28 Established 1961

Sunday, October 1, 2017 Lifestyle Music & Movies Beyonce sings Spanish in hurricane relief Beyonce has returned to music to raise mon- William. “Mi Gente,” which means “My artists on the line-up including Jennifer ey for hurricane relief, delivering verses in People,” shot to number one in much of the Lopez, a New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent Spanish in a remix of Colombian reggaeton Spanish-speaking world after its release in who has already donated $1 million. Puerto star J Balvin’s hit “Mi Gente.” The collabora- June. Rico has been hit especially hard in the series tion marks the first new music by the pop In the remix, Beyonce-rapping more than of hurricanes that have struck in quick suc- superstar since she gave birth in June to singing-contributes fresh Spanish-language cession. twins-whom she references in the song. verses such as: “La fiesta la llevo en mis genes The remix of “Mi Gente,” from a commer- Beyonce, releasing the song late Thursday, / Yo soy la reina de los nenes,” meaning, “I’ve cial perspective at least, follows the model of announced on Instagram that all her proceeds got the party in my genes / I’m the queen of mega-hit “Despacito” which was already would go to victims of Maria and other hurri- the kids.” The remix also goes into English popular in Spanish earlier this year when a canes that have ravaged Puerto Rico, other and briefly French. Beyonce in her English remix came out starring Justin Bieber. An ear- Caribbean islands and Mexico. verses makes a reference to her newborn lier remix of “Mi Gente” already came out The native earlier said separately twins and also issues a plea for charity: “Lift that featured the Cuban American rapper that she planned a relief drive for her home- up your people / From , Puerto Rico / Pitbull. Beyonce is no stranger to Latin cul- town in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The Dem islands to Mexico.” ture and sang in Spanish on parts of an eight- new version of “Mi Gente” carries the same Beyonce’s husband, rap mogul Jay-Z, a day track EP, “Irreemplazable,” that came out in reggaeton beat as the original song-which earlier announced a hurricane relief concert 2007.—AFP itself is a remix of the African rhythm-driven in New York on October 17 as part of his This file photo shows Beyonce attending the 2016 MTV Video Music track “Voodoo Song” by French DJ Willy streaming service. Jay-Z is among 30 Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York.— AFP

40 years after death, singular ‘Super Dark Times’: Indie cinema takes voice of Callas finds new life on teen violence

