Metrics details The Ceprano calvarium was discovered in fragments on March 1994 near the town of Ceprano in southern Latium (Italy) its morphological features suggests that the specimen belongs to an archaic variant of H representing a proxy for the last common ancestor of the diverging clades that respectively led to H appears deformed and this postmortem damage may have influenced previous interpretations there is a depression on the fragmented left parietal while the right cranial wall is warped and angulated This deformation affected the shape of the occipital squama producing an inclination of the transverse occipital torus after X-ray microtomography (μCT) of both the calvarium and several additional fragments we analyze consistency and pattern of the taphonomic deformation that affected the specimen before the computer-assisted retrodeformation has been performed; this has also provided the opportunity to reappraise early attempts at restoration we offer a revised interpretation for the Ceprano calvarium’s original shape along with insight for its complex depositional and taphonomic history great part of the frontal bone was found with the brow ridges inclined downwards and inserted in the clay showing the coronal profile (parallel to the east-west section of the deposit) and the endocranial surface to the observer suggesting that the cranium was facing toward south-south-west before it was disturbed with the rear portion of the vault rather upwards (I.B. Approximately 50 large fragments were unearthed in a small area near the original find and more than 200 small pieces were collected by sieving the sediments as well as large part of the cranial base and almost of all the left parietal were not located Three stages of the challenging process of restoration of the Ceprano calvarium performed directly on the original specimen by various workers between 1994 and 1999 the reconstruction was originally performed under the direction of the late A The use of chemical solvents were also not possible Attempts to digitally delete the plaster from the calvarium have also failed since medical CT scanners do not have enough resolution; therefore even this procedure did not work either using threshold filters applied globally or working manually on each tomographic slice Hypothesized original position of the Ceprano calvarium within the sediments and subsequent phases of the diagenetic process; plastic deformation occurred before the fossilization of the cranium with eventual breakage and loss of bony materials on the left and longitudinal fractures on the right we followed an analytical protocol that aimed to quantify consistency between the taphonomic hypothesis and the pattern of deformation that affected the calvarium These six views show our digital restoration of the Ceprano calvarium superimposed on the last physical reconstruction transparent (light gray) anatomical parts correspond to previous positions of bony elements that moved to new positions (in light brown) contrasting with those that are unchanged (in dark brown) as compared to the right side from a superior view the left mastoid complex appears displaced inferiorly when compared in posterior view to the mastoid of the right side Our digital repositioning of these skeletal elements started by moving the fragments labelled 1–4 superiorly and anteriorly (see Fig. 4) in order to find a better fit with the anterior portion of the left temporal bone fragment 1 was isolated and then realigned to firmly connect to fragment 2 (posterior portion of the left temporal bone) we used the relationships between the various anatomical elements that are visible on the right side to guide us These elements included the relative position of the angular torus the inferior temporal line and a terminal segment of the supramastoid crest the segment of the temporal line that is visible on fragment 1 now rests in a natural continuity with the temporal line preserved on the anterior portion of the temporal bone (parietal component of fragment 2) given the adjusted anterior position of the left temporal bone followed by the entire right side of the cranial vault which shifted posteriorly and slightly superiorly the residual part of the external occipital protuberance now makes direct contact with a cranial fragment housing the external occipital crista the taphonomic deformation that affected the specimen required an extensive study of the deformation pattern This assessment mainly involved the parietal bones (with crushing of the left parietal and bending of the right parietal) and the occipital bone (including the tilted transverse torus) This evaluation was carried out using a protocol that combined Thin Plate Spline (TPS) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) approaches as described in the “Material and Methods” section of this paper Transformation grids and associated bending energy values obtained after superimposition of the left/right profiles of the external surface of the parietal walls along seven coronal cross sections Greece) is fully consistent with what is visible on the Ceprano calvarium we note both in the model and in Ceprano a rather flattened left parietal and a more vertical right wall of the cranium which increases at the level of the temporal lines there is a consistent clockwise tilting of the occipital squama which is reflected by the inclination of the internal occipital crista The result is a model of the Ceprano calvarium that we consider as close as possible to the original morphology of the specimen before the taphonomic deformation occurred. In order to quantify and visualize this result, the retrodeformed shape of Ceprano is represented as mesh