A map does not just chart, it unlocks and formulates meaning; it forms bridges between here and there, between disparate ideas that we did not know were previously connected. ... Reif Larsen, The Selected Works of T S Spivet.
Tag Archives: Diaghilev
What I’ve Been Singing: Le Spectre de la Rose: Les Nuits d’Eté: Berlioz
I had a first-time try last Friday at singing some of the songs from Hector Berlioz’ song cycle Les Nuits d’Eté (Summer Nights) the texts for which came from six poems composed by Theophile Gautier.
I’ve had a CD for some years of the song cycle recorded by the late great Janet Baker, so I was not entirely unfamiliar with it. I never thought at the time that I’d one day be singing it.
The theme of the cycle is love, its progress from innocence to loss and renewal. The second song of the cycle, Le Spectre de la Rose, began as a work for piano – Afforderung zum Tanz (Invitation to the Dance) – written, in 1819, by Carl Maria von Weber. Continue reading
Posted in Music, Opera, Romanticism, Singing
Tagged Ballet, Ballets Russes, Berlioz, Diaghilev, Invitation to the Dance, Le Spectre de la Rose, Les Nuits d'Eté, Nijinsky, Opera, Romanticism, Singing, Song Cycle, Weber
Leave a comment
Poetic Mapping: Walking Into Art 