只有旅行和藝術可以自己決定

When Tchaikovsky was invited to write a ballet music based on Perrault’s fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” in 1888, it was the beginning of the great collaboration in classical ballet. With choreography by Maricus Petipa, Sleeping Beauty premiered in Mariinsky Theatre in 1890, was Tchaikovsky’s first major success in ballet composition, and set a new standard for what is now called “Classical Ballet”.

The pas de deux in Act III, in particular, remained one of all time favorites in the whole of the ballet repertoire. While we tend to be amazed by great artistry and techniques of the dancers, the music itself has strong magic with beautiful melody, different pace and momentum, different weight and volume that reinforce the performance of the dance.

各大芭蕾大賽和gala表演最愛的pas de deux 中，少不了Le Corsaire和Don Quixote。

很久以前曾在youtube上看過Alla Sizova和Nureyev的Le Corsaire，這片段消失了一陣子，最近又有網友po上，讓我不禁興起了懷舊的念頭。

最近在Youtube搜尋影片時發現一部最新的芭蕾紀錄片，讓人非常期待。這部關於巴黎歌劇院芭蕾舞團（Le Ballet de L’Opera de Paris）的紀錄片參加了包括威尼斯影展在內的各國影展與電影節，十一月時正式在歐美放映。



紀錄片的內容包括了舞團的排練和表演，還有巴黎歌劇院內部和舞團運作的細節捕捉。除了舞者之外，藉由幾齣不同舞作的演出準備過程，鏡頭也帶到編舞家、ballet master、音樂家和服裝、舞台、燈光設計師等人在舞團中所扮演的角色。

毋庸置疑的，這是繼 Etoiles: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet之後，再令芭蕾舞迷們期待的巴黎歌劇院芭蕾舞團紀實。

Riccardo Drigo was one of the important ballet music composers working closely with Marius Petipa. The collaboration with Petipa in 1900 for ballet “Harlequin’s Millions” was a success.

Riccardo Drigo's score spawned two popular repertory pieces, the Serenade and the Valse bluette, both of which are considered cornerstones of Salon music. Later he re-wrote the music “serenade” with lyrics as "Notturno d'amor" for Beniamino Gigli. Ever since it has been arranged for every imaginable instrument as a repertory piece.

How weird it is when you are doing a floor bar exercise at the same time hearing music transcribed from excerpt of La Traviata aria. I don’t speak Italian, but almost start to sing with the music “A quell’amor…Misterioso…” . I cannot help visualizing the scene of Violetta alone in her room (La Traviata, Act I Scene V, Violeta’s aria) --- thinking about her falling in love with Afredo but soon concluding her own needs to live her life free. As a result, I kind of lose the focus of the floor bar exercise, but enter into the world of La Traviata.

哥本哈根的住宿費用高的嚇人，普普通通的一兩星飯店都要台幣三四千起跳，三星以上的一晚台幣五六千算正常行情。雖然有許多行家推薦設計感十足、以名師設計傢具打造的精品飯店，這錢我還是花不下去。幾經掙扎後訂了一家剛開幕不久的飯店 Wakeup Copenhagen。



這家飯店隸屬於丹麥著名的飯店集團Arp-Hansen Hotel Group。 集團旗下在哥本哈根市中心就有九家飯店，有高檔、精品個性、典雅精緻等不同定位的飯店。今年九月正式打入平價市場，推出Wakeup Copenhagen，號稱以二星價錢、提供三四星住房水準，要以物超所值吸引廣大遊客。看樣子，它的訴求似乎符合我這要求多又想省錢的奧客需求。

The music for this week is inspired by a conversation.

"Being Boring" is Pet Shop Boys’ single from 1990 album. The song was not a chart hit at that time. But as many Pet Shop Boys songs, it has charm in melody and meanings in lyrics. The title is derived from Zelda Fitzgerald’s quote “she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn’t boring.” The song is concerned with the idea of growing up and how people's perceptions and values change as they grow older.

Being Boring (1990 version with 2003 Digital Remaster) => very nicely made black and white music video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMJijbj_zMY

Now comparing original music to the live performance in 2009 when “boys are no longer boys”. The biggest change is: everything is more “human” now, even Neil Tennant’s voice becomes more human.