distances (ranging from −6 to + 6 mm) from the shape of our restoration of the specimen (Fig. 7). The retrodeformed Ceprano calvarium. Differences from our digital reconstruction (reported in Fig. 5) are expressed by colors (ranging from −6 to 6 mm) These colors represent inter mesh distances; moving toward the yellow-red extreme of the spectrum we find the regions of the new reconstruction that are pushed inward and are now less angulated with respect to the non-deformed reconstruction; vice versa for the blue areas because standard anthropological measures do not register variations in the regions that were mostly distorted it should have occurred when the cranium was still rich in collagen the plastic deformation reached a threshold of breakage and produced two main effects: a severe fragmentation of the left parietal and the occurrence of the antero-posteriorly elongated fractures that are visible on the right parietal the compressive loads exerted on the left side were transmitted to the other side of the cranial vault causing the unnaturally angled right parietal wall along with several other specific defects such as the oblique transverse occipital torus; the frontal bone does not seem to have been significantly affected by the postmortem deformation process the fact that all these fragments were found in one single location supports a primary deposition of the fossil specimen the combined evidence collected here supports the hypothesis that the Ceprano calvarium was permanently buried in the perilacustrine environment where it was found In order to quantify the pattern of deformation that occurred in the Ceprano cranium during the taphonomic process we followed a protocol that combines Thin Plate Splines (TPS) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) which correspond to a tilting without bending while it increases in magnitude when bending (non-affine transformations) occurs These profiles were reduced to a 30 semilandmarks configuration and superimposed (after mirror imaging) using the Procrustes procedure We then used the BE values as a measure of the total warping that affected the calvarium during the taphonomic process In order to simulate the original loading conditions the model was constrained on the cranial base at the level of the occipital condyles with the compressive loadings acting on the whole surface of the left parietal bone The model was simplified and allocated homogeneous material properties of compact bone (Poisson’s ratio = 0.3 It was solved using 50000 iterations and a tolerance = 1e-09 R Core Team. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available online at: http://www.r-project.org (2015) Soft-tissue reconstruction of the human nose: population differences and sexual dimorphism In Statistical Shape and Deformation Analysis: Methods in Numerical Palaeobiology: Computer-based Modelling and Analysis of Fossils and their Distributions (ed David A Recupero dei materiali scheletrici umani in archeologia Morphometric tools for landmark data Cambridge University Press Download references Thanks are due to all the people that worked on the field at Campogrande under the direction of I.B particularly our colleagues Vincenzo Celiberti together with a number of students and volunteers The help of Clément Zanolli when working on the μCT slices of the Ceprano calvarium is also gratefully acknowledged We thank the editor and anonymous reviewers of Scientific Reports whose comments and suggestions helped in improving our presentation of the results Paine for his help in the linguistic revision of the final version of the paper Centro Fermi - Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche ‘Enrico Fermi’ The ‘Abdus Salam’ International Centre for Theoretical Physics Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology performed data collection and analysis; with the help of I.B. The authors declare that they have no competing interests Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14437-2 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Search Logo for Cambridge Core from Cambridge University Press. Click to return to homepage. BrowseServicesOpen researchInstitution LoginSearchMenu links It represents significant evidence of hominin presence in the Italian peninsula during the Middle Pleistocene and may be considered representative of an archaic variant of the widespread and polymorphic species Homo heidelbergensis systematic surveys in the Campogrande area near Ceprano identified 12 localities (CG1-12) with archaeological and/or paleontological assemblages fieldwork was carried out at Campogrande between 2001 and 2006 allowing a detailed description of the stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental context associated with the human fossil specimen and the archaeological materials In the present paper we focus on the stratigraphy and sedimentological features of the uppermost deposits coupled with a detailed appraisal of the available lithic assemblages that mostly belongs to overlying sediments (CG9 and CG10 localities) We conclude that the Ceprano hominin died in a floodplain environment with a low topographic gradient where a fluvial meandering channel occurred The archaeological materials describe a network of sites that document common behavioural features of human groups of the mid-to-late Middle Pleistocene representing evidence of the regionalization observed across Europe after Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 12 influenced by environmental and climatic conditions that were particularly important during the 1.4–0.4 Ma interval (color online) Location of the Campogrande area near Ceprano in the Italian peninsula and