Posted on 05/16/2009 11:08:02 PM PDT by Cincinna
THE summer evening was autumnally cold and damp, the backless stone seats in the outdoor theater unforgiving. Many of the 8,000 spectators were irritable; most of us had shown for a rained-out performance the night before.
And frankly, Ive seen better productions of Carmen. But as the performers began to move, their shadows rose 100 feet and danced across the imposing backdrop of a yellow limestone wall. A marble statue of Caesar Augustus stood ghostly white upon his perch in the wall, his right arm raised as if he had just commanded the singers to begin their performance. When Carmen sang for the last time, a bird somewhere in the black sky sang back as her shadow fell.
I had been transported into the past, watching a performance in a semicircular Roman theater in the southern French city of Orange much as spectators had done 2,000 years ago. "snip"
Visitors to France do not usually seek out evidence of Romes conquest of what was then called Gaul (now essentially modern-day France and Belgium). Indeed, the French do not dwell on their colonization by ancient Roman imperialists. Instead, they celebrate the Gallic part: the stories of proud, strong natives who thrived in that era. (The most popular contemporary portrayals of Roman rule in France are the comic book and film adventures of Astérix and Obélix, the Gallic village heroes who use stealth and cunning against the Roman invaders.)
Over the years, I have discovered traces of Roman civilization throughout the country, from Arras in the north to Dijon in the center and Fréjus in the south. My hunt for Roman Gaul has turned up treasures in the oddest places, including the middle of wheat fields, the foundations of churches and the basements of dusty provincial museums.
(Excerpt) Read more at travel.nytimes.com ...
how many paragraphs in do oblations to Obama start?
So the French don’t like to remember that the Romans walked all over them? They should be used to it.
Totally irrelevant comment. Please stay on topic.
You post from the NYTimes, you take what it inspires.
This is a PING List on French Politics and Culture.
Sounds like a great tour.
Thanks, beautifully written and the images are brilliant, I really had no idea the Romans made such an impression on France, never saw any of that before. Very informative.
Please add me to this ping list. Thank You
There are times when I think that the standing order for the Roman Legions was; “Don’t just stand there, BUILD SOMETHING!” When you see these kind of works I think that we see one of the reasons that we, as a civilization, hearken back to Rome, its bones are our birthplace. The Jefferson Memorial could have been transplanted direct yet it so suits our sensibilities. Thanks for this post!
Dont just stand there, BUILD SOMETHING! was the standing order of the Roman Legions. Idle soldiers got into trouble, so when they weren’t fighting or training, they built.
Roman building makes me think we haven’t progressed nearly as much as we should have.
...and all that history washed away in 3 decades, due to a single generation of people with a misguided GUILT-COMPLEX.
Back to the Dark Ages for Europe...and best of luck there.
So What!
There are Roman ruins all over Europe.
Typically lame Time’s article.
The imagery of the article would have worked better had the play been Antigone or some such. To be instantly tranported back 2000 years while seeing a performance of Carmen? Not so much.
When in Avignon, must eat at Le Chat Gourmet.
In France, it is very common to use existing Roman ruins as theaters, or locations for music and music festivals.
For example, the world famous Nice Festival du Jazz that attracts the finest jazz performers is held yearly at Cimiez, the ruins of a vast Roman complex on a hilltop in Nice.
The Arena at Arles, is used for bull fights to this day. The setting for Opera in a grand antique space is extraordinary.
The French don’t consider this a Museum, but something very much alive and useful in the present.
Some of the most beautiful, and best preserved Roman ruins are in France, where they have been cared for and restored.
Another extraordinary place for Roman ruius is Sicily,
Yes I know - I remember being at the Coliseum in Arles. I was just commenting about how the author said that they were “transported back 2000 years” while watching Carmen, which was written in the 1870’s.
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