today’s holiday: Ommegang

Ommegang

Ommegang is a medieval pageant presented on the Grand-Place of Brussels, Belgium, and one of the country’s most popular attractions. The pageant is preceded by strolling musicians, followed by a parade of people representing the magistrate and city officials, the court of Marie of Hungary, and the Court of Charles V. Then the actual procession takes place, led by the Knight of Peace. Participants include trade groups with floats, archers, and groups of dancers and clowns dancing around symbolic animals, including the legendary horse Bayard, a unicorn, dragon, and serpent. More… Discuss

this pressed from VOA: Tsipras Names Austerity Critic as Greek Finance Chief

Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras poses for the photographers after taking a secular oath at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Jan. 26, 2015.

Tsipras Names Austerity Critic as Greek Finance Chief

Related Articles

Video Brussels Shaken as New Greek Leader Challenges Europe’s Austerity Drive

Photogallery Greece’s Tsipras Takes Control

Anti-austerity Leftists Winning Greek Election

VOA News

January 27, 2015 8:30 AM

An economist who has been an outspoken critic of Greece’s bailout deal with international lenders was named Tuesday as the country’s finance minister in the new leftist government.

Anti-austerity Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras picked Yanis Varoufakis for the key economic portfolio as he named other political supporters to his Cabinet after his Syriza party swept to victory in Sunday’s election.

via Tsipras Names Austerity Critic as Greek Finance Chief.

Related articles

• Early elections in Greece: The political laboratory of Syriza
• Today Athens, Tomorrow Madrid
• Greece Q&A: what now for Syriza and EU austerity?
• Eurogroup warns: No debt forgiveness for Greece; Dijsselbloem in Athens
• Anti-austerity coalition in Greece
• Greece vs The Money Monopoly Trick (Banking)

Large families are schools of solidarity and sharing, Francis affirms

Pope Francis greets pilgrims during the General Audience held Jan. 8, 2014. Credit: Kyle Burkhart/CNA

Credit for this message of Hope and Peace >>  here <<

Vatican City, Dec 29, 2014 / 01:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In an address on Sunday to Italy’s National Numerous Family Association, Pope Francis thanked the members of large families for their cultivation of virtues that benefit society at large, as well as themselves.

“The fact of having brothers and sisters is good for you,” he said Dec. 28 to the children among the some 7,000 members of large families from across Italy at the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.

“The sons and daughters of large families are more inclined to fraternal communion from early childhood. In a world that is frequently marred by selfishness, a large family is a school of solidarity and sharing; and these attitudes are of benefit to all society.”

The audience was on the occasion of the association’s tenth anniversary, and marked the feast of the Holy Family.

“You have come here with the most beautiful fruits of your love,” he said to the parents of the families. “Maternity and paternity are gifts from God, but your task is to receive this gift, to be amazed by its beauty and to let it shine in society. Each of your children is a unique creation that will never be repeated in the history of humanity. When we understand this, that each person is willed by God, we are astonished by the great miracle that is a child! A child changes your life!”

We have all seen, he reminded them, men and women who have profoundly changed “when a child arrives,” adding that a child is “the unique fruit of love,” coming from and growing in love.

“You, children and young people, are the fruit of the tree that is the family: you are good fruit when the tree has good roots – grandparents – and a good trunk – the parents,” Pope Francis said. “The great human family is like a forest, in which the trees bear solidarity, communion, fidelity, support, security, happy moderation, friendship. The presence of large families is a hope for society.”

This, he said, “is why the presence of grandparents is very important: a valuable presence both in terms of practical assistance, but above all for their contribution to education. Grandparents conserve the values of a people, of a family, and they help parents transmit them to their children. Throughout the last century, in many countries in Europe, it was the grandparents who transmitted the faith.”

“Dear parents, thank you for your example of love for life that you protect from conception to its natural end, in spite of all the difficulties and burdens of life, that unfortunately public institutions do not always help you to bear.”