approximately midway between Rome and Naples The gray area corresponds to the inferred maximum extension of the Lirino Lake during the Middle Pleistocene Figure 2. (color online) Topographic map of the main archaeological localities referred to the Colle Avarone (CA), Campogrande (CG), and Castro dei Volsci (CdV) areas; the symbols referred to as “Acheulean” and “Oldowan” correspond to assemblages with or without bifaces, respectively. The discovery site of the human fossil calvarium is labelled CG1 (H). The squared dashed line corresponds to the map of Figure 3a GPS coordinates and elevation above sea level (m asl) of the selected localities/sites or archaeological units at Campogrande that are mentioned in the text we provide a comprehensive stratigraphy and sedimentology of the uppermost fluvio-palustrine deposits of Campogrande including those where the human calvarium was discovered we describe for the first time the archaeological lithic material found in the overlying fluvial deposits of the localities labelled CG9 and CG10 furnishing further constrains to ascribe the human presence at Campogrande to a period spanning around MIS 11 excavation test in the locality CG9; C1/C2 site of discovery of the human calvarium (CG1); P site of discovery of a partial skeleton of Palaeoloxodon antiquus; T trench along the slope towards the Fosso della Manoviccia; W stratigraphic witness above the present ground level (extension of locality CG9) Grain size and other textural attributes are reported are also taken into consideration for the paleoenvironmental interpretation (color online) The stratigraphic sections of site P during excavation; letters only indicate the different mud and silty-sand horizons alternating along the section The samples for clay composition derive from units A and H Figure 5. (color online) Stratigraphic section of the trench T (see Figures 3a and b). Units 3 and 4 are clay plug deposits; unit 1 is the palustrine deposits with high concentration of volcanic ash. The square at the level of section B refers to Figure 6 while the polygon on the right marks the stratigraphic horizon that corresponds to the clay deposits of site P Samples for clay composition derive from units 1 here we describe the sedimentological succession of the two cores in combination with newly available evidence and focusing on the uppermost layers Unit C is composed of lacustrine sediments and is separated from the underlying unit B by an unconformity surface It is about 20 m thick and shows a transgressive-regressive trend characterized by coarse and very-coarse carbonate sands (about 4 m thick) at the base passing upward to muddy and sandy-muddy deposits (about 10 m thick) with interbedded thin layers of bioclastic material and a high concentration of organic matter These features suggest a deposition of this unit in shallow water close to the lake shoreline in a probable deltaic setting both corresponding to the archaeological unit CG9A We argue that the human calvarium was deposited during the period in which the Lirino Lake was definitively filled and when a change in depositional systems occurred This scenario is more consistent with an age close to 400 ka (i.e. represented by fragments of pulmonata gastropoda occur in the clay layers The set of these characters indicates that the entire sequence of sediments developed in an interglacial stage with a climate characterized by marked seasonality in rainfall followed by dry conditions; this is consistent with the assignments to MIS 11of the clay where the calvarium was found Figure 6. (color online) Detail of the section B in the trench T (as indicated in Figure 5) showing small and medium trough cross-lamination occurring at the base of the meandering fluvial channel (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) while laterally a thin palustrine whitish muddy deposit occurs The sand and gravel deposits of trench B and witness W (Fig. 3 and 7) occurring above those described in trench T show many characters that we interpret as the product of braided river depositions Trough and planar cross bedding are related to the migration of small and medium dunes within shallow laterally unstable channels which internally develop longitudinal and transverse bars The absence of fine-grained sediments suggests a vigorous bed load transport during flood events that are able to move the coarsest particles Paleocurrents also indicate a transport of the sediments towards the southern sector suggesting that the braided river stretched in a north-south direction which included the areas of both Colle Avarone and Campogrande Lower Paleolithic artefacts were found in the deposits of B and W with a heavy-duty component and evidence of core technologies (assemblages from the archaeological unit CG9A The greater part of this material was discovered by one of us (I Biddittu) during different systematic surveys while another part was unearthed during the 2001–2006 excavations (namely in the excavations of test B and witness W) all the material is stored at the Museo Preistorico “Pietro Fedele” in Pofi (Frosinone The CG9 Acheulean material comes from an archaeological unit named CG9A (originally “CG9 superiore,” or upper) and corresponds to levels that are visible in the witness W and have been excavated in the test B (Fig. 3 and 7) The CG10 material comes from three different units respectively named CG10A (originally “CG10 superiore,” or upper) CG10B (originally “CG10 intermedio,” or intermediate) and CG10C (originally “CG10 inferiore,” or lower) no stratigraphic and sedimentological analyses have been carried out so far but preliminary data indicate that CG10A is comprised of limestone gravels