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PARIS: It's an ideal pairing for the COVID-19 era - a musician who cannot play for a live audience and sumptuous museums that cannot welcome visitors. Cellist Camille Thomas has put them together to create what she hopes will be a balm for troubled times. She is carrying out a series of solo performances of classic works set against a backdrop of deserted museum interiors in and around Paris. They are filmed and posted on the Internet. During the pandemic, she has performed at the Palace of Versailles, the Institute of the Arab World and is scheduled next week to perform at the Grand Palais, a vast exhibition space next to the Champs Elysees. All the venues are shut because of France's COVID-19 lockdown. A YouTube video of her performing at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris in October had been viewed 36,575 times as of Friday (Nov 27). "I wanted to symbolise with these images the loneliness of musicians without the public, of museums without visitors," said Thomas. … [Read more...] about Cellist turns locked-down museums into backdrop for ‘healing art’

Cyprus' official Eurovision Song Contest entry for this year has triggered controversy within the island nation, and one anonymous caller threatened to "burn down" national broadcaster CyBC on Friday. The song, "El Diablo" (Spanish for The Devil), has triggered among some of the country's devout Christians who say the dance mix has scandalized the faithful with its references to the devil. CyBC informed the police about the caller's threat to "burn the building down" in protest over the song, the Cyprus News Agency reported. Police said they were investigating the matter. Caller apologizes for threat The person who called CyBC later apologized for making the threat. "I was in a state of shock and angry with the lyrics of the song that will represent Cyprus at Eurovision," he told the Greek-language Politis newspaper. "The reference to Satan made me feel angry, and so I reacted with a boiling soul and said something for which I apologize." The man added that he still … [Read more...] about Cyprus Eurovision entry sparks backlash over ‘satanic’ lyrics

When Jendrik Sigwart found out that he was going to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest, he was grocery shopping. "I'm absolutely thrilled that I'm going to the ESC for Germany this year," the young man beamed, adding he is a huge fan of the song contest. "I always watched it as a child and thought, what a great show, what great people," he said."What inspires me is the diversity. That everyone can be who they want to be, that everyone can also be crazy." Perhaps the 26-year-old from Hamburg is a bit crazy, too. He is certainly a cheerful guy. At the ESC in Rotterdam , he will sing a song he composed called "I don't feel hate (I just feel sorry)" — his personal strategy on how to deal with insults, bullying and discrimination: to simply rise above it all. "Hate doesn't do any good," he says, adding that anger doesn't change the other person's behavior. With a sparkly ukulele Jendrik will be bringing his beloved ukulele, an instrument he decorated with 4,000 … [Read more...] about Eurovision Song Contest: Jendrik Sigwart sings for Germany