CULTURAL SEASON STARTS IN SOUTH AMERICA

[trilingual]

Having gotten numerous requests over time, I'm pleased to post the following schedule for the Theatro Municipal in Rio (it was published in this Sunday's "Globo"):

 

March 12: Berlioz - L'Enfance du Christ

April 16, 18, 23, 24 and 25: Mozart - Die Zauberflote

May 14 - 23: Ballet - Beethoven's 7th Symph./ Voluntaries/ M.E.T.A.F.I.S.I.C.A)

June 18, 20, 23, 25 and 27: Verdi - Un Ballo in Maschera

July 13, 14: Villa Lobos Anniversary Concert

July 29, 30 and 31, Aug. 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8: Ballet - Onegin

Sept. 17, 19, 24 and 26: Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore

Oct. 15 - 24: Ballet - Rites of Spring/Violin Concert/Alma Brasileira

Nov. 15 - Mahler - 3rd Symphony

Dec. 11 - 18: Ballet - Sleeping Beauty

 

More information is available (in Portuguese) at http://www.theatromunicipal.rj.gov.br

 

Information for the Theatro Municipal in São Paulo, which also has an extensive season of events, can be found at http://www.theatromunicipal.com.br

 

A great night of opera at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires can be an unforgettable experience. Information is available at http://www.teatrocolon.org.ar

 

The 2004 season at the Colón includes:

 

April 6 - 18: Mozart - Die Zauberflote

May 11 - 22: Verdi - Don Carlo

June 1 - 6: Maragno - Fuego en Casabindo (World Premiere)

July 6 - 16: Wagner - Rheingold

Aug. 3 - 10: Penderecki - Ubu Rei

Sept. 7 - 15: Poulenc - Dialogues des Carmelites

Oct. 19 - 29/Nov.3: Rossini - Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra

Nov. 16 - 26: Britten - Death in Venice

Dec. 7 - 15: Puccini - Manon Lescaut

 

There's a lot of other opera performed in and around Buenos Aires. Check for the schedule at the Teatro Argentino in nearby La Plata. It's usually full of interesting repertory, and it's easy to get to, with organized buses leaving the Teatro Colon and bringing you back there after the performances. Check for performances of zarzuelas at the Teatro Avenida, a beautifully restored house on Avenida de Mayo. There are also performances in suburban Avellaneda. Fans of musical satire à la P.D.Q. Bach and Anna Russell shouldn't miss any performance by "Les Luthiers," their equivalents in the Spanish-speaking world.

 

And some people thought M4Mers don't do culture! Start planning those trips with these dates and events in mind! }(

[Funseeker 22]

Tri,

Did Tomcal order his tickets yet? :-). That Boy needs a little culture.

[Guest Tomcal_]

>Tri,

>Did Tomcal order his tickets yet? :-). That Boy needs a little

>culture.

 

LOL!! I am glad that my good friend Funseeker is trying to make sure I get a little more culture in my simple uncultured life!

I would like to try and make time for some of these Plays/concerts/theater...but most of my schedule is already booked up for when I arrive in two Weeks!! I think I do have 3:00 -4:00pm open on thurs. the 25th, but unfortunatly there is nothing to see during that time. lol

[Funseeker 22]

>" I think I do have

>3:00 -4:00pm open on thurs. the 25th, but ((unfortunatly)) there

>is nothing to see during that time. lol"

 

Maybe you could use that hour to learn how to use spellcheck ???

 

 

:-):-) :-) :-)

[Indiana Swede]

Maybe an arts gathering of M4M'rs in Rio, with other excursions, could be great fun. With Trilingual's knowledge of Brazil and of the arts, things could be quite fine.

I'm sure that Municipal Theater is lovely with the just completed renovation work.

Possible?

Indiana Swede

[trilingual]

There's lots of culture in Rio, SP and BA. My interests tend to be more musical, so I focus in that area, but the visual arts are also well-represented. All three cities have strong theater scenes, too, and lots of cinema.

 

In Rio and SP, the Friday papers have an entertainment magazine with events listings until the following Friday. The Rio and SP editions of Veja have a similar local pullout section with listings and recommendations. All of these are in Portuguese, of course, but you'd have to be pretty dense not to be able to figure out most of the listings.