and augitic sands (a) Bifaces completely or partially worked, symmetric in cross section, made by series of removals, large or short (n = 2). The tip is curved in one case (Fig. 8a; inventory no (b) Plano-convex partial bifacial tools with sometimes a back (from a flake?) with a pointed or round tip Final retouches cover the two cutting edges shaped on half the piece (n = 3) the flattest surface is shaped by large removals that make the whole face thinner while the opposite convex face is managed by series of removals limited to the upper half and the periphery of the tool (n = 6) biface in laminated limestone with interposed levels of silex; (b) unit CG9B Only three flint bifaces were collected. The main features are common to the pieces of the other localities. They are made on a flake and pebble; the shaping covers a large part of one surface and especially the periphery and the extremity made by more removals (Fig. 8b; inventory no where the debitage is on two orthogonal faces; (b) unit CG10A cores on flint pebbles with one or orthogonal flaking surfaces pointed scraper (rabot-type) made by deep and large removals on a small part of the periphery of a broken limestone pebble (n = 1) (b) Elongated, plano-convex bifaces (n = 5) on badly preserved limestone (Fig. 10a; inventory no Some cortical residues suggest that the support could be a flat and elongated pebble The whole bifacial volume is managed by one series of invasive removals on the two faces The shaping is alternate or face-by-face when visible The edges are never rectified by retouches and they stay sinuous The base of the tool is shaped by convergent removals (giving a thin cutting edge) or sometimes left unworked (back or natural round cortical base) The maximum thickness of the tool is on the proximal or the middle part of the biface whereas the tool general form is symmetric (c) Partial bifacial tools on limestone (n = 16; Fig. 10b; inventory no This category is more diversified than the previous one with short and elongated pieces (from 110 to 210 mm) The support is a flake for most of the tools The shaping concerns mainly the upper part of the tool covering the two faces or only the periphery opposing the cutting edge to a back or a cortical side The tip is pointed or round and made by small or large removals related to the shaping process of the lateral cutting edge(s) The flattest face is covered either by large removals or by short removals limited to the upper part of the face The opposite surface indicates series of semi-abrupt removals rarely rectified by a final series of short removals and retouches The cutting edges are consequently always sinuous One piece shows a longitudinal “coup de tranchet.” Another piece shows some transversal removals on the tip (perhaps due to use or resharpening) Most of the tools are asymmetric partial bifacial tools on limestone and the type of support seems to have played a major role producing opposing flakes with a minimum shaping to an elongated pebble with a most invasive shaping One series of removals characterize all the tools without final retouches giving sinuous edges Besides the elongated bifacial pointed tools some other bifacial tools preserve a backed edge as a main distinctive feature elongated biface on limestone with whole shaping; note that the middle part of the tool is the thickest partial bifacial tool on a limestone flake Note that one series of removals is invasive and flat on one face and abrupt on the opposite face limestone partial bifacial tool possibly on a flake where the pointed upper part is worked with thin removals thick and asymmetric flint microlithic bifacial tool made by some removals core on a flint nodule with small bifacial removals on part of the periphery No bifaces were found in this unit. Cores (n = 15) are made on small flint and quartz nodules/pebbles (Fig. 11b) They indicate an orthogonal or multidirectional debitage adapted to the form of the nodule or pebble a transversal debitage (slices) on thick pebbles and a bifacial debitage with asymmetric flaking surfaces and hinged due to the lack of preparation of the cores Cores are left unexhausted due perhaps to inaccurate angles to continue flaking indicate common features of raw materials and technology in the CA and CG localities The CG series artefacts are mainly made on fine-grained limestone The limestone is generally poorly preserved with smooth edges and breccia Use of types of raw materials differs between the core technology and the shaping It is likely due to the sizes of the available nodules and pebbles Limestone is the main raw material for the bifaces and the heavy-duty component possibly because limestone exists in various qualities as small and large pebbles on and in the surroundings of the localities then quartz and fine-grained limestone pebbles Flint exists mainly under the form of small nodules; thus it is mainly used for flaking except for CG10B and CG9B where some bifaces are made from large flint supports The heavy-duty tools are the main component of the CG series Three types of heavy-duty tools are common to the series but in different ratios: (1) elongated bifaces; (2) partial bifacial tools; and (3) heavy “scrapers” and “rabots.” The mode of shaping is not linked to the type of raw material since the bifaces made on flint share common technological features to the tools on other kinds of stones the mode and intensity of shaping is necessarily consistent with the raw material and the shape of the original pebble The partial bifacial tools are mainly made on flakes (easily identified) considered as preformed Categories are not stages in a shaping process but distinct types of tools with specific purposes