Mekka

Barcelona Graffiti

Check out these great photos of graffitti in Barcelona and beyond by Duncan Cumming.  

Found via Flickr

Now THIS is Opera

This is what Opera is all about - grand scale, the masses, love, romance and great music. The world's most popular Opera - Carmen - will be presented in it's orginal setting in Sept. of this year in Seville, Spain - as part of the 1st International Music Festival in Seville.

Get this:

For the first time in history, Seville itself will be the stage for Bizet's CARMEN, the most popular opera ever written. In September 2004, the first Seville International Music Festival will present nine unique, all-star performances of Carmen in Seville, live, open-air, conducted by Lorin Maazel, directed by Carlos Saura, and using different historic locations in Seville:

Act One
The Plaza de España will be transformed to create the tobacco factory scene for the first act.

SYNOPSIS:

A bright and sunny midday in Seville. There is a colourful, lively crowd on the square; nearby is a guardhouse and a cigarette factory. Micaela, a girl from the country, is searching for Corporal Don José; but he belongs to the guard which is coming on duty. Announced by the children, the changing of the guards take place and Don José learns that Micaela has been there asking for him. The lunch hour begins and the female workers come sauntering out; Carmen is among them. At the moment, she is surrounded by men, but it is fascinating for her to win the one who is not paying any attention to her - Don José. Before Carmen goes back into the factory she throws him a flower! Micaela returns again and reminds Don José of the wonderful time when they were first in love. She brings him a letter, some money and a kiss from his mother. Suddenly, a scream comes from the factory! Carmen has had a fight and she has wounded another girl with a knife. Don José is ordered by Captain Zuniga to bring out the accused girl and after an interrogation to take her away to prison. But he quickly succumbs to her seductive charms and Don José permits her to escape.

Act Two

The libretto speficies a tavern. This act will take place in front of the main pavillion of the Plaza de España, with the stage built into the colonnades and making use of the ornamental bridges. This area will be transformed into the tavern of Lilas Pastias. A traditional flamenco ballet can be presented.

SYNOPSIS:

In Lillas Pastia's inn, Soldiers and gypsy girls are conversing and amusing themselves. Zuniga is trying to win Carmen for himself. He tells her that Don José, who was sentenced because of her escape, will be released from prison today. Escamillo, the famous bullfighter, enters the inn. He sings his "Toreador Song" and feels that he is winning Carmen's affection. Hoping to see her soon again, Escamillo leaves the inn. Smugglers are trying to persuade the gypsy girls to join in their new venture. Carmen refuse to take part because she is waiting for Don José, whose singing can be heard in the distance. He enters and greets Carmen, on whom he has thought of with burning desire. She begins to dance for him alone. At that moment the sound of retreat is heard, which calls Don José back to the barracks. He wants to heed the call, but Carmen ridicules him. Also, his passionate declaration of love cannot change Carmen's mind. But she now tries to persuade Don José to lead a free life with the smugglers. Zuniga arrives. Don José resists his command and the officer is politely turned out by the smugglers. Now, Don José is obliged to stay with the smugglers; which is what he originally did not want to do.

Act Three

The libretto specifies a mountainous region.
After an intermission of normal length, the public will be asked to take their seats again in grandstands facing the opposite direction, that is, facing the Parque de Maria Luisa. Special lighting effects will transform the park trees and entire area into a mountainous forest region, thus providing the desired setting for the members of the chorus to emerge from among the trees, for example.

SYNOPSIS:

The smugglers are resting overnight in the mountains. Carmen has quarrelled with her lover - Don José. Together with two gypsy girls she is asking the cards to tell her future. Her death is read in the cards. As Don José stays back to stand guard, Micaela arrives. She hides herself quickly because Don José is shooting Escamillo; whom he has mistaken for a custom officer. A life or death struggle, between the two men begins for Carmen's favour. Just at the right moment she separates them. Escamillo invites all of the smugglers to his next bullfight.
Micaela comes out of her hiding place to bring Don José to his mother's death bed. He heeds her plea and follows her.

Act Four

The libretto specifies the place in front of the bullfight ring - the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza.
After the third act, there will be a two hour intermission and the public will be invited to stroll down the lovely Paseo del Alcalde Marqués de Contadero along the Guadalquivir River to the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza where the fourth act takes place. Again, typical horse-drawn carriages or cars will be available for those who do not wish to walk and for the handicapped.

Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza

The traditional, festive beginning of a bullfight which accompanies the entry into the Plaza de Toros of the presentation of the "toreros", "picadores" and other participants, either on foot or on horse, will also be built into the beginning of the act.
These changes of location are an integral part of the show structure and will be discussed in detail with the stage director and conductor as to feasibility and desirability.
Especially the change of venue from the third to the fourth acts, when the audience has a longer intermission, is an important feature of the evening. The Paseo will be festively decorated and lit with colorful lighting effects; there will be vendors of refreshments and "tapas" (local snack specialties), sellers of merchandising items relating to "Carmen" and other typical artisan items (not cheap souvenirs), possibly small groups of dancers, musicians and mimes. In short, the public will be able to experience a festive "paseo" and entry into the Plaza de Toros where the final act takes place.

SYNOPSIS:

In front of the arena in Seville the crowd is watching the procession of the Toreadors.
Escamillo is accompanied by Carmen. Today, he wants to bring her the winner's prize. The gypsy girls warn Carmen about Don José. He prevents her from going into the arena by blocking her way. He asks her to remember the past and pleads for her love. Carmen's stubborn "no" drives him out of his mind and he stabs her to death - his beloved Carmen, who perhaps still loves him in her heart and therefore may be longing for death through his hand.

Marc's only comment: Needless to say - I'm a trained Opera Singer. One of my favorite arias is the Toreador's Song - from Carmen. "Votre Tost...."

[Marc's Voice]

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From Burning Man To Running Man

John Perry Barlow speaks out passionately on The State of the Counterculture 2004:

'If someone like Karl Rove had wanted to neutralize the most creative, intelligent, and passionate members of his opposition, he'd have a hard time coming up with a better tool than Burning Man. Exile them to the wilderness, give them a culture in which alpha status requires months of focus and resource-consumptive preparation, provide them with metric tons of psychotropic confusicants, and then . . . ignore them. It's a pretty safe bet that they won't be out registering voters, or doing anything that might actually threaten electoral change, when they have an art car to build.'

Surreality TV: From Burning Man To Running Man :: Disinformation :: The gateway to the underground - news, politics, conspiracy and weirdness.

Weapons of Mass Projection in San Francisco October 8

Tomorrow (Wednesday), cyberdelic video performance pioneers Dimension7 will conduct the second annual Video RIOT! in San Francisco:

"This year, Video RIOT! will again showcase San Francisco's homegrown Vj community in a format that is a cross between an edgy electronic tailgate party and a real-time drive-in multiplex. Artists will join forces to create a massive outdoor wall of light just off the Embarcadero. All video projection and light based artists are encouraged to come, and can show if they have their own projector and gear."

Video RIOT! 2 will take place outdoors near the Dimension 7 studios (150 Folsom St. at Spear) from 8pm-11pm. Link [Boing Boing]

First day of new site!

This is the first post after having moved Mekka to our new hosting provider. Please pardon us while we work out all the technical and site design issues.

Thanks for your patience,

Mekka