He lamented that while the Italian constitution calls for particular regard for large families, this is only “words” and is “not adequately reflected in the facts.”

Considering Italy’s low birth rate, he voiced hope that it’s politicians and public administrators would give large families “all due support.”

“Every family is a cell of society, but the large family is a richer, more vital cell, and the state has much to gain by investing in it.”

In light of this, he affirmed the National Numerous Family Association, and groups like it, for advocating for large families in the European nations, and for being “present and visible in society and in politics.”

He concluded by praying in particular “for those families most affected by the economic crisis, those in which the mother or father have lost their jobs and in which the young are unable to find work, and those families in which the closest relationships are marked by suffering and who are tempted to give in to loneliness and separation.”

Liszt Consolation D flat major No.3 (S.172), Valentina Lisitsa: Great compositions/performances

Liszt Consolation D flat major No.3 (S.172) Valentina Lisitsa

   ValentinaLisitsa

Recorded in November 2012 at medieval church in Blumenstein, Switzerland .
Learned in less than an hour at the same church 🙂
What you see and hear is basically my first performance, LOL!
Piano is Boesendorfer Imperial owned by http://www.leclavier.ch/
http://www.piano-suisse.com/contact.php
Free sheet music download is available, as always, at IMSLP library:
http://tinyurl.com/cuenc44

This little piece is the best answer to all those “music critics”, self-proclaimed experts and other snobs who throughout the years and years belittled, ignored or attacked Liszt music as primitive kitsch designed to pander to primitive tastes of gullible public.
What can be closer to perfection than these few pages sparsely “populated” with few notes , easy enough for any amateur to tackle – yet profound and comforting to turn to in the moment of quiet happiness and contemplation – or in the moment of utter hopelessness and despair?

Related articles

• Valentina Lisitsa. Chopin Nocturne Op 27 # 2 D Flat Major: great compositions/performances

Chopin – Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni: great compositions/performances

Chopin – Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart‘s Don Giovanni

   Fledermaus1990

Frédéric Chopin’s Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” for piano and orchestra, Op. 2, was written in 1827, when he was aged only 17. “Là ci darem la mano” is a duet sung by Don Giovanni and Zerlina, from Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. It was one of the earliest manifestations of Chopin’s incipient genius. It inspired Robert Schumann‘s famous exclamation, Hats off, gentlemen! A genius!

The work was premiered on 11 August 1829 at the Vienna Kärntnertortheater, with Chopin as the soloist. It received very positive audience and critical acclaim.

The work is in B-flat major throughout, except for the Adagio of Variation 5, which is in the minor key.

– Introduction: Largo – Poco piu mosso 0:00
– Thema: Allegretto 5:20
– Variation 1: Brillante 6:53
– Variation 2: Veloce, ma accuratamente 7:52
– Variation 3: Sempre sostenuto 8:54
– Variation 4: Con bravura 10:20
– Variation 5: Alla Polacca 11:24

Tuesday Matinee at the Opera: Mozart / Don Giovanni, K. 527 (Harnoncourt),: great compositions/performances

***listen as much as you like then bookmark the page for future viewing! 

***Permalink: https://euzicasa.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/tuesday/

Mozart / Don Giovanni, K. 527 (Harnoncourt)