and sizes although all are asymmetric tools in cross section While bifaces show a symmetrical and elongated morphology the partial bifacial tools are shorter and frequently asymmetric and transverse although in a few cases they may have an elongated form The bifaces are the longest pieces (around 200 mm) Some partial bifacial tools allow a resharpening since a limited part of the upper part of the tool is shaped by additional sectors most of the bifaces do not allow this resharpening without modifying the whole volume bifacial tools on fragments of Palaeoloxodon antiquus bones and stone pebbles indicate common shaping strategies at the site and common features with the Campogrande series Geological fieldwork and analyses coupled with the study of Paleolithic assemblages from localities close to the CG1 locality (the site where the Ceprano calvarium was discovered in 1994) enrich our understanding of human evolution in Europe during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene constituting the final filling of the Lirino Lake They both include Paleolithic material with bifaces (archaeological unit CG9A) for which the dates at the top of C1 and C2 provide a terminus post quem The different localities of the Ceprano basin with lithic artefacts (Fig. 2) are scattered in a small area Chronological data indicate that these sites and related archaeological assemblages are penecontemporaneous allowing a comparison of technological behaviours after MIS 12 perhaps with the exception of the unit CG10C which is characterized by flint and quartzite nodules/pebbles and appears more ancient from a stratigraphical point of view the Campogrande series attest the occurrence of common regional trends of bifaces and bifacial tools with recurrent features usually of large size (ranging in length from 50 to 260 mm) while technological strategies are common to other Italian sites These trends in tool kits could indicate a network of connected sites along fluvial systems in the basin Future analyses of bone assemblages will help to understand type of sites This could explain why the core technologies exhibit minimal flaking aimed at rapidly producing useful flakes during short-term occupations A heavy-duty component is also present occasionally and is not clearly explained by the stone availability The quantity of flakes pointing to a shaping process in situ is often small and it is consequently difficult to investigate the status of these large tools They could be mobile pieces moving between sites or expedient tools worked for the activities performed on each site The assemblages of these early Lower Paleolithic sites indicate that scattered hominin settlements occurred in southwestern Europe during the late Early Pleistocene These climatic oscillations regularly forced hominins to retreat The supplementary material for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.52 After the discovery of the human fossil calvarium near Ceprano (FR) in 1994 field activities and related researches in the area of Campogrande have been authorized by the Soprintendenza A.B.A Latina e Rieti (formerly Soprintendenza Archeologica del Lazio) Both excavations and paleoenvironmental analyses were performed within the framework of the project “The Ceprano Calvarium and Its Environment,” which received grants attributed to one of us (G Manzi) by the Sapienza University of Rome; we thank all the colleagues and students that have been involved in this project for his support in recording the topography of the Campogrande area who helped to collect and analyse part of the sedimentological data presented and discussed in this paper The study of the archaeological record was financially supported by funding from the National Museum of Natural History France: Acheulean in volcanic areas in Italy (Action Transversale du Museum) We are also grateful to the Editors (Nicholas Lancaster Associate Editor) and the anonymous reviewers of Quaternary Research for their extremely helpful criticisms and suggestions (color online) Topographic map of the main archaeological localities referred to the Colle Avarone (CA) and Castro dei Volsci (CdV) areas; the symbols referred to as “Acheulean” and “Oldowan” correspond to assemblages with or without bifaces The discovery site of the human fossil calvarium is labelled CG1 (H) The squared dashed line corresponds to the map of Figure 3a (color online) (a) Partial view of the area of Campogrande which includes: the discovery site of the human fossil specimen and the various excavations and drillings performed in period 2001–2006 Some of them are also reported in (b) the correlation panel extending in a north-south direction and showing the stratigraphic relationships among the different units that have been recorded The black ball in (b) indicates the projected stratigraphic position of the Palaeoloxodon antiquus (P) within the deposits of trench (T) corresponding to the clay layer in Figure 5 between units 10 and 11 (c) The marine oxygen isotope record from Lisiecki and Raymo (2005) with the inferred chronological position of the Ceprano human calvarium based on lithostratigraphical (color online) Stratigraphic section of the trench T (see Figures 3a and b) Units 3 and 4 are clay plug deposits; unit 1 is the palustrine deposits with high concentration of volcanic ash The square at the level of section B refers to Figure 6 (color online) Detail of the section B in the trench T (as indicated in Figure 5) Remnant of sand and sandy-gravel fluvial deposits attribute to a braided stream Note the trough cross bedding related to (a) 3-D bedforms and (b) the detail of the scour filled with gravel deposits The tephra horizon (see label) is