culturalcocktailhour

Sneak Peak- “Icons of Style” at the Getty Center

Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, 1911–2011 GETTY CENTER Upcoming, June 26 – October 21 West Pavilion, Lower Level Woman’s evening dress by Madame Grès and her thoughts on the medium of fashion: “I wanted to be a sculptor. For me it’s the same thing to work the fabric or the stone.” For a full report on Icons of Style at the Getty Center, check back on CCH later this summer. This week CCH is heading to Paris for a few Cultural Cocktails, including Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, so stay tuned! Wishing all my readers an art and music-filled summer!

Cultural Cocktail Hour in Paris: Backstage at Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera, Part II

Backstage at Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera Part Two by Leticia Marie Sanchez All Photography and text © 2012 Leticia Marie Sanchez Charles Garnier declared, “I have two shows in my opera; one on the stage and one in the theater.” The most prestigious box, that of the emperor, was monitored by bodyguards. Nobles and industrialists had private boxes equipped with a curtain that came in handy for playing cards, ordering food, and engaging in amorous intrigue. On the ground floors stood working professionals, writers, and composers. Ladies were not allowed on the ground floor due to the tight conditions and bumping which resulted in occasional fisticuffs. Only prostitutes stood here as very few ladies in the nineteenth century worked as writers or composers. The very high chicken box nosebleed seats were called Paradise: one was close to heaven but could see nothing.

Cultural Cocktail Hour reports from Paris: Garnier and the Paris Opera

A brief history of Le Palais Garnier: Persona Non Grata and the Opera Bombs By Leticia Marie Sanchez All Paris Photography and Text © 2012 Leticia Marie Sanchez Persona Non Grata On the exuberant opening night at Le Palais Garnier, the Paris opera, one person was not on the guest list: Charles Garnier, the opera’s architect. In order to attend the inauguration ceremony with his wife, the landmark’s architect had to pay one hundred and twenty francs out of his own pocket. Persona Non Grata. Persona Non Gratis. Garnier’s status had changed from revered architect to social pariah due to the shift in Paris’s political landscape. Garnier had been selected during a competition in 1861 under the reign of Napoleon III. The opening ceremony took place fourteen years later, under a vastly different regime. The government of the Third Republic had an

Cultural Cocktail Hour heading to Paris!

Cultural Cocktail Hour will head to Paris at the end of this Month! (the last week of June) In the meantime here are some photos from CCH’s 2012 exploration of Paris All Paris Photography © 2012 Leticia Marie Sanchez

In the news: Sharks prefer Jazz over Classical Music

According to a study, Sharks are more responsive to Jazz than to Classical Music. ((No wonder I haven’t seen any sharks sitting next to me when I listen to Brahms…) ) National Geographic News Link: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/sharks-jazz-music-food-animals-spd/

In the news: The missing Caravaggio and “the Pizza Connection”

The missing Caravaggio and the “Pizza Connection” By Leticia Marie Sanchez A pilfered painting by Caravaggio has been in the news this month, thanks to an article from Smithsonian magazine that offers new clues to the art mystery. The missing 17th century work, the Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is on the FBI’s list of Top Ten Art Crimes. The painting was stolen in 1969 from the Oratorio di San Lorenzo in Palermo, Sicily where it hung above the altar. One theory posits that the painting ended up in the hands of Gaetano Badalamenti, a mobster who spent his last seventeen years in prison as the leader of a “pizza connection” drug trafficking ring. Other hypotheses include that the painting was gnawed by rats, damaged in a fire, or left in deserted farmhouse. According to Smithsonian, Gaetano Badalamenti, the mobster who ran

Renoir and Boston

Renoir’s “The Seine At Asnieres” reminds me of my boat ride this week at the Boston Public Garden

Alliums in Bloom at the Boston Public Garden

Claude Monet — ‘I must have flowers, always, and always”

Cultural Cocktail Hour in Boston

Cultural Cocktail Hour is in Boston, admiring the flowers in each window in Beacon Hill “There are always flowers for those who want to see them”- Henri Matisse All Photography © 2018 by Leticia Marie Sanchez

Rock on, Gottlieb– the many nicknames of Mozart

First published by Cultural Cocktail Hour in 2011 Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark by Leticia Marie Sanchez A lecture by Professor Robert Greenberg, from San Francisco Performances, revealed hidden gems about Mozart’s name. Enjoy! Baptized Name: Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart The divinely-inspired composer adored word games. He called himself: Di Mozartini, Mozartus, and Mozarti He also enjoyed playing with the letters of his name and called himself: Romatz, Trazom, Volfgangus (Latin Version) Gangflow (backwards) His middle name, Theophilus, had the most permutations His father called him GOTTLIEB because Gottlieb is the German version of Theophilus- “love of God”) What was Mozart’s personal favorite? Amédée, the French version, which he picked up when he lived in Paris. He actually never referred to himself as Amadeus! (Unless it was a joke, then he would call him self Woolfgangus Amadeus) Out of

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Sneak Peak- “Icons of Style” at the Getty Center

Cultural Cocktail Hour in Paris: Backstage at Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera, Part II

Cultural Cocktail Hour reports from Paris: Garnier and the Paris Opera

Cultural Cocktail Hour heading to Paris!

In the news: Sharks prefer Jazz over Classical Music

In the news: The missing Caravaggio and “the Pizza Connection”

Renoir and Boston

Alliums in Bloom at the Boston Public Garden

Cultural Cocktail Hour in Boston

Rock on, Gottlieb– the many nicknames of Mozart

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