 

The Theatro Municipal in Rio is wonderful. It was built as a national showplace, so no expense was spared in using wonderful woods and other luxurious materials. It's supposed to be a 2/3-sized copy of the Garnier opera in Paris. Regrettably, the basement restaurant has been closed for a while. It's a fabulously operatic space decorated in Assyrian Art Nouveau -- you feel like you're right in the set of "Nabucco" when you're in the room. Hopefully it will re-open before long. If the Confeitaria Colombo could resuscitate itself, I don't why the Cafe do Theatro couldn't!

 

The Theatro Municipal in São Paulo is also beautiful. Not quite as elaborate as the one in Rio, it's a beautiful Beaux Arts building in shades of green and gold.

 

In B.A., the Teatro Colón is absolutely splendid. Lots of gilt, mirrors and chandeliers in the grand public spaces like the Salón Dorado, where small concerts are presented, and the main theater in crimson and gold in a classic horseshoe shape, with world-renowned acoustics.

 

In addition to these, there are also some impressive theaters in the more important state and provincial capitals in Brazil and Argentina, and the Teatro Municipal in Santiago (Chile) with an important opera season, not to mention the beautiful Teatro Solís in Montevideo (Uruguay).

 

There are also fascinating art and historical museums in all three cities, as well as in some of the smaller cities. Some of the cities are museums in and of themselves, like the Baroque gems from the era of the Brazilian gold and diamond booms, or well-preserved colonial settlements like Salta (in NW Argentina) or Colonia (across the river in Uruguay from BA).

 

This only scratches the surface of what's available in Eastern South America. The gay/escort scenes may not be as lively there, but in the Andean countries of Western South America there's also a staggering wealth of scenery, history and folklore to be explored and enjoyed. There's nothing the matter with enjoying sexual escapades on your trips to South America, but it would be a shame not to experience and be enriched by the culture, history and beauty of these countries, too! So dig in!

[trilingual]

RE: L'enfance du Christ

 

With another M4Mer I went to last night's performance at the Theatro Municipal. I'm very glad I did! In the past, Brazilian orchestras I've heard have been pretty ragged, but that wasn't the case last night. The orchestra may not have been the Berlin Philharmonic or the Chicago Symphony, but some of the playing was beautiful, indeed, and always emotive. The soloists were quite good (my M4M companion thought they could all use a course in on-stage deportment, though) including a movie-star handsome baritone who had one of the smaller roles. The tenor who sang the role of the Narrator had some problems here and there, but a voice and style very well suited to the French style. The Theatro Municipal chorus, which has a big role in this piece, was absolutely superb, as good as any I've heard. They earned a justly deserved ovation.

 

The same performance will be repeated tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 11:00 a.m. at popular prices: R$1.00. It's an infrequently performed piece that's well worth experiencing.

[CT Dick]

>I'm sure that Municipal Theater is lovely with the just

>completed renovation work.

 

Last year I took a tour of the MT. They offer an English language guide. Since I was the only one requesting her I had a private tour of the place, including the 1st class ladies' room. :7

 

The whole place truely is a gem.

 

Dick

[trilingual]

RE: ART EXHIBITS

 

I forgot to mention that I went to the opening of a new art exhibit at the Espaço Cultural dos Correios, which is located directly behind the Centro Cultural do Banco do Brasil (CCBB) and next to the Casa França-Brasil. Together these three cultural centers at (or near) the downtown intersection of r. 1º de março and Pres. Vargas form an impressive complex with constantly changing exhibits and performances.

 

The exhibit I saw, which will be on for a while, is called "Cara do Rio" (The Face of Rio) and is a series of impressions, in various media but all in black and white, of Rio on the occasion of its 439th birthday. A friend is one of the exhibitors, which explains why I attended the opening. This exhibit, as well as the two others on display, are worth seeing. There are also currently exhibits of the work of prominent political cartoonists. Some of the works won't make much sense to foreign visitors who don't know Brazilian politics, but the quality of the work is impressive.

 

In addition to these three cultural centers, downtown Rio offers other attractions for art lovers, including the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes in Cinelândia, the Biblioteca Nacional (which has finally begun exhibiting some of the priceless treasures in its collections which have as its nucleus the old Portuguese Royal Library), the Centro Cultural da Justiça, the Paço Imperial, the Museu de Arte Moderno, etc. All of this is part of what makes Rio such an attractive destination. If it rains during your visit, there's a wealth of alternatives to the beach. Not to mention for those times when you're just exhausted from the saunas or shopping and need a culture fix to restore yourself!