relatives of the late Houngan.

Part 2A - BARON

The head of the family of ancestral lwa is Baron. He is Master of the Cemetery and guardian of ancestral knowledge. He has many aspects, including Baron Samedi, Baron Cemetiere, Baron la Croix, and Baron Criminel. In all of his aspects, he is a masculine lwa with a nasal voice who carries a walking stick or baton, uses profanity liberally, and dresses in black or purple. He is considered the last resort against deaths caused by magic, because even if a magical spell should bring a person to the point of death, if Baron refuses to 'dig the grave', the person will not die.

Baron, with his wife Maman Brigitte, is also responsible for reclaiming the souls of the dead (see Part 1) and transforming them into lwa Ghede. Baron may be invoked for cases of infertility, and he is the divine judge to which people may bring their appeals, singing:

(Haitian Creole)

O kwa, o jibile (repeat)

Ou pa we m inosan?

(English)

Oh, cross! Oh, jubilee!

Don't you see I'm innocent?

The grave of the first man buried in any cemetery in Haiti, whether the person in life participated in the Vodou religion or not, is dedicated to Baron (not Ghede), and a ceremonial cross is erected on the spot. In family compounds in the countryside, a family may erect a cross to Baron for their own lineage, and no peristyle is complete without the cross of Baron somewhere on the grounds.

Baron may be invoked at any time, and he can appear without being called, so powerful is he. He drinks rum in which twenty-one hot peppers have been steeped, and which no mere mortal could swallow! His ceremonial foods are black coffee, grilled peanuts, and bread. He dances the remarkably improvisational banda with great skill, and sometimes puts his walking stick between his legs to represent a phallus. Baron is a very masculine lwa.

One day, I saw a Baron possess a homosexual Houngan (see Homosexuality in Vodou). A passing woman teased Baron that he was a 'masisi' (faggot, disrespectful term for a homosexual man.) Baron reared up and roared at the woman, 'I am Baron! This Houngan, my Houngan, he is a faggot, yes, but I, Baron, I'm no faggot, I f*ck the beautiful woman Maman Brigitte!' And he stalked off in high dudgeon, swinging his baton most threateningly.

The Feast of the Ancestors, Fet Ghede, is considered the end of the old year and the beginning of the new, much as in the European Wiccan tradition. Any debts to Baron, Maman Brigitte, or Ghede must be paid at this time. Baron Kriminel sings to his debtors:

(Haitian Creole)

Bawon Kriminel, map travay pou ve de te yo, m pa bezwenn lajan (repeat),

Bawon Kriminel, O! Lane a bout o, map paret tan yo.

(English)

Baron Criminel, I'm working for the worms of the earth (lowly, poor people),

The Network Management System for digital enterprise: Using SINEC NMS, you can centrally monitor, manage, and configure industrial networks with up to tens of thousands of devices around the clock. Siemens offers a variety of networking certification courses through its Industrial Networks Education Program to address this growing trend, and gives networking professionals the ability to proactively position themselves as leaders in their field. Benefit from our expertise in industrial networks. Siemens network & wireless cards driver download. Siemens and Aruba form partnership for integrated networks Siemens and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, announced a strategic partnership focused on bridging the OT and IT worlds. Based on their complementary portfolios, users benefit from integrated networks with proven interoperability from factory floors to corporate offices. The Expert level of Siemens Certified Expert for Industrial Networks (Siemens CEIN) offering rounds out your knowledge and, additionally, provides you with comprehensive expertise in industrial networks.

I don't need money (repeat),

Baron Criminel, oh! The year has ended, oh, I'll appear, to wait for them (to pay me).

(back to top)

Part 2B - MAMAN BRIGITTE

Maman Brigitte, surprisingly enough for a Vodou lwa, is British in origin, descended from Brigid/St. Brigit, the Celtic 'triple goddess' of poetry, smithcraft, and healing. She must have come to Haiti in the hearts of deported Scottish and Irish indentured servants. There is even a song we sing in ceremonies which goes Maman Brijit, li soti nan anglete, Maman Brigitte, she comes from England..' (I think that Brigid was more Scottish than English, but in Haiti perhaps at one time the word anglete represented all the British Isles.)