  scrymgeour34

Published on Oct 12, 2013

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni (dramma giocoso in due atti), K. 527 (1787)
Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte
00:00 – Overture
Act I.
05:41 – No. 1 Introduzione: Notte e giorno faticar [Leporello]
07:28 – Non sperar, se non m’uccidi [Donna Anna, Don Giovanni, L]
08:54 – Lasciala, indegno! [Il Commendatore, DG, L]
11:02 – Recitativo: Leporello, ove sei? [DG, L]
11:35 – Recitativo: Ah! del padre in periglio [DA, Don Ottavio]
11:52 – No. 2 Recitativo accompagnato e duetto: Ma qual mai s’offre, oh Dei – [DA, DO]
14:59 – Fuggi, crudele, fuggi! [DA, DO]
18:45 – Recitativo: Orsù, specciati presto [DG, L]
20:26 – No. 3 Aria: Ah chi mi dice mai [Donna Elvira, DG, L]
24:02 – Recitativo: Chi è là? Stelle! che vedo! [DE, DG, L]
26:55 – No. 4 Aria: Madamina, il catalogo [L]
32:14 – Recitativo: In questa forma dunque [DE]
32:46 – No. 5 Coro: Giovinette, che fate all’amore [Zerlina, Masetto, Coro]
34:05 – Recitativo: Manco male è partita [Z, DG, L, M]
36:35 – No. 6 Aria: Ho capito [M]
38:14 – Recitativo: Alfin siam liberati [Z, DG]
40:22 – No. 7 Duettino: Là ci darem la mano [DG, Z]
44:03 – Recitativo: Fermati scellerato [DE, DG, Z]
44:55 – No. 8 Aria: Ah fuggi il traditor [DE]
45:57 – Recitativo: Mi par ch’oggi il demonio [DG, DO, DA]
47:05 – Recitativo: Ah ti ritrovo [DE]
47:14 – No. 9 Quartetto: Non ti fidar, o misera [DA, DE, DO, DG]
51:26 – Recitativo: Povera sventurata! [DG]
51:53 – No. 10 Recitativo accompagnato ed Aria: Don Ottavio, son morta! [DA, DO]
55:31 – Or sai chi l’onore [DA]
58:27 – Recitativo: Come mai cerder deggio [DO]
59:02 – No. 10a Aria: Dalla sua pace [DO]
1:03:40 – Recitativo: Io deggio ad ogni patto [DG, L]
1:05:25 – No. 11 Aria: Fin ch’han dal vino [DG]
1:06:40 – Recitativo: Masetto, senti un po’! [Z, M]
1:07:50 – No. 12 Aria: Batti, batti, o bel Masetto [Z]
1:11:33 – Recitativo: Guarda un po’ [Z, DG, M]
1:12:07 – No 13 Finale: Presto, presto pria ch’ei venga [M, Z]
1:13:12 – Sù, svegliatevi, da bravi! [DG, Coro]
1:14:08 – Tra quest’arbori celata [Z, DG, M]
1:16:42 – Bisogna aver coraggio [DE, DO, DA, L, DG]
1:19:02 – Protegga il giusto cielo [DA, DO, DE]
1:21:10 – Riposate, vezzose ragazze [DG, L, M, Z]
1:22:25 – Venite pur avanti [L, DG, DA, DE, DO, M, Z]
1:26:50 – Ecco il birbo che t’ha offesa… [DG, L, DO, DA, DE, Z, M]
1:28:32 – Trema, trema scellerato [Tutti]

