Latest news with #Provence
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Étoile' Cast Unpack Feelings About Prime Video Cancellation: 'I Thought About Starting A GoFundMe!'
Prime Video's decision in early June to ditch Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino's classical ballet themed dramady Étoile after just one season sent shockwaves through the high-end drama community. Cast members Yanic Truesdale, Taïs Vinolo and Ivan du Pontavice put on a brave face as they touched down at the SCAD Lacoste Film Festival in France's Provence region this past week for a screening and Q&A, which was arranged prior to news of the non-renewal. More from Deadline 'Skyfall' & 'Spectre' Costume Designer Opines On Challenges Of Upcoming James Bond Movie 'We Were Liars': Candice King Unpacks The Inevitable "Regression" Of The Sinclair Sisters In Prime Video Series Levi Miller Latest To Join Prime Video's Viking Drama 'Bloodaxe' 'Of course it's a bummer, but at the same time, we're here to celebrate the fact that it existed,' said Franco-Anglo actor Pontavice. He plays hot-headed French dancer Gabin Roux in the drama about two world-renowned New York and Paris ballet companies that decide to collaborate and share dancers to save their financially-struggling institutions. 'We're just celebrating the experience. We like to tell tales about how it happened, our experience, it still feels very fresh. It just came out and we're still very excited about being a part of it,' he added. Canadian actor Truesdale, who plays ballet instructor Raphaël Marchand and right-hand man to Le Ballet National director Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg), echoed these sentiments. 'I'm taking it as a last celebration of the show,' he said of the SCAD screening. 'One of the things I said in many interviews is that this was the one job in 36 years on which I made the most friends. At a human level, the fact that we won't be able to hang out on set anymore is a big disappointment.' Truesdale. who is a long-time Palladino collaborator through his role as Michel Gerard in Gilmore Girls, expressed regret that the show had not been renewed for a second season. 'I was very excited to see the second season because knowing Amy and Dan's writing, they set things in the first season, and then the second season, once everything is established, is really, when they start to fly with the material,' he said. He joked wryly that he had considered launching a GoFundMe, when asked whether he thought there might be potential partners out there who could salvage the show. Per Deadline's exclusive break on the non-renewal, the writing was on the wall for Étoile, after it failed to make it into Nielsen's weekly Top 10 for Originals on its release April 24, and also only briefly topped Prime Video's own top 10. Vinolo, who plays Mishi Duplessis, a U.S.-trained French ballerina who is sent back to Paris against her will, suggested the cancellation was indicative of the challenges facing the real classical ballet world, which were explored in the short-lived show. 'It's all about the money and no longer about the art. It's like in the ballet world too. Ballet has been here for so long, but a lot of ballet companies that have potential cannot show that potential because of the financial aspect. It's very sad. This show did such a good job at showing that,' she said. Pontavice also suggested that contemporary audiences were no longer prepared to persevere with a show if it does not engage them immediately. 'Even myself, if I watch a something, and I'm not invested after a couple of episodes, I quit watching it,' he said, adding that audiences would have been prepared to invest more time in getting to know a show a decade ago. Quizzed on what the legacy of the show, Truesdale pointed to its message around how the arts are under attack. 'I always reluctant to make predictions about anything,' he said. 'I never thought Gilmore would be still alive 25 years later but for me, this show is a love letter to art. I was hoping that love letter would be received on the other end, because I feel like art is under attack in America, and without art, we lose the essence of being human. For me, that's a very important message, and hopefully that's the legacy.' Vinolo highlighted the show's representation of the ballet community, even if the characters will not get a longer story arc. 'All the characters are so different, with different sensibilities… even if there is no second season, the show achieved a lot in terms of representation and identity,' she said. Portavice believes the first season will have a long tail: 'Despite the disappointment and cancellation, judging by the positive reactions I've seen online in a very short amount of time, it's had a huge impact in certain communities already. 'So even if we don't get that season two, I actually think that in a couple years people will look back to the show, and enjoy a lot of the things in it. It might take time, it might be slow for people to really get into it, but I think it's there to stay and to grow.' Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Asharq Al-Awsat
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