the layer that was originally K-Ar dated to 385 ± 20 ka (as reported by Ascenzi and Segre [1997a - No HTML tags allowed- Web page URLs will display as text only- Lines and paragraphs break automatically- Attachments Your email address will be used in order to notify you when your comment has been reviewed by the moderator and in case the author(s) of the article or the moderator need to contact you directly shared ownership in or any close relationship with any organisation whose interests may be affected by the publication of the response Please also list any non-financial associations or interests (personal religious or other) that a reasonable reader would want to know about in relation to the submitted work This pertains to all the authors of the piece This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The opening night of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto at Cobb Energy Centre unveiled a musically and theatrically potent performance by The Atlanta Opera the company’s General and Artistic Director since 2013 featuring a strong cast most ably and convincingly underscored by The Atlanta Opera Orchestra under the baton of Roberto Kalb this production was last mounted by The Dallas Opera at the Winspear Opera House in October 2022 under Zvulun’s direction with Emmanuel Villaume conducting and an almost entirely different cast and the Duke (Won Whi Choi) at a party in Act I (credit: Rafterman/courtesy of The Atlanta Opera) The one key cast member that the Dallas and Atlanta performances have in common is the amazong Georgian baritone George Gagnidze in the title role and sheer physical stamina for the extensive stage time required by the role all evidenced his appropriateness for the role This Atlanta production pairs Gagnidze with tenor Won Whi Choi and with TAO veteran soprano Jasmine Habersham who has appeared frequently with the company since 2016 and here portrays Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda Won Whi Choi and Jasmine Habersham as the Duke (disguised as a student) and Gilda (credit: Raftermen / courtesy of The Atlanta Opera) who makes his attitude toward women plain in his opening aria in Act I “Questa o quella” (“this woman or that one”) through his more infamous canzone “La donna è mobile” (“Women are changeable”) and its distant though not quite as powerful a voice as Gaznidze or Choi vocally takes Gilda from innocence to experience as a means of growing her portrayal of Gilda through the character’s coming of age two standouts for sheer power and presence are bass-baritone David Crawford as Count Monterone who stands up for the defiled honor of his daughter and is murdered for it then reappears as a ghost as his casket is carried across stage He curses both the Duke and Rigoletto—a curse which plagues Rigoletto’s mind through the final curtain But the real antagonist of the opera is the comapny’s 27-voice male chorus prepared by assistant conductor and choirmaster Rolando Salazar They are the first we see when the black curtain rises in the Prelude standing shoulder-to-shoulder across the proscenium opening eventually filing to the sides of the stage revealing our first glimpse of Rigoletto at stage center—then blackout like a cross between a criminal mob and a fraternity gone bad The Duke of Mantua (Won Whi Choi) with his courtiers The stark set by scenic and projection designer Erhard Rom while ensconced in an impression of neo-classicism on the sides with Corinthian capitals on massive columns embedded in curved walls the rotating central cubic construct is at once harsher with its clean-edged lines but adorned with a few decorative architectural elements that imply specific settings and atmospheres (using draped cloth to turn a palace into a tawdry inn was one quick but effective solution to having enough “sides” to the cubic structure to accommodate all of the necessary scenes The right kind of lighting (designed by Thomas Hase) contributed positively to that solution was likewise handled admirably by the creative designers the audience got a Rigoletto that was powerful An achievement of which the company should be quite proud The Atlanta Opera’s production of Rigoletto continues with performances November 7 Mark Gresham is publisher and principal writer of EarRelevant He began writing as a music journalist over 30 years ago but has been a composer of music much longer than that He was the winner of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award for music journalism in 2003 the archaic features of the calvarium were put in relationship with Mode 1 techno-complexes discovered in sites scattered across the Ceprano basin albeit Acheulean assemblages are also well known in the same area In 2001 we approached the field with a multidisciplinary project aimed to validate the previous geo-chronological model and improve the available paleontological and archaeological records the results we obtained consistently showed that the human calvarium is more recent than previously believed pointing to a time range close to the beginning of MIS 11 Ceprano has to be considered among the European fossil record of the Middle Pleistocene although its peculiar morphology - a unique combination of archaic and derived features -suggests a somewhat puzzling scenario of human evolution in Europe which could involve the occurrence of a considerable phenetic diversity during part of the Middle Pleistocene This argument points to the time window between 1.0 and 0.5 Ma when it is probable that a new kind of humanity emerged and diffused across Africa and Eurasia Although controversial when viewed as a single species this humanity may be referred to the polymorphic and widespread