New York’s Times Square is usually humming with traffic and tourists, but yesterday it was filled with the sounds of Puccini. Last night the Metropolitan Opera broadcasted the opening night of its new season in the neon-lit intersection for the first time.
The free screening is part of efforts by the company to attract a new breed of opera lover and shake off opera’s stuffy and exclusive image. Around 600 seats were set up in the normally bustling hub for the show.
The season’s Sept. 25 opening night was a production of Madame Butterfly by Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, with the orchestra conducted by James Levine. The show was also relayed to an outdoor audience at the Lincoln Center arts complex.
PHOTO: AP
“We want to bring the (Metropolitan Opera) to the heart of New York,” Peter Gelb, the company’s new general manager said a few days before the event.
“This effort is symbolic of our plans to keep the Met connected to mainstream culture and contemporary life and will help build new audiences,” he added.
“Thousands will have the chance to see and hear our opening night performance who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend.”(AFP)
經常交通繁忙,遊客如織的紐約時代廣場,昨天卻瀰漫著普契尼的樂聲。昨晚紐約大都會歌劇院破天荒在霓虹燈閃耀的十字路口播放最新一季的開幕首演。
大都會歌劇院提供免費放映,是為吸引新一代歌劇愛好者,並且打破歌劇給人沉悶而高不可攀的形象,在平日熙來攘往的街道中心放置了約六百個觀賞座位。
這一季九月二十五日的晚場首演「蝴蝶夫人」,是奧斯卡金獎導演安東尼.明格拉,與交響樂團指揮詹姆斯.李汶的聯手之作。此次演出也在林肯中心進行戶外轉播。
放映前幾天,歌劇院新任總經理彼得.蓋伯表示︰「我們要把(大都會歌劇院)帶進紐約市中心。」
他補充︰「這項努力象徵我們連結大都會歌劇院與主流文化和當代生活的計劃,而且有助於建立新觀眾群。」
「原來無法共襄盛舉的數千位名眾,將有機會欣賞聆聽我們首演當晚的演出。」
(法新社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Finally, cultural influence also plays a role in which hand people prefer. Historically, items that require physical manipulation have been designed for right-handed use. For example, tools like scissors and musical instruments are often constructed with right-handers in mind, making it difficult for left-handers to use them. __4__ While these factors offer some explanation, they remain speculative. The precise reasons for the global prevalence of right-handed people continue to be debated. Nevertheless, left-handedness will remain a phenomenon of great curiosity among scientists and researchers for many years to come. 最後,文化影響也在人們偏好哪一隻手上扮演一角。歷史上,需要用到肢體操作的物品都被設計來供右手使用。舉例來說,像是剪刀、樂器等工具常常就是考慮到右撇子而打造的,造成左撇子難以使用這些工具。因此,許多天生就是左撇子的人可能就必須透過學習使用右手來適應。 雖然這些因素都提供了一些解釋,但它們仍是推測而已。全球右撇子如此普及,確切的原因仍持續被爭論著。不過,在未來的許多年裡,左撇子依然會是科學家和研究人員相當好奇的一個現象。 What Did You Learn? (A) Specifically, different areas of