'Cezanne at Home': Show Retraces Artist's Roots in Southern France
A city in southern France is celebrating its most famous local painter Paul Cezanne with an exhibition showcasing his works inspired by the sun-drenched landscapes of the Provence region. Paintings by Cezanne, created in his hometown of Aix-en-Provence and at his family estate, went on display Saturday at the Granet Museum in the city for the over three-month exhibition, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors. The theme of the exhibit is "Cezanne at home," said the city's mayor Sophie Joissains, said AFP. The vivid southern French countryside provided most of the inspiration for Cezanne's works, composed mainly of still lifes and landscapes. But the artist, known as one of the fathers of modern art, was hated by critics and shunned by his native city during his life and even years after his death. "As long as I live, no Cezanne will enter the museum," then-conservator of the Granet Museum Henri Pontier promised after Cezanne died in 1906. For decades, "a modest copy of a classic male nude, made during his studies, was the only work of Cezanne's in the museum of his city," said Bruno Ely, current director of the museum and the exhibit's curator. The century-long rift between Cezanne and his native city came to an end in 2006 when the Granet Museum held its first exhibition of the artist's work. The city has since declared 2025 "Cezanne's Year," organizing a series of events celebrating his work and leaving any historical estrangement firmly in the past. The "Cezanne au Jas de Bouffan" (Cezane at the Jas de Bouffan) exhibit displays 135 paintings, drawings and etchings, originating from museums and collectors from over a dozen different countries. The evolution of Cezanne's painting style will be on display, from his earlier darker works featuring thick paint spread with a palette knife to impressionism to a pre-cubist style. Though the Provence region where Cezanne roamed was "tiny," it was "enough for him to reinvent painting", said Ely. The exhibition comes alongside major restoration efforts at the three-storey Jas de Bouffan manor home, where the Cezanne family lived in the late 19th century. Young Cezanne adorned the estate's living room with colorful frescos, perhaps with the intention of impressing his banker father, who had wanted his son to be a lawyer or a financer. The exhibition runs to October 12.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
France's most perfect city just got even better
It's early on Tuesday morning and the Place des Comtales in Aix-en-Provence has been humming since 6am, when the first traders began to arrive. Dozens of stalls, loaded with a dazzling cornucopia, are crammed into the long sprawling square. Colours shimmer in the hot morning sun – the peaches and nectarines, cherries and apricots glow red and orange. Dull khaki artichokes mingle with the more brilliant greens of the huge frissé lettuces. There are bright yellow peppers and courgette flowers, and deep purple aubergines. Then there are the bread stalls, the cheesemakers, the charcuterie specialists and the fishmongers, and the lady who is keen to get you to taste samples from her vats of olive tapenades. Shopping here is an exercise in the unalloyed pleasures of temptation. Even if you aren't buying lunch or supper, it's almost impossible to resist a pristine white goats' cheese, a jar of lavender honey, a bag of Provençal herbs, or a bottle of olive oil from the slopes of the Alpilles. But the Place des Comtales pales into significance when you wander through the narrow pedestrianised streets to the spectacular flower market in the town hall square. Here, the subtle aromas of dried herbes de Provence are replaced by the heady scents of roses, lilies, carnations and chrysanthemums, which spill out of their buckets under the multi-coloured canopies. As always in Aix, I am getting distracted. It would be easy to browse the markets of this most perfect of cities all day. Not only is there flowers and fresh edible produce here, but also local pottery and Savon de Marseille soaps. The endless bric-a-brac of the flea market lines the grand avenue of the Cours Mirabeau. Beyond the tourist drag of the Rue Espariat, I wander at will among the ancient squares – each of which has a sparkling fountain – through side streets lined with pastel-painted houses and flamboyant hotels built from the local ochre-coloured stone by wealthy merchants during the city's economic heyday in the 17th century. I try too never to miss the chance of a visit to the cathedral, a site so ancient that 2,000-year-old granite columns from Aix's Roman era are built into the structure, like an archaeological palimpsest. The first church here was built around 500AD on the former forum, and if you book a guided tour (on the half hour), you will also see the small miracle of the 12th-century cloister, which was also a city square in Roman times. The carved capitals of the stone arcade – depicting Biblical stories and symbols – are some of the greatest treasures of European Romanesque art, while the central garden is planted with an idyllic