Act II.
1:30:50 – No. 14 Duetto: Eh via buffone [Don Giovanni, Leporello]
1:32:01 – Recitativo: Leporello, Signore [DG, L]
1:33:59 – No. 15 Terzetto: Ah taci, ingiusto core [Donna Elvira, DG, L]
1:39:42 – Recitativo: Amico che ti par? [DG, L]
1:40:14 – Recitativo: Eccomi a voi! [DE, DG, L]
1:41:56 – No. 16 Canzonetta: Deh vieni alla finestra [DG]
1:44:20 – Recitativo: V’è gente alla finestra [DG] – Non ci stanchiamo [DG, Masetto]
1:45:32 – No. 17 Aria: Metà di voi quà vadano [DG]
1:48:30 – Recitativo: Zitto! Lascia ch’io senta [DG, M]
1:49:16 – Recitativo: Ah ahi! la testa mia [M, Zerlina]
1:50:34 – No. 18 Aria: Vedrai, carino [Z]
1:54:06 – Recitativo: Di molte faci il lume [DE, L]
1:54:39 – No. 19 Sestetto: Sola sola in buio loco [Donna Anna, DE, Don Ottavio, L]
1:57:31 – Sestetto (cont’d): Ferma, briccone [DA, DE, L, Z, DO, L, M]
2:00:00 – Sestetto (cont’d): Mille torbidi pensieri [do.]
2:02:31 – Recitativo: Dunque quello sei tu [DE, Z, DO, L, M]
2:02:53 – No. 20 Aria: Ah pietà, signori miei [L]
2:04:51 – Recitativo: Ferma, perfido, ferma [DE, Z, DO, M]
2:05:34 – No. 21 Aria: Il mio tesoro intanto [DO]
2:09:44 – No. 21b Recitativo accompagnato ed Aria: In quali eccessi – Mi tradì quell’alma ingrata [DE]
2:15:40 – Recitativo: Ah ah ah ah, questa è buona [DG, L, Il Commendatore]
2:20:35 – No. 22 Duetto: O statua gentilissima [DG, L]
2:24:12 – Recitativo: Calmatevi, idol mio [DA, DO]
2:25:00 – No. 23 Recitativo accompagnato: Crudele! – Non mi dir, bell’idol mio [DA]
2:31:03 – Recitativo: Ah, si segua il suo passo [DO]
2:31:25 – No. 24 Finale: Già la mensa è preparata [DG, L]
2:35:49 – L’ultima prova [DE, DG, L]
2:37:59 – Che grido è questo mai? [DG, L]
2:39:14 – Don Giovanni, a cenar teco [Il Commendatore, DG, L]
2:44:42 – Da qual tremore insolito… [DG, Coro, L]
2:45:46 – Ah! dov’è il perfido? [DO, DA, DE, Z, M, L]
2:47:22 – Or che tutti, o mio tesoro [DO, DA, DE, Z, M, L]
2:49:39 – Resti dunque quel birbon [Z, M, L]
2:50:13 – Questo è il fin di chi fa mal! [Tutti]

Don Giovanni – Thomas Hampson
Il Commendatore – Robert Holl
Donna Anna – Edita Gruberova
Don Ottavio – Hans Peter Blochwitz
Donna Elvira – Roberta Alexander
Leporello – László Polgár
Masetto – Anton Scharinger
Zerlina – Barbara Bonney

******Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, dir. Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1988)

******Painting: A Dance in the Country, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

#Giacomo_Puccini : né le 22 décembre 1858 en Toscane, il est mort le 29 novembre 1924 à Bruxelles en Belgique) — Stéphane Bergès (@Revizorsb)

#Giacomo_Puccini : né le 22 décembre 1858 en Toscane, il est mort le 29 novembre 1924 à Bruxelles en Belgique) pic.twitter.com/8ZyUXlAU6R

— Stéphane Bergès (@Revizorsb) November 29, 2014

***************************************************

GHEORGHIU & ALAGNA – La Bohème – Sono andati? (Final scene)

Alice Bathory

Angela Gheorghiu as Mimì and Roberto Alagna as Rodolfo sing “Sono andati? Fingevo di dormire” in the final scene of Puccini‘s opera ‘La Bohème’, the connection between them is amazing, a really moving and charming performance!
With Annamaria Dell’Oste as Musetta and Franck Ferrari as Marcello.
(Orange, August 2, 2005)

FOCUS – ‘These are children, not terrorists,’ say Belgian parents of Syria jihadists – France 24

to Friday at 7.45 am Paris time.

FOCUS

FOCUS

Syria

jihad

Belgium

Latest update : 2014-01-31

‘These are children, not terrorists,’ say Belgian parents of Syria jihadists

inShare1

This week, two French teenagers were arrested trying to reach Syria to join fighting against President Bashar al-Assad. Three men from Paris went on trial on Thursday on similar charges. Now Belgian parents tell France 24 about losing their children to jihad.