Nowadays, Maman Brigitte is considered to be the wife of Baron, Master of the Cemetery and chief of all the departed ancestors, known as lwa Ghede. The grave of the first woman buried in any cemetery in Haiti is consecrated to Maman Brigitte, and it is there that her ceremonial cross is erected. She, as well as Baron, is invoked to 'raise the dead', meaning to cure and save those who are on the point of death from illness caused by magic. Here is a very famous song about Maman Brigitte sung in Vodou ceremonies:

(Haitian Creole)

Mesye la kwa avanse pou l we yo!

Maman Brigitte malad, li kouche sou do,

Pawol anpil pa leve le mo (les morts, Fr.)

Mare tet ou, mare vant ou, mare ren ou,

Yo prale we ki jan yap met a jenou. Download pc depot laptops & desktops driver.

(English)

Gentlemen of the cross (deceased ancestors) advance for her to see them!

Maman Brigitte is sick, she lies down on her back,

A lot of talk won't raise the dead,

Tie up your head, tie up your belly, tie up your kidneys,

They will see how they will get down on their knees.

(Meaning, tie up your belly, 'gird up your loins' to prepare for the strain of work, we will make the people who did this evil spell get down on their

knees to beg pardon and receive their punishment.)

Maman Brigitte, like the rest of the Baron/Ghede constellation, is a tough-talking lwa who uses a lot of obscenities. She drinks rum laced with hot pepper, so hot that a person not possessed by a lwa could never drink it. She also is known to pass hot Haitian peppers on the skin of her genitals, and this is the test to which women are subjected when they are suspected of 'faking' possession. She dances the sexually suggestive and remarkably artistic banda, and the virtuosity of her dancing is legendary.

Maman Brigitte and Baron are the mother and father who reclaim the souls of the dead and transform them into lwa Ghede, removing them from the mystic waters where they were without cognizance of their own identity and naming them.

There is a plaintive song about the condition of souls in the mystic waters, which is also sung when an initiate is being prepared for the period of seclusion, ritual death, and rebirth of the initiation cycle:

(Haitian Creole)

Dlo kwala manyan, nan peyi sa maman pa konn petit li,

Nan peyi sa, fre pa konn se li, dlo kwala manyan.

(English)

Water kwala manyan (not Creole words), in that country a mother does not

know her child,

In that country a brother does not know his sister, water kwala manyan.

(back to top)

Part 2C - THE LWA GHEDE

The lwa Ghede are an enormous family of lwa, as many and varied as were the souls from which they originated. Since they are all members of the same family, spiritual children of Baron and Maman Brigitte, they all have the same last name - La Croix, the cross. No matter what other name they bear, their signature is always La Croix.

Some Ghede's names include: Ghede Arapice la Croix, Brav Ghede de la Croix, Ghede Secretaire de la Croix, Ghede Ti-Charles la Croix, Makaya Moscosso de la Croix; and such sad and degraded sounding names as Ghede Ti-Mopyon Deye la Croix (Ghede Little Crab Louse Behind the Cross), Ghede Fatra de la Croix (Garbage Ghede of the Cross), Ghede Gwo Zozo nan Crek Tone de la Croix (Ghede Big Cock in Pussy by Thunder of the Cross) and so on. There is a reason for these odd names, which will become clear as we go along.

The vast majority of Ghedes are male, but there is at least one female Ghede which I have seen, called 'Ghedelia'. Her name is also emblazoned on a few buses in Port-au-Prince, but I have not determined whether she is a well known Ghede who may appear in almost any peristyle, or whether she is a unique 'family' Ghede.

Ghede may possess anyone, anytime, even Protestants (to their enormous embarassment and displeasure.) I have a woman friend in Haiti who one day was observing a group of women possessed by Ghede, cavorting and dancing the banda. She said something like, 'Look at those disgusting whores, they have no respect for themselves.' On the spot, a Ghede possessed my friend, threw her to the ground, and declared from her prostrate body that he would take her to join her ancestors forthwith! Pleading and intercessions from her family members finally pacified the Ghede, who promised to relent - on the condition that the woman become a Mambo! Mambo Delireuse now practices in a rural area near Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite, in central Haiti!

