Mexico City celebrates Lunar New Year with colorful paper dragon parade
Locals and tourists in Mexico's capital enjoyed a colorful Lunar New Year parade Wednesday to usher in the Year of the Snake. The busy Chinatown area of Mexico City was bustling with people buying Chinese merchandise and watching a dragon dance display. (AP video by Martín Silva Rey)
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Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Renée Fleming makes directing debut with wrestling-themed ‘Così fan tutte' at Aspen Music Festival
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Renée Fleming's 'Così fan tutte' was ready to rumble. Long a star soprano, Fleming made her directing debut Monday night at the Aspen Music Festival and School by transporting Mozart's masterpiece from 18th century Naples, Italy, to a gym in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, amid professional wrestling's rise in 1980. Posters on stage display Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, wrestler Randy Savage and Jane Fonda hawking her workout video. In Fleming's concept, Fiordiligi and Dorabella are workout-obsessed high school sisters. 'It's a coming of age for the protagonists and a loss of innocence,' Fleming said. An outstanding student cast ages 25-32 mostly making role debuts, was accompanied by conductor Patrick Summers leading a 45-piece orchestra at the 375-capacity Wheeler Opera House, opened in 1889 during the Colorado Silver Boom. There are two additional performances through Saturday at a festival that includes about 200 public events from July 2 to Aug. 24. Lauren Carroll, the 26-year-old soprano who sings Fiordiligi, did a split. Dorabella, 27-year-old mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Brown, struggled to lift a heavy barbell. Michelle Harvey's scenic design in the tight space of a 25-foot-wide proscenium included punching bags, bo staffs and ThighMasters. Fleming sang her first Countess in Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro' as an Aspen student in 1984. Now 66, she has, since 2017 , limited her singing to concerts, a few contemporary operas and Broadway. Staging spark was at a hockey game Fleming had a circuitous route to her concept. 'I can't do the opera relating to hockey, but I did think of another sport that reminds me so much of opera and that's professional wrestling. There's a suspension of disbelief that is huge,' she said. 'Fans believe these characters are real and that the moves are real, and of course it's all completely choreographed.' Fleming at first spoke with Francesca Zambello, the Washington National Opera's artistic director. 'I said, `Convince me, sell me, tell me,'' Zambello related, '`you really have to work it through from the overture to the final curtain.' WNO's 'Così' in 2021 was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, Fleming and Summers launched Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS, with 15 singers annually attending an eight-week program that covers their $12,325 tuition, room and board plus pays a $1,500 stipend. Wrestling family history Ashlyn Brown, the 27-year-old mezzo-soprano who performs Dorabella, is a granddaughter of Don Stansauk, the wrestler known as Hard Boiled Haggerty. 'I grew up with wrestling culture,' she said. 'I used to go to the Cauliflower Alley Club meetings when I was a kid. He brought all of his buddies, like Andre the Giant.' Carroll was a cheerleader and her mother is an aerobics instructor. 'She really invests in young artists and it's authentic,' she said of Fleming. 'She really means it and backs it up with action.' In creating the look, Fleming thought back to her time at Churchville-Chili Senior High School in New York. 'I have photographs of me with a really bad mullet and overalls,' she said. Just before intermission ended, a Fonda dress-alike led the audience in calisthenics. Despina (soprano Laura Miah), a gym manager here instead of a maid, uses a blender to make protein shakes and heads stretching exercises. 'Renée of course demanded a lot of herself as a singer in that way and that's extended itself to her demands on them in this,' Summers said. Mozart's opera has the two boyfriends adopt hidden identities and romance each other's girlfriend to test their virtue. Both women fall for the other's boyfriend, and while the two couples get back together in the original, Fleming has both relationships come apart. Fiordiligi ends up wearing an 'ERA YES' shirt. Don Alfonso is a gym owner. Guglielmo and Ferrando, the boyfriends (baritone Finn Sagal and tenor Jonghyun Park), wear Amanda Seymour's colorful clothes, including powder blue and light gray tuxedos with ruffled shirts. Peter Barber, a 31-year-old bass-baritone who sings Don Alfonso, boxes to keep in shape. 'When I was I think 8 or 9 years old after watching `Rocky,' I had a custom boxing robe made for me,' he said. Role a part of Fleming's life for more than 30 years Fleming sang Fiordiligi for the first time at Geneva in March 1992. She greeted the cast at the first rehearsal on June 30 by telling them: 'Toi toi toi. Let's have some fun,' using a performers' expression for good luck. 'I'm astonished that someone who is such an extraordinary singer and performer, they are also an extraordinary stage director,' choreographer Sara Erde said. 'She knows every note of the music, every word of the text.' Fleming learned that unlike with singing, directing requires 'million decisions that have to be made day to day.' At WNO, Fleming had envisioned a set with a stadium-sized video screen. She hopes the staging has an extended life. 'If anybody wanted to do it, it would be really fun in a bigger theater with a budget,' she said. 'Especially the time we're in, it's not a bad time to bring pro wrestling into opera because of the similarities, for the sheer novelty of it.'
