Don José La fleur que tu m’avais jetée dans ma prison m’était restée, flétrie et sèche, cette fleur gardait toujours sa douce odeur; et pendant des heures entières, sur mes yeux, fermant mes paupières, de cette odeur je m’enivrais et dans la nuit je te voyais! Je me prenais à te maudire, à te détester, à me dire: pourquoi faut-il que le destin l’ait mise là sur mon chemin! Puis je m’accusais de blasphème, et je ne sentais en moi-même, je ne sentais qu’un seul désir, un seul désir, un seul espoir: te revoir, ô Carmen, oui, te revoir! Car tu n’avais eu qu’à paraître, qu’à jeter un regard sur moi, pour t’emparer de tout mon être, ô ma Carmen! Et j’étais une chose à toi! Carmen, je t’aime!
Don José In prison I kept lovingly The flower you had thrown at me. Though it had faded and turned dry, It still smelled sweet as time went by; And I would put that special flower On my closed eyes, hour after hour. Drunk with that fragrance, I felt light, And there I saw you in the night! At times I would begin to hate you, To curse you and to execrate you, To say: why did it have to be That fate brought her so close to me! Then I thought that faith had defied me, And I only felt deep inside me, I only felt but one desire, But one desire, one hope, one yen, To see you, Carmen, yes, see you again! For all you needed was to be there, To throw a fleeting glance my way, To have full mastery of me there, Oh, Carmen, dear! And all you did with me was play! Carmen, I love you!
The Opera Carmen, by Bizet, is probably one of the most famous operas and has been inspiring filmmakers, theater's directors and visual artists till today. This performance by Placido Domingo is one of the most intense. The movie "Carmen" by Carlos Saura, 1983, gathered Paco de Lucia, Antonio Gades and a great cast. One of the must-sees of my list.
September, for those who are below the Equator, is the prelude of warm times. I did chose Paco de Lucia to welcome the month and we can all stay warm in heart that is the important place. Entre dos Aguas is one of his most famous musics and I remember the first time I heard it back in the end of the 70ies I wanted to listen to it one more time, one more... and it is still so. We can all stay warm dancing or watching flamenco dancers:
"Also Flamenco dance has changed, specially female dancers try to rather showcase their temperament than artistry. The Flamenco guitar that formerly was just featuring the dancers arrived to be a soloistical art form, great virtuoso Paco de Lucia being the pioneer of that development. Mass medias have brought Flamenco to the world stage, but deeply it has always been and will remain an intimate kind of music. You have not listened authentical Flamenco if not in a juerga with a small group of friends, at midnight somewhere in the South of Spain, when there is nothing around but the voice, the guitar and the body of a dancer moving in the moonlight."
In the meantime take a look at these photos of dancers. Paco de Lucia has recorded and participated in films such as Carmen by Carlos Saura and in 1995 was featured in Bryan Adams hit "Have you ever loved a woman" for the movie Don Juan deMarco. I watched the movie and I have good recollections and Marlon Brandon is still on my mind. "So tell me have you ever really - really really ever loved a woman?" Have a great September! Music unites people. Update: September, 3 You can click at the video "Rio Ancho" when the first video finishes. It is as amazing and also very known music. I wonder how some people can go through life without knowing some of the incredible things some people created. Paco de Lucia is at this list for me.
