All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved. Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use). The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
“Il Desiderio Mio Di Te (My Desire For You)”
FRANCESCA:
Paolo! Paolo!
PAOLO:
O mia vita, non fu mai tanto folle
Il desiderio mio di te. Sentivo
Già venir meno
Dentro al core gli spiriti
Che vivono degli occhi tuoi. La forza
Mi si perdeva nella notte, uscitami
Dal petto, come un fiume
Terribile di sangue fiagorosa;
E paura n’avea l’anima mia.
[Più e più volte lei reclinata bacia sui capelli appassionatamente.]
(From “Francesca da Rimini” – Libretto by Tito Ricordi after the tragedy of the same name by Gabriele d’Annunzio)
This is a close-up of Svetla Vassileva & Roberto Alagna during the rehearsal of “Francesca da Rimini”.
First performance will start January the 31st.
Conductor: Daniel Oren
Stage director: Giancarlo Del Monaco
Costumes: Maria Filippi
Sets: Carlo Centolavigna
Lighting: Hans Rudolf Kunz
All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved. Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use). The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
“Only he felt he could no more dissemble,
And kissed her, mouth to mouth, all in a tremble.
Sad were those hearts, and sweet was that long kiss:
Sacred be love from sight, whate ‘er it is.
Thne world was all fotrgot, the struggle o’er,
Desesperare te Joy.
-That day they read no more.”
(from “The Story of Rimini”, A poem by Leigh Hunt)
Svetla Vassileva & Roberto Alagna during the rehearsal of “Francesca da Rimini”.
First performance will start January the 31st.
Conductor: Daniel Oren
Stage director: Giancarlo Del Monaco
Costumes: Maria Filippi
Sets: Carlo Centolavigna
Lighting: Hans Rudolf Kunz
“I know you even under the skin”.
(Persius, Roman poet – Volterra, 34-62)
It was last Sunday at Lal ghat in Varanasi (Benaras), this young man took a bath in the holy waters of the Ganges and washed himself.
After that he treated several parts of his body with pressure, mostly his joints.
He used Ayurveda which is a natural health care system that incorporates massage.
“Rise up nimbly and go on your strange journey to the ocean of meanings.”
(Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, known as Jelaluddin Rumi – Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and mystic, 1207–1273)
This was shot last Sunday at Prayag ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
I believe that it was the last very hot day of the year here and many people came to river in order to find a way to feel fresh.
This woman was pouring the holy water on her, I took several pictures as the colours were coming so well.
“I’m not interested in how people move; I’m interested in what makes them move.”
(Pina Bausch – German deancer and choregrapher, 1940-2009)
Maria Kiran is a young dancer who was born in Allahabad before coming to France at the age of three.
She started studying Bharata-Natyam which is one of the oldest dance forms of India when she was six years old and later she also practiced Western classical Ballet for a few years.
Ever since she had an amazing career performing in many festivals and on some of the most important stages of Europe and India.
Last night it was Diwali, as Maria was dancing in front of me I took a few pictures trying to capture that glimpse of the manifestation of the soul that she was carrying out throught her choregraphy of codified gestures.
Shubh Deepavali, happy Dewali to everyone.
I wish all of you that the lights of Diwali illuminate the year ahead.
Thank you for being there and for your kind comments which are always an amazing support to my work.
Instead of the traditional picture with deepa or deeya (earthen lamp) I selected this unsual and simple image which was shot last year at night during the Dewali festivities on a boat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
We were lighting many candles that we were dropping on the holy waters while making wishes.
I like this blur picture which stands for the symbol of the begining of love between two of my closest friends…a deep moment of happiness.
This is one more picture that I have shot at the upper terrace which is at a few meters from Bivi Razaia Masjid, a small mosque, located in the chawk of Varanasi (Benaras).
Up there I know a Muslim family who works on the dyeing process of the famous silk Banarsi sarees.
I like to come there and to walk among the saris which are drying under the sun.
Each time a new color spreads out, like an offer with no restraint to the celestial king of light.
There is a dreamy atmosphere which takes me somewhere over the Silk road like in a ghazal by Shujaat Husain Khan…
“How can people be so heartless
How can people be so cruel
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold
How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no
And especially people
Who care about strangers
Who care about evil
And social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend
How can people be so heartless
You know I’m hung up on you
Easy to give in
Easy to help out
And especially people
Who care about strangers
Who say they care about social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend
How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no”
(“Easy to be hard” from the 1979 motion picture “Hair”, sung by Cheryl Barnes)
This picture was shot at the upper terrace of our office in Varanasi (Benaras) for our new cataloue.
(Throw style “RAJPUT” / RED HALO – Winter 09 -10)
It is dedicated to all my friends who keep on writing beautiful comments along my photostreams…
A photograph can say so many things or nothing.
Sometimes the viewers want to see in it things which are not there…
It is important to know everything in order to have the capacity to form an opinion on what we see.
This picture belongs to the catalogue of our new collection.
Anand who became the icon model of what we are doing since several seasons is holding a woolen throw with aari embroideries influenced by the Mughals and the Rajputs styles.
It was shot a few days ago when it was really hot outisde, we went to the upper terrace of our office in order to use this amazing wall as a background.
Because of the heat we couldn’t stay for a long time, we had to be fast.
Maybe my friend was nude under the throw, maybe he was not; but it is not important.
This picture is made in order to attract your attention to what is behind this, what you can’t see.
There are many people there who manage to have a decent life because of the orders we get on those items, children go to school, families have medical care, amazing artcrafters carry on their work which was vanishing like handloom weavers, tailors, dyers, embroiderers,…
Everyone involved in this small industry in Varanasi (Benaras) belongs to several cultures, religions or castes and had many difficulties in their lives, all together they rely on this work in order to keep faith in a better life.
Anand is happy to make those pictures, he is the one who had the idea to pose for me, he became a kind of local hero but most of all he found out that he had the skill to be a model “even” if he has a dark skin complexion which is a cultural taboo in India.
Our publicity campaign is also a way to fight against colour skin discrimination.
I am sorry to have to explain to those who wrote to me that I am “exploiting poor” people in those series that there is no exploitation of anyone in this work.
However if I give a second thought maybe I am exploiting YOU, those who believe so, as in fact Anand never posed nude on the upper terrace which is surrounded by several buildings and therefore I had to use Photoshop to pretend that, but this is another topic…
(Throw style “LODHI” / RED HALO – Winter 09 -10)
Title inspired by Nina Simone.
(“…I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood”)
“Like” the RED HALO page on Facebook and join this amazing human adventure in Varanasi, www.facebook.com/redhalo.in
“We’re in the vanguard of a nameless battle, a battle without arms or bloodshed or glory: we’re in the vanguard of waiting.”
(Marguerite Duras – French writer and film director, 1914–1996)
This is a picture of our new collection.
Anand is wrapped in a woolen throw with aari embroideries influenced by the Mughals and the Rajputs styles on which we added a contemporary touch using traditional local artcrafts technics.
I took this picture with natural light at the upper terrace which is on the top of our office in Varanasi (Benaras).
(Throw style “RAJPUT” / RED HALO – Winter 09 -10)
“Like” the RED HALO page on Facebook and join this amazing human adventure in Varanasi,www.facebook.com/redhalo.in