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Building the Band' has Liam Payne's last major appearance before his death
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Netflix's new reality show, 'Building the Band,' unexpectedly became Liam Payne's last major appearance — moments the show's hosts say they, along with contestants and viewers, are lucky to have. The show features Payne as a guest judge, offering pointed but witty advice to young bands chasing success not unlike what he achieved as part of the culture-shifting boy band, One Direction. Payne died in October after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, not long after the show's production wrapped. 'Getting to see the real, true him that the world gets to remember him for, which you'll see on this show, is just a beautiful thing,' says the Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean, the show's host. 'Building the Band' flips traditional music competitions on their head, bringing together 50 up-and-coming artists who are tasked with singing for each other and forming groups based on those performances. The catch? They can't see how anyone looks. The first batch of episodes premiered in early July and the last few episodes, including the finale, will drop Wednesday. The show ultimately follows six bands working to develop their group sound and performances — until only one band is left standing, winning the $500,000 prize. The show is hosted by McLean, with Pussycat Dolls frontwoman — and newly minted Tony winner — Nicole Scherzinger mentoring the bands and Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland serving as a guest judge alongside Payne. Payne's impact on 'Building the Band' The series opened with a dedication to Payne and his family, in which McLean said they 'never imagined we'd soon be saying goodbye to our friend' while filming the show. Payne first appears in the seventh episode for the showcase, where each band performs in front of a live audience and the judges, only about a week after they form. 'We were amazing dancers, obviously, in One Direction,' Payne joked in the episode while offering critiques to boy band Midnight 'til Morning, whose members expressed hesitations with dancing onstage. Band member Mason Watts then revealed his family had won tickets to sit front row at a One Direction concert when he was 11, stoking applause from the crowd and a heartfelt response from Payne. 'Ever since that moment, I wanted to be in a group,' Watts, originally from Australia, said in the episode. 'It's kind of a full-circle moment to be here with a group and performing in front of you. So, thank you, man.' Landon Boyce, a member of the show's other boy band, Soulidified, told The Associated Press that Payne left a lasting impact and was a leading example of how he hopes to carry himself as a performer. 'I remember Liam just said, 'Have fun,'' Boyce says. 'He just told us, 'I wish One Direction kind of, like, did what you guys were doing.' And I kind of just took that as like, let's just have fun and dance.' Payne is seen nodding along with excitement during the band's showcase performance, when they sang 'Sure Thing' by Miguel. Bradley Rittmann, another Soulidified member, told the AP they were 'on Cloud 9' after Payne said he would join their band. Payne applauded their ability to own the stage and acknowledged the unconventionality of their band due to the members' varying musical and fashion styles, saying he 'wouldn't put you guys together, but the result was amazing.' How it works: 'Love is Blind' meets 'The Voice' This show mashes together the likes of 'Love is Blind' with music competition shows like 'The Voice,' secluding contestants in pods, where they can only hear each other. Contestants can express interest by hitting a button during the performance, and then speak through voice chats to test their chemistry. The initial 50 contestants dwindled to just 22, comprising two boy bands, three girl bands and one mixed-gender group. Contestants chose their bandmates without input from the host or judges. 'It formed in the most real, raw, authentic way,' says Aaliyah Rose Larsen, a member of the mixed-gender band SZN4. 'I think we would have re-found each other in a million other lifetimes, in a billion other shows, because we were always meant to find each other.' The result of this process, judges say, are bands that labels traditionally wouldn't form, given members' differences in style and appearance — an important pillar of the show, McLean and Rowland say, given the current state of the music industry. 'Back in the beginning of our careers, your sophomore album was the one that would make or break you. Now you get one shot,' McLean says. 'To be able to give the power back to these individuals, to let them put each other together based on just raw talent and chemistry, never seeing each other, is a testament to truly what it is to be in a band.' An audience vote determines which bands continue on after each live performance. The last episode of the first batch left viewers on a cliffhanger, as Midnight 'til Morning and girl group Siren Society were voted in the bottom two. The next batch will reveal who was eliminated. Payne embraced the mentorship role Rowland says Payne was fully invested in the process and checked in regarding the bands' progress after filming. Payne had also expressed interest in mentoring the bands after the show ended, Boyce remembers. 'He was just honest. He called everything out, you know what I mean? Before they saw it, before we saw it,' Rowland says, adding that Payne had 'many shining moments' during his storied and decorated career , 'but this was a really incredible one.' Nori Moore, a member of 3Quency, 'had a lot of firsts' in the show as a young performer and says Payne's advice to contestants that they claim the moment every time they walk onstage was pivotal to her development as an artist. Larsen says viewers can watch the show and 'see his heart.' 'We know how much he loves the show,' says Katie Roeder, another SZN4 member. 'I know he's very proud of us and looking down on us.'