Maria Callas died in 1977 as a life-weary recluse, her ters, she was really a singer for all times. There is noth- largely avoided. The box-set remasters one of the his- Three decades after “Stand by Me” cast its long glories on stage long past, but 40 years on her reputa- ing related to her era, except of course the quality of toric moments of 20th-century opera-a 1951 perform- shadow over coming-of-age storytelling, Stephen tion has only grown as one of opera’s defining sopra- the recordings,” he said. The box-set, “Maria Callas ance of “Aida” in Mexico City where Callas thrills the King’s influence continues to resonate with the- nos. The anniversary is bringing out a breadth of fresh Live Remastered Recordings (1949-1964),” was engi- audience by soaring to a surprise, unwritten E-flat to ater-goers and TV audiences. Based on King’s looks at the Greek American singer nicknamed La neered at the Studio Art et Son in Paris after a hunt for close the second act. novella “The Body,” Rob Reiner’s 1986 cult hit Divina including exhibitions, films and a major restora- tapes of her performances. The set ends with “Tosca” in London in 1964, a clos- spawned its own genre, typically featuring a group tion of her live performances. The 42-CD box-set by “I think we are very fortunate living in this time ing that Castellani described as “respectful” to Callas. of wise-cracking, cursing kids, often on bikes, fac- label Warner Classics seizes on technological advances because we can still access material that is in good She last performed in opera a year afterward as her ing up to teenage trauma in Anytown, USA. to hone a fuller sound for some of the diva’s signature condition-the lifetime of a lot of tapes is not eternal-as voice faltered, and her later recitals never won the same Several Steven Spielberg movies fit the mold, as acclaim. Her life was also marred by off-stage drama does J.J. Abrams’s “Super Eight,” but critics also worthy of her characters. Born in New York to Greek point to small screen fare like the Duffer Brothers’ parents, Callas endured a difficult relationship with her “Stranger Things” and the 1990 horror TV minis- mother and struggled with her weight before she dras- eries “It,” remade this year as a smash-hit theatrical tically slimmed down. film. The latest example of the genre, indie movie Adding to the media spotlight on her life, Callas left “Super Dark Times,” is unlikely to reach anything her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, for shipping like as wide an audience as “It,” but the critical mogul Aristotle Onassis-who instead married plaudits are comparable. Jacqueline Kennedy. She shunned the public eye for her Part coming-of-age fable, part brutal teen slash- final years, dying in her Paris apartment of a heart er, Kevin Phillips’s feature directorial debut is not attack in September 1977. She was 53. itself based on a King novel, but owes a clear debt to its “kids on bikes” predecessors. “The themes Icon in fashion that were present in the script both enticed me and With her cape-like dresses and bobbed-back hair, scared me,” Phillips said at a preview screening Callas also became a style icon-a legacy revisited in ahead of the film’s US release on Friday. “It took me exhibitions marking the anniversary of her death in a while to truly come around to deciding this was Greece and Italy. The event at the Theocharakis the movie to make.” Foundation in Athens-where Callas, born as Sophia Cecilia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulou, had her start- Blood-drenched violence shows more than 200 gowns, letters and other items The events take place in a pleasant but prosaic from La Divina. La Scala, opera’s shrine in Milan, dedi- suburb in upstate New York, where Zach (Owen cated an evening to Callas with testimonials and videos. Campbell) and his intense, mop-haired friend Josh And a film, “Maria by Callas,” will come out later this (Charlie Tahan) are negotiating young adulthood in year. Directed by Tom Volf, the documentary aims to the mid-1990s. It is the era before social media and tell her story in her own words through years of track- smartphones but teenagers have never needed the roles starting from her career breakthrough in Italy in well as technology that is far better than in the 1980s or ing down archives and speaking to people who knew internet to find their kicks in first loves and experi- the late 1940s. 1990s,” Castellani said. The box-set offers greater inti- her. Stephane Grant, producer of a series on Callas on menting with drugs. “There is still a huge interest in Maria Callas. Of macy, with a crisper quality that further reveals La France Musique public radio, said La Divina was singu- The boys’ relationship changes suddenly and course it’s an interest maybe in her character, but I’m Divina’s vocal powers. Background clutter is drastically larly able to bring new life to operas that were already traumatically when Josh accidentally kills their not one who thinks it’s just about a legend outside of reduced and the remastering also straightens out wob- a century old. overbearing companion Daryl (Max Talisman) with her singing,” said Bertrand Castellani, vice president of bly pitches from the tapes. Many other performers “were sopranos with these a samurai sword in a tussle fueled by an argument international catalog at Warner Classics. With most light, fruity voices in the treble and absolutely did not over cannabis. They hide the body and Zach goes older opera recordings, Castellani said it only took a A historic high note have the dramatic power needed for these roles,” Grant back to his everyday life, trying to present a cool brief listen to discern the style and identify the decade The collection comes three years after Warner said. “It’s often said that to sing ‘La Traviata,’ a soprano front but backing away from a budding relationship of the performance. Not so with Callas. Classics released a remastered set of Callas’ studio needs to have three voices. But for Callas, it was like a with high school crush Allison (Elizabeth “This is what makes it current. In her way of recordings. The new box-set offers a window on her thousand voices in one.”—AFP Cappuccino). approaching opera, she was completely out of her dramatic stage persona and includes her early perform- Josh, apparently traumatized by guilt, retreats to time,” he said. “By finding the veracity of her charac- ance of “Parsifal” by Wagner, a composer whom Callas his bedroom at first-only to return suddenly to school and his social life, acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world. But the nightmare of what has happened sets in motion an increasingly complex set of circumstances that spiral into dark paranoia and spectacular violence. Phillips worked with cin- ematographer Eli Born to create something that “could harken back to films we loved growing up when we were kids in the 1990s,” he said.

Visceral and gripping Co-writer Ben Collins recalls how the idea for the movie came to him in his sleep. “I don’t dream a lot or I don’t remember my dreams, but it was like I woke up and the fact that I even remembered it was striking,” he told the audience at the screening, part of the Downtown Los Angeles film festival. “When I was taking a shower it was coming back, and it was basically just kids (messing) around with a samurai sword.” Collins, whose dream featured Japanese chil- dren, assumed that he had been influenced by a real-life event in the news. “In the dream the kid got decapitated, and I was like, ‘That sounds insane-let me make sure that didn’t really happen.’ I spent the day Googling it, and it didn’t happen,” he said. He decided that if it wasn’t real, it was a com- pelling enough idea to pursue in film, although no one actually loses a head in “Super Dark Times.” Critics have lavished the film with plaudits since its premiere in January at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, handing it an impressive approval rating of 86 percent on reviews collation website Rotten Tomatoes. “Super Dark Times is that special kind of film that we as genre fans are always desperate to discover, the one that we fall in love with and show to all of our friends,” said Brad Miska, founder of horror genre website Bloody Disgusting. “It’s essentially a new classic that will stand the test of time.”—AFP

People visit a tribute exhibition to Greek American opera singer Maria Callas (1923-1977) with the title ‘Maria Callas: The myth lives on’ at the Theocharakis Foundation in Athens. — AFP photos