Here is an article you might find interesting
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601112&sid=aF4PCxlV3UnM

I'm just back from London, where I've seen Jude Law playing Hamlet in Wyndham's Theatre. I always admired him, but I have never seen him on stage, and, shame to me, I have never seen "Hamlet" on stage. Films, yes, a number of them, but never before have I heard the Bard's lines shouted, screamed, whispered from the stage a few meters away from me. I was mesmerized by Law's acting: he made his nervous, grief-ridden very young prince extremely convincing from the first lines. Torn by suspicions and disgust, already too distrustful of the world (the famous replica to Horatio:"There's more in heaven and on earth" is pronounced not in wonder but with a heavy sigh), he is dealt one staggering blow after another as the action moves on, yet remains standing until the very end - dying on his feet, as the last soldier holding the deserted bastion.
The staging is sombre, no colours besides murky browns and greys, the set is limited to massive castle walls and gates, the costumes hint at 30-s without being too insistent, and it's always cold in Elsinor. The snow is falling on the ghost and two soldiers, gushes of piercing wind make everyone shudder and hide in their coats. When the mad Ophelia floats onto the stage in her white dress, a ray of dusty light among shadows, flowers in her hands seem evern more unnatural and symbolic than ever.
If you are in London before August 20, go and see it - it's worth it!

Tags: jude law, london, theatre
Current Location: Torino

A few photos from Pavia - the old University town.

Tags: pavia, universita di pavia

Please stop this madness now!
I am ashamed for my Government, even though I voted against the people who are bombing civilians in Georgia, codoning robbery and instigating hatred.
This is photo of a monastery in Imerety. I was there barely a month ago.

I am just back from Lucca, from Leonard Cohen's concert! It was amazing - nothing of the "old star coming back" vibes, just a wise, definitely old, but serene and confident Singer, comfortable with himself, proud of his songs, generous with his band and his audience. Three hours of pure bliss, starting with "Dance me to the end of love", going through "Democracy", "Everybody knows", "Anthem", "Take this waltz", "Suzanne" ... "Who by fire" had the whole Piazza Napoleone crying, it was so powerful.
There was something surreal in Leonard Cohen, the mythical figure of my youth, singing under a velvety night sky of Lucca, sprinkled with stars barely visible in the beams of scenic lights. Later someone told me that there were people from 31 country gathered in the Piazza: some were holidaymakers, but others came specifically for this concert. Everyone was singing and waving - Сohen's contemporaries with neatly trimmed white beards, 40 year old "latecomers" like myself, in jeans and long floral skirts or dressed to kill in the italian fashion of late summer, the youngsters with crooked smiles and suspiciously looking cigarettes - we were in the presence of a miracle, and everyone felt it.
Thank you, Mr. Cohen!

Well, it's been a long time since I have posted anything. RL takes a lot of time, as everyone knows.
It rains in Torino, a warm long summer rain, bringing in lovely nostalgic smells of a childhood spent on my grandparents' dacha in Pavlovsk. (see the picture below).

Unfortunately, both English and Italian lack the lovely wealth of synonyms present in Russian to describe the sounds produced by raindrops falling on the pavement: шорох, шелест, шуршание, ропот, плеск etc.
Even the noun, "дождь" (doshd') - rain - comes with the soft sound of rain streams splashing aganst the asphalt or ground.
Well, enough of nostalgia for today...

Well, I'm back from the UK! I was so lucky, the weather was wonderful for the first two days. I spent half a day in Kew Gardens, watching a peacock trying to seduce his three hens, to no avail. Do you know they emit most irritating cracking noises by crackling their tail feathers?

On weekend we went to Newstead Abbey (a bow to Byron), visited Hardwick Hall (a bow to the Virgin Queen who had actually never visited it), and admired the ruins of Ashby de la Zouch (a bow to Sir Walter Scott). I will upload some photos to my gallery later.

Current Mood: cheerful

I am in Munich today, will stay here for a week to help Mum out: she is recovering from a hip articulation prostetics. She is doing fine, so I am just here to boost her confidence a bit, and take care of a few things requiring too much movement (shopping, cleaning, etc.)

Munich is a lovely city, almost completely rebuilt after the WWII. The centre is charming, despite an enourmous amount of tourists. After our quiet, somewhat provincial Torino it's a bit overwhelming. Munich smells of roasted sugar almonds and early spring.

Tags: munich
Current Location: Munich

Guess what! There is a new exhibition in Torino - Following the routes of Alexander the Great from Seleucia (or is it Selevkia?) to Gandhara. It's not as big or all-embracing as I have thought based on advertising, but it's still very interesting: sculpture, ceramics, some fragments of frescoes illustrating Hellenistic influences in the East and the way Oriental religions, customs and mores picked up some Greek ideas and discarded others. I wish they had brought the Sogdiana frescoes from the Hermitage, but obviously the funds were quite limited - still, there are a few pieces from the British Museum, Louvre and Berlin.

Tags: alexander the great, history, museums, torino
Current Mood: drained

I have opened a gallery and uploaded some Italian photos. It's called "Martamelia", take a look: http://pics.livejournal.com/alina_kotik/gallery

Tags: italy
Current Mood: complacent