It is a situation not unique to France. Young people from all across Europe have travelled to Syria to join the ‘Holy War’ against Assad, often leaving without warning, their parents unaware to their sons’ and daughters’ plans to become soldiers in a foreign land.

In Belgium, an estimated 300 citizens have left their country for the Syrian battlegrounds. Many parents believe their children, young and impressionable, have been manipulated into taking up the jihadist cause.

Gathered in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, a group of mothers with children in Syria have staged a protest to press the authorities into tackling the problem.

They are making a stand against what they claim is a lack of action by the authorities.

“We’re the parents of jihad fighters, of terrorists. People are afraid of them, of us. But we’re not the ones who’ve sent our children over there,” says Veronique, one of several protesters wearing masks they say symbolise “misunderstanding”.

“Our children were tricked into this,” says another. “They didn’t go to Syria of their own free will. I mean: it’s not normal, that a kid who had no problems finds himself over there, that’s not normal. These are children, Belgian children… They’re not terrorists!”

via FOCUS – ‘These are children, not terrorists,’ say Belgian parents of Syria jihadists – France 24.

Related articles

• Families torn apart as Western girls join Islamist cause
• Families torn apart as Western girls join Islamist cause
• Families torn apart as Western girls join Islamist cause
• Families torn apart as Western girls join Islamist cause
• refugee_syria_isis_reuters_091014.JPG
• Why Are Western Girls Leaving Home to Join ISIS, and What Happens to Them?

New widget at Euzicasa: Judicial Watch (Because no one is above the law!): look it up on the Primary Widget Area: Enjoy

Judicial Watch: Access here!

this pressed-for your right to information: Flash – EU anti-trust chief slams ‘irrational’ views towards Google – France 24

AFP

Google is the most widely used search engine with a market share of over 90% in most European countries, according to preliminary findings by the European Commission

Google is the most widely used search engine with a market share of over 90% in most European countries, according to preliminary findings by the European Commission

The EU’s top anti-trust official sharply criticized the “irrational” response by European politicians to the Brussels investigation of search engine giant Google, a report said on Thursday.

“Google has provoked a lot of emotions and in some cases … some kind of irrational emotions,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told the Wall Street Journal.

Critics of Google see “this leviathan that will eliminate all our freedoms, all our privacy, all our rights and I think it isn’t logical,” he said.

Google is being investigated by the European Commission in response to complaints that its search engine, the world’s biggest, was squeezing out competitors in Europe.

Google and Almunia have made three attempts to resolve the dispute, but in each case intense pressure by national governments, Internet rivals and privacy advocates scuppered the effort.

Almunia, who steps down at the end of the month, told the newspaper he regretted the investigation had been muddied by politics.

via Flash – EU anti-trust chief slams ‘irrational’ views towards Google – France 24.

euzicasa: Is Google the ultimate “STEP ASIDE I’M COMMING THROUGH” AMBITIOUS CORPORATION?

Related articles

• EU’s Antitrust Chief Reportedly Slams ‘Irrational’ Views of Google
• EU anti-trust chief slams ‘irrational’ views towards Google
• EU’s anti-trust chief slams ‘irrational’ fears of Google
• Outgoing EU Competition Commissioner Lashes Out at Political Pressure in Google Case
• Google to face charges if it fails to improve settlement: EU

Gioachino Rossini – “Kyrie” from “Messa di Gloria”: make music part of your life series

Gioachino Rossini – “Kyrie” from “Messa di Gloria” (Raul Gimenez & Francisco Araiza)

  LindoroRossini

“Dear God: here it is finished, this poor little Mass… I was born for opera buffa, you know it well! A little science, some heart, that’s all…”

– composer’s envoi to “Petite Messe Solennelle“.

Cover of Gioacchino Rossini

Rossini is generally perceived as an operatic composer, and thus, his sacred works are sometimes perceived as lacking in the light of other pieces in a similar vein. Some have also remarked that Rossini’s sacral works are simple continuations of the traditions he created during his compositional career. In many ways, it is so, as the presented two works show. But, like in most cases with Rossini and belcanto, the pieces never lose a certain irresistible charm and beauty.