Mediterranean garden, including an olive tree and rose bushes. A few minutes' walk back through the town, in the much quieter streets south of the Cour Mirabeau, is another green retreat – a more formal topiary garden in the grounds of the Hôtel de Caumont. Now a museum, the hotel was once a fabulous 18th-century town house built for the Marquess of Cabannes. It is a reminder of why I have come back to Aix on this sunny June day. A few steps down the street, housed in a former 17th-century convent, is the lycée where two of the city's most famous sons – the writer Emile Zola and painter Paul Cézanne – studied together and became long-time friends. And this year it is the turn of Cézanne to be thrust back into the limelight. One of the most influential artists in the development of modern art, Cézanne was born in Aix in 1839 and though he studied in Paris and spent several years travelling, he lived in the city for most of the rest of his life. But the city museum has only a handful of his paintings and the two key sights associated with the artist have long been closed for restoration. Now, finally, Aix is managing to pay a fulsome tribute to his achievements. From June 28, both his family home – the Jas De Bouffan – and the studio where he made his last and greatest work will re-open to the public. And on the same day, the Musée Granet opens a spectacular exhibition with loans from museums around the world. More than a century after his death, Cézanne is finally enjoying his moment in the Aix sunshine. There has never been a better time to visit France's most perfect city. On the Cézanne trail The Bastide de Jas de Bouffan This small estate on the edge of Aix, with its fine 18th-century house, was Cézanne's family home for 40 years. Bought by his father in 1859, when Paul was 20, it was inherited by the artist in 1886 and it remained his family home until 1899. Cézanne used the grand salon – originally designed as a main reception room – as his first studio, until another was built for him in the attic. He covered the walls with frescos and many of his still-lifes, portraits and landscapes were painted here, and some three dozen paintings were also made in the shady gardens. A famous series of his oil paintings, The Card Players, made here between 1890 and 1895, probably depict workers from the estate. The first phase of a major project to restore the house and gardens has just been completed. From June 18, visitors will be able to see the grand salon, the attic studio, the original Provençal kitchen and his mother's bedroom. Visit for more information. The Studio Cézanne's last atelier, where he produced some of his greatest masterpieces, has always been among the most atmospheric of all artists' studios. He bought the land in 1901, a plot which included olive groves, pine woods and fig plantations, and he built and designed the two-storey building himself. He never lived here, however, preferring to work to a strict timetable, waking at 4am and walking up the hill to the atelier, than working until 11am before heading back to his apartment in Aix in time for lunch. The viewpoint where he painted the late landscapes of Sainte-Victoire is about a 15-minute walk up the hill from here. The studio has been closed for restoration for more than a year, but reopens together with a new visitor centre on June 28 and, for the first time, you will be able to see the whole property, including his kitchen and living room. The Musée Granet As a centrepiece for the Cézanne celebrations, the main museum in Aix-en-Provence, the Granet, is holding a major exhibition: Cézanne au Jas de Bouffan. Loans from museums around the world include well over 100 paintings and studies which the artist made over 40 years in his studio at the family home, the Jas (see above), and is a rare chance to see so much of his work in Aix itself. When Cézanne died in 1906, the then director of the museum, who did not like his work, refused to buy any of it and since then it has acquired only a small collection of Cézanne paintings for its permanent collection). Visit for more information. Walking the streets A detailed itinerary organised by the tourist board and signed with hundreds of bronze inserts in the pavements takes in all the key sights and buildings in Aix which are associated with the artist and his family, including the secondary school – the Collège Bourbon – where he and Zola both studied, and the Cimetière Saint-Pierre where Cézanne himself is buried. A map of the route is available to view at The Bibémus Quarry The ancient quarry of ochre-coloured limestone, which produced much of the building material for Aix until it was abandoned in the 1830s, forms a hidden canyon among the maquis about five miles from the city. The geological forms and atmospheric shadows of this strangely beautiful netherworld of rock formations, geometric planes, angles and bridges were a critical influence on Cézanne. He came here as a boy in the 1840s and 1850s to explore and play with his friend Zola. Then, in 1895, he returned, rented a shack and started to sketch and paint. His experiments in capturing the angular shapes and perspectives and the contrasts in light