taxon Homo heidelbergensis different lineages of archaic humans possibly belonging to Homo heidelbergensis are recognised suggesting the identification of geographic varieties or subspecies (i.e. Ceprano represents the best candidate available at present (but also the cranial remains from Gombore II should be taken into account) to describe the cranial morphology of the still largely unknown ancestral variety of the species: i.e. Author: Giorgio Manzi (University of Rome) Learn more here OttawaNewsMeet the 77-year-old artist responsible for rock sculptures at Remic Rapids ParkBy Peter SzperlingPublished: July 19, 2024 at 6:45PM EDT Twitter feed ©2025 BellMedia All Rights Reserved A new study published on Scientific Reports describes the digital restoration of the fossil badly deformed during the early phases of fossilization aimed at recovering its original cranial morphology The specimen eventually turned out to be more similar to other fossil representatives of the extinct species that was ancestral to Neanderthals and modern humans: i.e. The study has been coordinated by Giorgio Manzi of the Department of Environmental Biology of Sapienza University of Rome and director of the Polo museale Sapienza in collaboration with several other researchers and with the Soprintendenza archeologia Viterbo ed Etruria meridionale.Soon after the discovery the Ceprano calvarium was restored using the original fragments and a large amount of plaster This procedure has made difficult any further modification in the arrangement of the fragments contributing to leave unclear for years the taxonomic interpretation of the specimen In the new research a digital approach was used based on high-resolution computer micro-tomographic acquisition made at the International Center of Theoretical Physics "Abdus Salam" in Trieste This allowed the "digital cleaning" from the plaster (impossible to remove by mechanical or chemical means) and the virtual separation of the fragments correcting the defects found in the previous reconstructions.The taphonomic processes responsible for the plastic deformation of the calvarium were also investigated This preliminary examination allowed the application of a new algorithm for the symmetrisation which retrodeformed the specimen to its probable original morphology The result of this sophisticated approach is a morphology of the Ceprano skull cap that finds great similarities to other representatives of Homo heidelbergensis which paleoanthropological and paleogeographic data indicate as the last common ancestor between Neanderthals and ourselves Fabio Di Vincenzo – the first author of the research – says "working on a find of such scientific importance has been like seizing an impossible challenge launched directly from the deepest past of our evolutionary history" adds: "The importance of this study is also in the development of an innovative digital restoration methodology that can be used also in other controversial case-studies of human evolution Claudio Tuniz & Giorgio Manzi - Digital reconstruction of the Ceprano calvarium (Italy) and implications for its interpretation - Scientific Reports 7 Article number: 13974 25 Ottobre 2017  doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14437-2 © Sapienza Università di Roma - Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 00185 Roma - (+39) 06 49911 - CF 80209930587 PI 02133771002 “Why rocks? Well, because they were there,” says John Felice Ceprano reflecting on the stone balancing structures he has created at Remic Rapids for the past 34 summers Ceprano says he was seeking a quiet place to meditate “I was able to enjoy an abundant supply of materials and create something that I wasn’t attached to I knew that each day things would fall down and then I would have to put them back up they become more and more precise,” says Ceprano After a few years working of his own volition art has to provide some function and purpose in order to be valid He means this both in terms of artistic composition and for how he works “Initially I wished to be a meteorologist and that didn’t happen Balancing rocks in the environment brought it all together,” says Ceprano He elaborates on his philosophy: “There’s always an evolution to the next level of balancing The reality is that balance can’t lie Either it’s balanced and it works or it’s not balanced and it doesn’t work I came to the understanding a number of years ago that I was seeking truth through balance.” highlights “the injustices that have been imposed on all the minorities and all marginalized people He sought to build on the idea of “no justice no peace” to explore how we can find peace in balance I ask him what he thinks about as he’s building the sculptures nothing goes through my mind because the whole thing is dependent on feeling Justice is Balance with Champlain Bridge in background built on his studies of Indigenous cultures and shamanism this relates to the two points of balance coming to an equilibrium “In the sorcery of balance everything is doubled,” says Ceprano “There’s a lot of shamanistic values in my work such as “the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.” I’m curious about how he builds the structures We move these very large rocks that sometimes weigh 300 or 400 pounds.” This year He’s seeking three-point balance so that the rocks don’t fall down easily “I find the point where the stone best feels its point of contact and equilibrium And then I just insert a small wedged rock wedged rocks between the surfaces of a larger rock creates a really strong bond and it won’t move unless you use force The whole point is to have that three-point balance so that they don’t fall down easily.” I