The Ghedes are very much transitional figures, standing as they do between the living and the finality of death, between the ancestors in Guinea and the living men and women of Haiti. Perhaps this is why the Ghede are honored midway through the full orthodox Vodou ceremony, after the Rada (primarily Dahomean and Yoruban) and before the Petro (primarily Western Hemisphere).

The Ghedes dress much like their father Baron - black or purple clothes, elaborate hats, dark glasses, sometimes missing a lens, a walking stick or baton. They also dance the banda, but they retain more of the individual personality of the person from whom they originated. For example, the Spanish-speaking Ghede I have already discussed turns his baton around and holds it like a guitar. Realtek hard disk controller driver download 64-bit. He pretends to strum as he sings love songs to una mujer. This is a bit atypical, but many Ghedes proclaim their geographic origins - 'I come from Thomazeau', 'I'm a Port-au-Prince guy'.

The Ghede family, including their father and mother, Baron and Maman Brigitte, are absolutely notorious for their use of profanity and sexual terms. There is a reason for this - the Ghede are dead, beyond all punishment. Nothing further can be done to them, so the use of profanity among the normally somewhat formal Haitians is a way of saying, 'I don't care! I've passed beyond all suffering, I can't be hurt.' In a country where disrespect for authority figures was until recently punished by torture or death, this is a powerful message.

However, this profanity is never used in a vicious or abusive fashion, to 'curse someone out'. It is always humorous, even when there is a pointed message involved.

There are some very stately and dignified songs sung for Ghede, particularly the older, racine or root aspects such as Brav Ghede. Nowadays however, the accent is on the sexual and obscene humor the Ghede lwa provide. Here is a popular song sung for Ghede in public celebrations and Vodou peristyles:

(Haitian Creole)

Si koko te gen dan li tap manje mayi griye,

Se paske li pa gen dan ki fe l manje zozo kale!

(English - hold on to your socks, folks!) -

If vagina had teeth, it would eat roast corn,

It's because it has no teeth, why it eats peeled penis!

In the same vein, Ghede is said to be a thief. It is true that he appropriates what he likes from streetside vendors, but once the seller accedes to Ghede's demands his pilfering is usually limited to a few scraps of coconut meat or a bit of roast corn. At Fet Ghede, most peristyles cook food especially for the hundreds of Ghedes which appear and wander through the streets. Here is a song that a crowd of Ghedes sang as they went to the house of a well know and particularly generous Mambo in the Carrefour area of Port-au-Prince, named Lamesi (from the French La Merci, the thanks).

(Haitian Creole)

Ting ting ting ting kay Lamesi,

Whoi mama,

Kay la Mesi gen yon kochon griye,

Whoi mama!

(English)

Ting ting ting ting Lamesi's house

Whoi mama,

Lamesi's house has a whole roast pig,

Whoi mama!

November 2, All Soul's Day, commonly called Fet Gede (pronounced GAY-day), is a national holiday in Haiti. Catholics attend mass in the morning and then go to the cemetery, where they pray at family grave sites and make repairs to family tombs. The majority of Haitian Catholics are also Vodouisants, and vice versa, so on the way to the cemetery many people change clothes from the white they wore to church, to the purple and black of the lwa Gede, the spirits of the departed ancestors.

By midmorning the streets of Port-au-Prince are thronged with thousands of people. Dozens are already possessed by a Ghede, and their nasal voices, obscene jokes, and gyrating banda dance make them unmistakable. Grand Cemetiere, the main cemetery of Port-au-Prince, is jammed with people. Crowds press close around the twelve foot high ceremonial cross of Baron and the nearby smaller cross of Maman Brigitte. Many bring offerings of black coffee and rum, which they pour at the foot of the crosses. They also bring food offerings of bread, grilled peanuts, roast corn, and sometimes peppery cooked food. Occasionally a person, usually a Houngan or Mambo, will sacrifice a chicken or a pair of pigeons or doves. The offering is quickly appropriated by the many beggars who throng the cemetery. Some people sell candles, beeswax tapers, and religious images of saints considered to represent Baron, Maman Brigitte, and the Ghedes.

