Pick / 26 Dec 08

PICK OF THE WEEK / FRI 19 DEC 2008

1. Giacomo Puccini (1858-1942)

150 years since the birth of Italian maestro, Giacomo Puccini, La Boheme has appeared as a movie once again, now starring tenor Rolando Villazon and soprano Anna Netrebko.

http://www.labohemefilm.com/

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2. Daniel Barenboim

Perhaps unique as a citizen of both Israel and Palestine, conductor Daniel Barenboim has spoken out against the recent eruption of conflict in Gaza. Also the first to break the Israeli Wagner-taboo, Barenboim is here interviewed by Sir David Frost.
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3. The Blue Danube

It is difficult to avoid Viennese waltzes in the run up to New Year. Disney’s delightful animation (1939), however, offers the charm without the veneer and is so well directed by Hugh Harman that one can almost imagine the score being written after the fact. The same could not quite be said in the case of Stanley Kubrick’s use of the same music in 2001: A Space Odyssey nor, indeed, the dance itself.
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