In this new series of uploads I am pairing up two completely different but, nonetheless, both surprisingly refreshing masses by Rossini: an early, even a bit immature work, “Messa di Milano”, and a later, more elaborate piece, “Messa di Gloria” (which comes from the 1820s). My goals fall into to two categories: first off, to present the selections that I have chosen for posting and to provide some short ideas on the works; and, secondly, as the pieces, like most masses, follows the same basic structure and share the same text, to compare them.

Rossini’s “Messa di Gloria” was performed in the Church of San Ferdinando, Naples, in March 1820. Only one page of the original manuscript exists (in Brussels), but a complete set of parts lies in Naples Conservatory. Rossini seems to have been “helped” by another hand in the contrapuntal sections and that the final section, “Cum sancto spiritu”, was composed by Pietro Raimondi. The mass, Rossini’s only work written during the period he wrote for the theatre and the first sacred work of his maturity, is generally wondrous, though almost too operatic. Indeed, the whole thing takes some getting used to because a lot of Rossinian fingerprints one is used to hearing emerge from the opera pit here turn up in a liturgical context.

I’m only uploading several selections, including the complete Kyrie, Gratias, the Domine Deus (both set as terzets) etc., which I consider rewarding in some way or another. I’m providing the whole structure of the piece to give you a basic idea of the way Rossini set up the classical Mass succession, while the presented pieces are marked by a “*”.

Sumi Jo – soprano,
Ann Murray – contralto,
Raul Gimenez & Francisco Araiza – tenors,
Samuel Ramey – bass.

1. Kyrie (*; chorus). Another sustained opening for chorus, contrasted with ominous horns and nervous strings.
2. Christe (*; duettino for the tenors). A superb, if unusual for a sacred work, passage, beautifully joining together the tenors’ vocalizing over a simple dotted bass line.
3. Kyrie (repeat of the opening). As this piece is a complete repeat of the original opening, I decided that it would be possible to skip it in this posting.
4. Gloria (chorus and quartet for all, except one tenor).
5. Laudamus (aria for soprano).
6. Gratias (aria for tenor).
7. Domine Deus (terzet for soprano, contralto and bass).
8. Qui tollis (aria for tenor and chorus).
9. Quoniam (aria for bass).
10. Cum sancto spiritu (chorus).

Giuseppe Sammartini Oboe Concerto in E flat major: make music part of your life series

Giuseppe Sammartini Oboe Concerto in E flat major

  Volkan Işılay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The only surviving portrait of Sammartini by Domenico Riccardi. Cattoretti, Anna, ed. Giovanni Battista Sammartini and His Musical Environment. Brepolis, 2004. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Giuseppe Baldassare Sammartini (also Gioseffo, S Martini, St Martini, San Martini, San Martino, Martini, Martino;^[1] 6 January 1695 – November 1750) was an Italian composer and oboist during the late Baroque and early Classical era. Although he was from Milan, most of his professional life was spent in London and with Frederick, the Prince of Wales.

Giuseppe Sammartini was born in Milan, Italy. He had a younger brother, Giovanni Battista Sammartini, who also became a particularly renown composer and oboist. Both brothers took oboe lessons from their French father Alexis Saint-Martin.^[2] Although he was born in Milan, Giuseppe found his success in other parts of Europe. His first trip was to Brussels, and from there he made his way to London where he would go on to spend the rest of his life. Giuseppe did return to Milan for his sister Madalena’s marriage on 13 February 1728.^[3] In July of 1728 Giuseppe also travelled to Brussels with his pupil Gaetano Parenti.^[4]

today’s holiday: Meyboom

Meyboom

One of the oldest folk traditions in Belgium, Meyboom is an amalgamation of Belgian folklore, patron-saint celebration, and traditional neighborhood rivalry. The event is marked with a procession of giant puppets and the planting of a meyboom (may tree) on the corner of Rue des Sables and Rue du Marais in Brussels. Before the planting, a procession of trumpeters and costumed giants accompanies the tree from the Place des Sablons to its final destination. According to custom, if the meyboom is not planted by 5:00 p.m., the city’s good fortune will go to the people of Leuven. More… Discuss