Imagine a Mambo in voluminous skirts of black and lavender, a flounced bodice of the same colors, several silk kerchiefs wrapped around her head, and strings of beads at her neck; as she approaches the cross of Maman Brigitte with her hounsis (those who have received the first grade of initiation.) She carries sticky beeswax tapers which she affixes to each arm of the cross and to it's center. Then she produces a black hen from her straw knapsack, and passes it downward over the bodies of her hounsis, removing all evil influences. After prayer, she kills the chicken quickly just as she would for an ordinary meal. The blood spurts on the cross, and she donates the chicken to a hungry beggar woman awaiting alms. The Mambo becomes possessed by Maman Brigitte, and prophesies the events of the coming year. One of the hounsis who has behaved badly is disciplined with a few gentle taps, and one who is ill is given the recipe for an herbal tonic. Then Maman Brigitte drenches her cross with rum and sets it alight, singing and dancing the banda with great virtuosity to the joy of all present. A few moments later she leaves the head of her Mambo, who, returned to consciousness, composes herself and leaves the cemetery with the utmost dignity.

Across town at the cemetery of Drouillard, wherein are buried the poorest of the poor, the people of the Cite Soleil neighborhood, the worship is yet more intense. Bands of Vodouisants from various peristyles march singing behind teams of drummers, with more and more people undergoing possession as they near the cemetery. Those who remain in their normal consciousness visit the graves of friends and relatives, speaking to them as though they can hear under the ground.

'Look, Papa,' says one woman, 'I've brought food for you.'

'Older brother,' weeps a young man, 'the Army killed you, we found your body in pieces, but all of your pieces are there, brother, are they not? You will not play the drums for us again, dear brother.. Mother misses you, she wanted to come but she is ill.. see the rum I have brought for you!'

The Ghede lwa, epitomizing defiance, sweep through the crowd shouting obscene jokes and singing obscene songs at the top of their lungs. Here is a song popular among the Ghedes last year in the Drouillard cemetery:

(Haitian Creole)

Zozo, tone! A la yon bagay ingra, (repeat)

Koko malad kouche, zozo pa bouyi te ba l bwe,

Koko malad kouche, zozo pa vini we l.

(English - with caution and apologies to those of delicate sensibilites)

Penis, by thunder! What an ungrateful thing, (repeat)

Vagina is sick lying down, penis does not boil tea for her,

Vagina is sick lying down, penis does not come to see her.

(The words zozo and koko are actually very naughty terms for the parts

involved, not at all like 'penis' and 'vagina'.)

Last year I, an American Mambo, left a peristyle with a Houngan and our congregation. The Houngan had a very powerful Baron in his head called Secretaire de la Croix, but Secretaire was refusing to possess the Houngan, because the Houngan had taken some of the money given him for Fet Gede and used it for his own purposes. The Houngan was very humiliated, and decided to go directly to the cemetery to ask for forgiveness.

Peristyle Driver Jobs

I had the use of a pickup truck, so we filled it up with members of our peristyle and drove through the choked streets to the cemetery. We got stuck in traffic, and as we sat and sat, Baron Secretaire de la Croix became impatient and took my head instead!

As far as I am told, there was a car in the oncoming lane, also stuck. Secretaire leaned out the driver's window of the stopped pickup and began to talk with the occupants of the car, who were very surprised to see a Baron in the head of a foreign Mambo! Two very wealthy ladies were seated in the back of the car, and Baron paid them special honor.

'Good evening, ladies,' said Baron.

'Good evening, Baron, Papa,' they giggled.

'And how are your clitorises today?', inquired Baron very seriously. https://abcblog260.tumblr.com/post/657956696667422720/drivers-paradigit-laptops-desktops. 'If your clitorises are not well, you may tell me, and I will tell those two big old penises in the front of the car to go to work!'

Peristyle Driver Download

The women, who under any other circumstances would have been furious, roared with laughter, as did the two men in the front of the car. The older woman leaned out the window and replied to Baron.

'Our clitorises are very well, Baron Papa. Thank you very much!'

Peristyle Drivers

And in a few moments the traffic jam broke up and Baron released me from possession, leaving me to drive the pickup truck to the cemetery and grovel with embarassment as our peristyle members, laughing hysterically, related the incident to me!

In the evening, each peristyle holds a dance in honor of Baron, Maman Brigitte, and the Ghedes. The people who come must all be fed, and the lwa who appear are also feasted from kettles of food specially prepared for them. Dancing goes on long into the night, even until daybreak. The artistry of the lwa is incomparable, and even non-Vodouisants often come to watch. Then the exhausted worshippers return home, to await the coming of Fete Ghede the following year.

