architect design™

One of the items I can cross off my bucket list is to see a concert in one of the great spaces of Europe. While traveling one often sees posters for concerts in various churches and this past trip to Paris we saw an unexpectedly exciting performance of Mozart's Requiem at La Madeleine.
La Madeleine is perhaps best known for its location: Fauchon and other high end food stores ring the square upon which is rests; Directly to the south is the Place da la Concorde and directly to the east is Place Vendome.
The church was ordered (re)built by Napoleon in 1806 as a memorial to his army but wasn't built for another 20 years by architect Pierre-Alexandre Vignon and following his death Jacques-Marie Huve.
The most striking object other than the Apse ceiling with a painting modestly showing Napoleon in the 'History of Christianity' is this statue of Mary Magdalene by Charles Marochetti rising above the high altar, seen below.
I say the concert was exciting because as Mozart's Requiem was being performed one of the performers passed out and was placed behind the altar while ER staff tried to resuscitate her. The show must go on however and if one had had their eyes closed (to enjoy the music of course, not nap!) one would have missed it.
One of the first events held in the church was Chopin's funeral which was delayed 2 weeks as the church finished construction where Mozart's Requiem was also, fittingly, played.
Seeing a choral performance in such a beautiful space was a highlight of my trip and I hope to do this again on future vacations.
For those of you not familiar with the Requiem below is a video with a great performance for you to enjoy.

Something a bit different -the glamorously talented Marlene Dietrich singing a heartfelt German version of Ne Me Quitte Pas

A shockingly beautiful interpretation by Sting.

A favorite singer and a favorite song. Happy long weekend!

The artist Childe Hassam, the American impressionist, painted this piece in 1899, just as his career was blossoming. Now owned by the Smithsonian American Museum of Art, the painting is one of my favorites in the collection.

In honor of the B52's concert I attended tonight (and because I'm too tired for a design post), attached here are 2 of their hit songs which were the last 2 they performed tonight at the 930 club. Enjoy!

Back to our regularly scheduled programing tomorrow!

No, not what you're thinking, although at 5'-9", I'm not much taller than Napolean was! Rather, I treated myself to this bust of Napoleon that is currently on sale here at restoration hardware.

This past weekend I watched A star is born from 1954 starring Judy Garland. The sets, in particular her house, are shockingly 'au courant'. I loved the cerused oak front doors with 3 panels and modern sidelight. Notice also the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair in white leather.

The theme song from the great 1960 film starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine is "Jealous Lover" - a song I love dearly and played about 100x on the piano while home this past weekend. The film won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Enjoy!

I was recently talking to a friend about Deanna Durbin -the singing movie star from the 30s and 40s. We found out that we both have loved her since childhood! I came across a picture of her taken in the early 80s and was surprised to see she was totally recognizeable from herself as a teenager -check this out.Born in 1921, she started out with a studio contract in 1935 along with Judy Garland (the other teen singing actress!). After creating many movies though as the singing teenager, she wanted more sophisticated, grown-up roles which studios and audiences were reluctant to see her in. She retired then in 1949, married and moved to France where she continues to live in retirement.
This video below shows her at age 14 (with that voice!) in her first movie 'Three smart girls". Definitely check out any of her movies, they're delightful!

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing 'Carmen' with the beautiful Denyce Graves as the title character at the Kennedy Center. She's a favorite here in DC (as well as around the world) as she is a native Washingtonian. Carmen is among her signature roles. You all probably know the Habanera - here is Denyce singing it below at a concert.

Her best quality though is not her appearance nor her singing ability but her ability to ACT. She IS Carmen in this roll, bringing it to life. She brings more to a song than just diction, poise and correct notes -she brings passion and fire. Unfortunately I felt the rest of the production wasn't as fantastic as her abilities, but sill enjoyable.
Here she is singing her other title role, Delila from Samson and Delila with Placido Domingo- this has always been one of my favorite songs "My heart at thy sweet voice" by Camille Saint-Saens

Carmen is among my favorite operas as it's full of everything I love about the art: fabulous sets, intense music, dancing, costumes, high drama and a beautiful love story with a tragic ending.
The original Carmen from 1875 - the singer Galli-Marie

One of my favorite singers is coming to DC to promote her latest album, Symphony: Sarah Brightman. In 2 weeks time, I can't wait! I saw her last show 5 years ago here in DC for her 'Harem' album-it was really one of the best shows I've ever seen! Lots of amazing special effects, dancers, great music - a real SHOW! So if you're in DC -she's performing at the Verizon Center on November 19th. Hope to see you there! Enjoy the video above, a preview commercial for the album.

I have a confession: I love the music of Rogers and Hammerstein. Walking cliche.....maybe, but I don't care! I recently bought the album of the 'South Pacific' music with none other than my Kiri Te Kanawa (who was fabulous last night, by the way), Jose Carreras and SARAH VAUGHAN! You don't know music till you hear Sarah Vaughan sing Bali Ha'i or Kiri sing....well.....anything! If only they had all gotten together to sing the music of Carousel I would be ecstatic as it's some of the most beautiful music ever written in my humble opinion! Buy your copy today on AMAZON (the used copies are very very cheap!) and you won't regret it! It's the soundtrack to my Saturday.

In honor of going to see Kiri Te Kanawa perform this weekend, I'm posting her singing one of the most beloved opera arias of all time 'O mio babbino caro' from Puccini's Gianna Schicchi (1918). Even if you don't like opera, take a listen; it's short. The song title translated means 'my dear papa' and takes place in a comedy when the heroine tries to convince her father to let her marry her fiance after a big feud. The translation from wikipedia is

O my dear papa, He pleases me, and is handsome, handsome; I want to go to Porta Rossa to buy the ring! Yes, yes, I want to go there! And if my love were in vain,I would go to the Ponte Vecchio and throw myself in the Arno! I am aching, I am tortured! Oh God, I'd like to die! Father, have pity, have pity! Father, have pity, have pity!

She is my favorite singer for the smooth tone of her voice and the sort of distinctive 'twang' she has-so beautiful. I can't wait for the weekend!

This song 'Rain on me' from Cyndi Lauper's new album is really beautiful and I wanted to share it with all of you. Enjoy!