THIS DAY IN THE YESTERYEAR: ENTIRE US FIGURE SKATING TEAM KILLED IN PLANE CRASH (1961)

Entire US Figure Skating Team Killed in Plane Crash (1961)

February 15, 1961, was a dark day in figure skating history. On that day, 72 people, including all 18 members of the US Figure Skating team and 16 family members, coaches, and skating officials, died when their flight from New York to Brussels went down in a field just miles from its destination. A farm worker on the ground also perished. The skaters had been en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. What did the event’s organizers do to honor the dead athletes? More… Discuss

 

GREAT PERFORMANCES: Angela Gheorghiu – Addio del passato – La Traviata

Angela Gheorghiu – Addio del passato – La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
Angela Gheorghiu sings ‘Addio del passato’ from the opera ‘La Traviata’
at a concert in Brussels in 2004. Yoel Levi is the conductor.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Giuseppe Verdi
Operas[show]

La traviata (Italian: [la traˈvjaːta], “The Fallen Woman”^[1][2]) is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias(1852), a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The opera was originally entitled Violetta, after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at the La Fenice opera house in Venice.

Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, “c. 1700”. It was not until the 1880s that the composer and librettist’s original wishes were carried out and “realistic” productions were staged.^[3]

Related articles

• Angela Gheorghiu’s career change

TODAY’S HOLIDAY: ST. GUDULA’S DAY

St. Gudula’s Day

St. Gudula (or Gudule) is the patron saint of Brussels, Belgium. According to legend, Satan was so envious of her piety and influence among the people that he often tried to extinguish her lantern as she returned from midnight mass. But as she prayed for help, an angel would re-light the candle. Her relics were moved to Brussels in 978. Since 1047 they have remained in the church of St. Michael, thereafter called the Cathedral of St. Gudula. Her feast day is observed with great solemnity in Brussels, particularly at the cathedral that bears her name. More… Discuss

Godfrey Bloom: The State is an Institution of Theft (Murray N. Rothbard)

• European Parliament, Brussels, 21 November 2013

• Speaker: Godfrey Bloom MEP, Ind. (Yorkshire & Lincolnshire), Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group –http://www.godfreybloommep.co.uk

• Debate: Action programme for taxation in the European Union for the period 2014-2020

Report: Theodor Dumitru Stolojan (A7-0399/2012)
Amended proposal for a regulation of the European parliament and of the Council establishing an action programme for taxation in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Fiscalis 2020) and repealing Decision n°1482/2007/EC
[COM(2012)0465 – C7-0242/2012 – 2011/0341B(COD)]
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

………………..
• Video: EbS (European Parliament)
…………………………….

• EU Member States:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom

Read more about  Murray N. Rothbard  Here

 

A pearl of a parlamentary session of the EU and Mr. Farage at his best!

► European Parliament, Brussels – 24.02.2010

► Speaker: Nigel Farage MEP, UKIP, Co-President of the EFD group.

► Debate: European Council and Commission statements – EU 2020 – Follow-up of the informal European Council of 11 February 2010

President of the EU Council Herman Van Rompuy and Commisson President Jose Manuel Barroso participated in the debate.