[lnqdty]

gavazzeni//verdi: i lombardi alla prima crociata (memories, rec. 1969)

#opera #classical #music #album cover #my posts #giuseppe verdi #verdi #gavazzeni #live #teatro dell'opera di roma #memories #1969

[opera-simplified]

Opera Simplified #6: I Lombardi alla prima crociata—Notes, Acts III and IV

** The stage directions actually state that this scene takes place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, but there is lots of disagreement as to whether said place actually exists. At any rate, at the time Verdi wrote this opera, people generally believed that the Kidron Valley was the Valley of Jehoshaphat, so I have taken that liberty.

*** The term “fountain (or pool) of Siloam” refers to several rock-cut pools located southeast of the walls of the Old City portion of Jerusalem and on the southern slope of the Wadi Hileah. In the Bible (specifically John chapter 9), the water of Siloam was able to heal the blind, among other things.

**** The tomb of Rachel, one of the two wives of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, is located slightly north of Bethlehem and is a spot revered by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. Once again, the date provided here (and the date provided in the stage direction for the next scene) is based on historical reality, not anything written in the libretto.

#opera #opera tag #I Lombardi alla prima crociata #notes #I Lombardi #The Lombards at the First Crusade #Verdi #Giuseppe Verdi #Solera #Temistocle Solera

[nico-maggio-tolkeniano]

13 giugno 1855. Debutta a Parigi l'opera "I Vespri siciliani" di Verdi L'opera di Verdi presentava temi e valori romantici, una forte componente emozionale nel rappresentare la storia, in sintonia con lo spirito e il gusto del tempo, ma soprattutto fu caratterizzata per essere il riflesso degli ideali e delle aspirazioni politiche risorgimentali, unitarie e nazionaliste, di Verdi e del popolo italiano, similmente ad altre opere dell'autore come "I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata" (1843), "I due Foscari" (1844), "Giovanna D'Arco" (1845), "La battaglia di Legnano" (1849). Queste opere verdiane sono ispirate a grandi eventi e personaggi dell'età medievale: il Romanticismo faceva infatti del Medioevo un tempo/altrove di glorie militari, un'età dai valori alti e immutabili, come la sincera fede religiosa e il sentimento di appartenenza nazionale, dove collocare le origini etniche dei popoli e delle nazioni. Un'epoca d'oro da recuperare, anche nell'ottica verdiana, così da rinnovare tramite le rivolte di ieri le rivolte del presente, e guidare l'azione risorgimentale contro gli Austriaci e i Borbone. Il mito dei Vespri siciliani si inserisce a pieno titolo in questo fenomeno, detto Medievalismo, e trova le sue espressioni celebri e illustri precedenti nell'opera di Verdi, nella tragedia "Giovanni da Procida" di Niccolini (1817), nelle tele pittoriche di Hayez (1822, 1827, 1846) e, soprattutto, nell'opera storico-romantica di Michele Amari, autore di 11 edizioni della "Guerra del Vespro" (1843-1882), assurta a simbolo della Sicilia in lotta per l'indipendenza contro gli odiati sovrani Borbone, di poi diventata stendardo, dopo la breve esperienza del '48, di tutto il popolo italiano in rivolta, a sostegno dell'unità nazionale. Nicolò Maggio #13giugno #13giugno1855 #verdi #vespri #parigi #lirica #sicilia #risorgimento #accadeoggi #storia #Ottocento #italia #costruirestorie #annalidellaterradimezzo #vesprisiciliani #REGNODISICILIA #1282 #rivoltadeivespri #guerradelvespro #nuovivespri (presso Palermo, Italy) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQEpKUUlmLtUIizZJhlH7PdkWNSqJcLsPln_Pg0/?utm_medium=tumblr

#13giugno #13giugno1855 #verdi #vespri #parigi #lirica #sicilia #risorgimento #accadeoggi #storia #ottocento #italia #costruirestorie #annalidellaterradimezzo #vesprisiciliani #regnodisicilia #1282 #rivoltadeivespri #guerradelvespro #nuovivespri