and shade influenced his bigger landscapes and still-lifes – and, in turn, were soon to make a deep impression on two revolutionary young artists in Paris, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, as they were developing their concept of cubism. You can visit the quarry by guided tour organised by the tourist office in Aix (€12). Mont Sainte-Victoire There are lots of trails in the countryside around this famous mountain which Cézanne depicted so many times – including one that reaches the summit (at 3,300ft). A selection of 11 marked itineraries, all about six or seven miles long, is available at Essentials There is a whole roster of events and exhibitions celebrating Cézanne in Aix in 2025 ( For more general information, see the Aix Tourist Office site ( There is also a specific one dedicated to Cézanne ( Aix's food markets take place on the Place des Comtales on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 8.30am-1pm, and on the Place Richelme, daily 8am-1pm. The flower market is held in the place de l'Hôtel de Ville on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Check out Telegraph Travel's recommended hotels in Aix. For a treat, the Villa Gallici is a cool and shady retreat on the northern fringes of the city (
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Two rosé wines from Lidl perfect for sipping in the summer sun
As I write, Met Éireann is promising an end to the constant rain and in its stead, at least some days of warm sunshine – that means it's time to try out some cool refreshing rosés. As Lidl is happy to point out, its Pinot Grigio Blush wine was preferred by 54 per cent of tasters to the iconic Whispering Angel rosé in blind tastings held across Dublin last November. Given that Whispering Angel costs around three times the price, it might be worth trying it out yourself. The Cinq Rameaux is a classic Provence rosé at a very reasonable price. John Wilson 2706-Pinot grigio Pinot Grigio delle Venezie Blush 2024 12%, €7.99 Light, fresh raspberry and peach fruits with a dry mineral finish. Perfect poolside sipping. Lidl John Wilson 2706-Les Cinq Rameaux Les Cinq Rameaux 2023, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence rosé 12.5%, €9.99 Pale in colour with light redcurrant and wild strawberry fruits, and a crisp dry finish. By itself or with summer salads. READ MORE Lidl
Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Times
The best own-label wines from independent merchants
We all know the supermarkets love to bolster their wine offerings with a variety of own labels, but did you realise that some of our independent merchants do something similar? These can be exceptional buys for the canny drinker because whereas the supermarkets focus largely on price (that's not a judgment on their quality — some can be very good), the independents don't necessarily go with the cheapest but persuade their very best wine growers to do a bespoke bottling for them. Berry Bros & Rudd, Britain's oldest merchant, has more than 60 own-label wines, from its bestselling Good Ordinary Claret (£13.95) to the sumptuous, sweet and raisiny William Pickering Tawny Port (£31). Berry Bros' St James's Street counterpart, Justerini & Brooks, has a smaller range made by some of the finest producers in France, although you might have to sign the official secrets act to find out precisely who. Its 275th Anniversary Bourgogne (£23) is a case in point, bottled by someone in the village of Vosne-Romanée. These are great wines and, in the case of Corney & Barrow's 2021 Aligoté (£36.25), made by Domaine Marquis d'Angerville, genuine bespoke parcels with only 900 bottles made. In recent years Yapp Brothers has unveiled several own-label wines, while Tanners has a range from 'trusted suppliers' that best represent specific regions. Not to be outdone, after 52 years The Sunday Times Wine Club has also launched its own range, including a Provençal rosé just in time for summer. • How can you tell if wine is corked? 33 wine questions answered France (13%)The Wine Society, £9.95This floral blend including pinot gris, riesling and gewürztraminer has lovely aromatic hints of peach. France (13.5%)Yapp Brothers, £10.95From a co-operative of growers in the Ardèche, this cabernet sauvignon sings with notes of cassis and has a smooth finish. Spain (14%) Corney & Barrow, £13.95 A traditional full-bodied rioja with an emphasis on rich, savoury dark fruit and meaty flavours with touches of spice. • How to start a wine cellar — and drink well for less France (14.5%) Tanners, £14.40This grenache-dominant blend from the Gonnet family of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is silky, supple and full of red fruit. France (14.5%)Justerini & Brooks, £27.85A serious, classic pomerol, this merlot-heavy red has inviting notes of plum, savoury spice and a dry, velvety texture. USA (13.2%)Berry Bros & Rudd, £38Quite a coup for Berry Bros, this fine, silky chardonnay teems with citrus, red apple and peach. • The Sunday Times Wine Club's 10 best bottles this summer France (13.5%) £13.99 The club's first own-label rosé from the high slopes of Provence is crisp and pure, with a wonderful saline freshness.