Preparing for Euro Breakup – conference with MEPs Farage, Bloom and Professors W. Hankel, P. Bagus

NOTE: To ensure audio clarity the parliament’s audio recording was superimposed and the original film audio was muted. But since this was fractionally slower than the film(s) it had to be re-adjusted every few minutes, hence you may note that at times audio-lip sync is out. Also, excuse the camera works. The parliament’s conference staff would not film it as we were told they cover only conferences, not ‘public hearings’… go figure…

• Conference held in the European Parliament, Brussels, on Wednesday, 12th October 2012, Room A1E2, from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

Two German professors join UKIP Leader Nigel Farage MEP and UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom for a conference in the European Parliament in Brussels, 12 October 2011.

The conference was introduced by UKIP Leader Nigel Farage MEP, co-president of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy group (EFD), which sponsored the event, chaired by Godfrey Bloom MEP (UKIP).

Professor Wilhelm Hankel, who last year led the challenge to the euro bailouts in the German Constitutional Court, tackled the first topic: “Currency Union or Foreign Exchange Rate Union?” He was followed by Professor Philipp Bagus, who dealt with the “Practical steps to withdrawing from the Euro.” (See bios below.)

• Professor Dr. Wilhelm Hankel
Website: http://www.dr-hankel.de

Born 1929 in Gdansk, started his career in 1952 at the “Bank Deutscher Länder” (the predecessor of the German Bundesbank). This was followed by positions in the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (Ministry for Economic Cooperation) and the Foreign Office.

From 1959 to 1967 he was chief economist of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (Bank for Reconstruction) – 1967 he became the head of the department of money and credit in the Ministry for Economic Affairs and one of the closest staff members to the German economy minister Karl Schiller.

From 1971 to 1978 he was chief executive of the public Bank of the Land Hesse. Since 1971 he has been a professor for currency and development policy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe university in Frankfurt.

Hankel has also undertaken consulting assignments for the World Bank, European Union and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusanmmenarbeit GTZ (German Development Aid agency). Until 1995 – assigned by the European Union — he built up a training centre in West Siberia to educate bankers.

In 1998 – together with three colleagues – he made a complaint against the rushed introduction of the Euro at the German Federal Constitutional Court.

Guest professorships: 1974/75 in Harvard, 1975/76 Konrad Adenauer professor at the Georgetown University in Washington, 1978 to 1981 senior visiting professor at the Bologna Centre for advanced internationally Studies of the John Hopkins University, until 1983 guest professorship at the Center of Science, Berlin, 1990/91 guest professor to the Technical University Dresden, 1991/92 foundation chair of the German Federal Bank (Bundesbank) at the free University of Berlin.

Consulting assignments for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusanmmenarbeit GTZ (German Development Aid agency) in United Arabian Emirates and Saudi Arabia (1977/79), Korea (1980), Egypt (1981), Latin America (Dom. Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, 1982), PR China (1988), Jordan (1989/91), Yemen (1992), Russia (1994/95) and Georgia (1998/99).

Professor Hankel led the challenge to the euro bailouts in the German Constitutional Court.

• Professor Dr. Philipp Bagus
Website: http://www.philippbagus.com

Philipp Bagus is a professor of economics at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.

He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s at the University of Münster and his Ph.D. from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos with Jesús Huerta de Soto as his adviser on a thesis on deflation.

He is the author of The Tragedy of the Euro — How Political Interests Created a Self-destroying System and Deep Freeze: Global Credit Markets and the Icelandic Financial Crisis (forthcoming with co-author David Howden).

He has published articles mainly on monetary and business cycle theory in The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Libertarian Papers, Journal of Libertarian Studies, The Review of Austrian Economics, Procesos de Mercado, Economic Affairs, New Perspectives on Political Economy and the Journal of Business Ethics among others.

Related articles

• German Euro Rescue Challenges Rejected by Nation’s Top Court (businessweek.com)
• A New Democratic Revolution Is Sweeping Northern Europe – Nigel Farage (newsworldwide.wordpress.com)
• German court to insist on bail-out reforms (telegraph.co.uk)
• EU crises talks critical, says George Osborne (independent.co.uk)
• Nigel Farage, MEP: A New Democratic Revolution is Sweeping Northern Europe (stevebeckow.com)