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Gerry Turner warns ‘Golden Bachelor' of serious mistake with controversial age cutoff
'Golden Bachelor' alum Gerry Turner is certain the show's new lead, Mel Owens, will be 'cheating himself' if he decides to pursue his controversial plan of cutting contestants who are '60 and over.' 'I think it would be unfortunate, and I really think he will have a change of heart in this. I think he will see the grace and the charm of women who are over 60 and the confidence they carry, and I think he'll have a change of heart,' Turner, 73, told Fox News Digital of Owens — who recently took fans by surprise when he admitted his plans to eliminate any woman on the show who is over 60 years old. 'The people that I met in my season, I go through them, and it's like, they're all a gift. To have gotten to know them… Each and every one of them [brought] some unique characteristics to the show, unique characteristics to life.' 'The age thing… ignore the number, deal with the person,' Turner added. During an appearance on the 'In The Trenches' podcast in June, Owens, 66, opened up about the age limitations he allegedly requested ahead of casting. 'It's blind up until they get out of the limo. But they asked me, 'What's your preferences?' So, I just said 45 to 60, just being honest,' he said. 'And then the process went, and I was selected, right? And then we had lunch with the executive producer. I said, 'You know, if they're 60 or over, I'm cutting them.' 'Oh Mel, you can't, you know, this is not the 'Silver Bachelor.' It's the 'Golden Bachelor.' He goes, 'But they're going to be hot, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.'' 5 'The age thing… ignore the number, deal with the person,' Turner said. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Additionally, Owens said he expects the contestants to all be in good shape. 'I had no resume, but they asked me, what is my, like, my profile?' Owens said. 'Well, they got to be fit because I stay in shape. [They] should work out and stuff. And I told them, you know, try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs, you know, that kind of stuff, right? 5 During an appearance on the 'In The Trenches' podcast in June, Owens, 66, opened up about the age limitations he allegedly requested ahead of casting. ABC 'Well, I don't think there are going to be artificial hips or wigs there, right? Because I know there's amazing women out there.' Turner said he's confident ABC wouldn't cast a lead who is that 'shallow.' 5 Turner said he's confident ABC wouldn't cast a lead who is that 'shallow.' Disney 'His comments about anybody that's had a hip replacement or has a wig or anything like that, I really don't believe that the ABC producers in casting, particularly casting that I have a high level of confidence with, I don't think they would be casting a person who has that shallow of a perspective. I think some of [Owens' comments] requires some context, and it may have been taken out of context and so forth.' 'But bottom line is, I hope he does look at it differently because if he doesn't, I think he'll be cheating himself.' During the first season of the show, the ladies vying for Turner's heart were between 60 and 75 years old. Turner married contestant Theresa Nist shortly after the finale, but the couple got divorced three months later. 5 During the first season of the show, the ladies vying for Turner's heart were between 60 and 75 years old. The Walt Disney Company Despite the failed relationship, Turner is grateful for his experience and hopes Owens can take a page from his playbook. 'If he treats each and every one of them with courtesy and respect and is a good listener, pays attention to them and so forth, and ignores their age number, I think it'll be fine,' said Turner. 'Everyone that gets thrown into this situation has to find their own way. I was fortunate enough, I had very good mentoring on the show. I had people that carefully moved me through some of the pitfalls that maybe Mel hasn't quite avoided as much because I remember specifically being told just, 'Gerry, ignore the age thing,' that 'You'll really find beautiful women of all ages in the show.' And I think he will as well.' These days, Turner — who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer last year — has found love again and is living life to the fullest. 5 Despite the failed relationship, Turner is grateful for his experience and hopes Owens can take a page from his playbook. The Walt Disney Company 'I decided that I wasn't going to say 'no' to anything,' Turner said of his change in perspective after his diagnosis. 'Anything that came along, any trip, any chance to have fun, anything that I could do, I was going to take it on. Because I felt myself, even before the diagnosis, I was starting to get to that couch potato point where it was a little nicer to sit at home and do nothing than go out and fight whatever challenge it was to travel. And that's really been quite a change for me.' 'So now something comes along, I say 'yes' to it,' he added. 'I'm going to go. I'm going to do. So every day is a gift.' Turner, who recently started dating Indiana native Lana Sutton, said he's 'happy' with where his life is taking him now. 'She has more energy than I do. She needs less sleep than I do. I really think she's a more logical thinker than I am, which I think that's a lot. But the nice part is we think and we approach things very similarly, so we don't have any conflicts as we're trying to make decisions and so forth. We generally arrive at the same place, sometimes not the same way, but usually the same place.' 'With Lana now in the picture, she makes [life] even better. It's so good to have a partner that understands and is in it with you 100% and so forth. So it took me a while to get to this point, but I'm pretty happy with where I am.'