ask him how he knows whether he’s satisfied with a particular sculpture “I can always go back and tweak it somehow so there’s no beginning,” he explains The river will knock them down even more easily So will the ice and everything else,” Ceprano says the sculptures stay until the river freezes “It all depends on what kind of a climate we’re dealing with and also how they’re regulating the river with all the different hydroelectric dams that have been created on the Ottawa Over the years Ceprano has hosted music, theatre, and dance events at Remic Rapids. While they won’t be taking place this year to limit gatherings, he maintains an archive from previous years on his YouTube channel. Want to know more? Check out John Felice Ceprano’s website, Ottawa Rock Art Susan Johnston is passionate about the transformative power of stories She’s been making radio about social justice and the local arts scene since 1999 and currently hosts #AskingForAFriend on CKCU every Tuesday This summer she’s exploring how we connect with the Ottawa River because they were there,” says John Felice Ceprano Link IconCopy linkFacebook LogoShare on FacebookXShare on XEmailShare via EmailLink copied to clipboardAcademy of Vocal Arts explores evil heart of RigolettoEven in the most timeworn opera librettos the title character proclaims he's spent weeks "weeping tears of blood." And if you believe that when it comes out of the singer's mouth Time and again in Saturday's opening night of Rigoletto at Academy of Vocal Arts the performance went beyond the opera's morality tale about a vicious court jester whose daughter is seduced and abandoned by the Duke of Mantua The outward trappings weren't all that promising The traditional production - set in some operatic netherworld where people wear fancy antique costumes and are bathed in shades of red that are reserved for evil places - made the best of the small Helen Corning Warden Theater stage tenor Marco Cammarota seemed like a baritone voice in the midst of converting to tenor But in this opening-night cast (which will change later) important character work had been accomplished: The lines between singers and their character often disappeared Most sopranos cast as Rigoletto's daughter Gilda make the coloratura writing of the famous "Caro Nome" aria their first priority and secondarily project the emotional specifics behind the broad strokes Her coloratura feels so natural you don't really hear the mechanics behind it What often sounds merely decorative is the character speaking to you - and with exceptionally rich tone quality Jared Bybee had the necessary weight for Rigoletto though his scaled-back moments showed you who his character truly was Only in the final scene did he seem to be merely singing loud so specifically expressive was his portrayal everywhere else he made a powerful impression suggesting a huge soul trapped inside a gnarled body Anthony Schneider was promisingly stentorian Stage director Tito Capobianco had translated Verdi's characterization into sure stage action adding a few of his own touches: Gilda's kidnappers leave behind her discarded dress just to torment Rigoletto further Conductor Christofer Macatsoris was both demonic and strategic Where he once used sheer instrumental force his slower tempos built moments more powerfully (the opening prelude for example) with often-ignored orchestration details contributing greatly to the total effect his keen attention to sound suggested the world was coming to an end You could say it was only an opera - but Capobianco and Macatsoris made it something that explores the dark heart of humanity in ways that are true in any age dstearns@phillynews.com You are using an outdated browser. Upgrade your browser today or install Google Chrome Frame to better experience this site Get Directions Central Chapel | (519) 253-72341700 Tecumseh Rd Banwell Chapel | (519) 253-723511677 Tecumseh Rd South Chapel | (519) 253-72363048 Dougall Avenue, Windsor, Ontario N9E 1S4     Proudly Canadian | Owned & Operated by Arbor Memorial Inc. this audio is not yet available or has expiredBrought to you by the Duke of Mantua boasts of his way with women: he dances with the Countess Ceprano mocks the countess’s enraged but helpless husband The courtier Marullo bursts in with the latest gossip: Rigoletto is suspected of keeping a young mistress in his home The Met rings in the new year with the gala premiere of a bold new take on Verdi’s timeless tragedy from Bartlett Sher resetting the opera’s action in 1920s Europe a commanding artist at the height of his powers brings his searing portrayal of the title role to the Met for the first time starring alongside soprano Rosa Feola as Gilda and tenor Piotr Beczała as the Duke of Mantua with leading maestro Daniele Rustioni on the podium Rigoletto is in three acts to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851 is Verdi's sixteenth opera: its tragic story is about the licentious Duke of Mantua refers to a curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter the Duke has seduced with Rigoletto's encouragement The curse comes to haunt them all when Gilda falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save him from the assassin hired by her father The opera’s most famous aria is "La donna è mobile" ("Woman is fickle") is the Duke of Mantua's canzone from the beginning of act 3: a famous showcase for tenors Raffaele Mirate's performance of the bravura aria at the opera's premiere was hailed as the highlight of the evening the aria was rehearsed under tight secrecy: a necessary precaution as "La donna è mobile" proved to be incredibly catchy and soon after the aria's first public performance it became popular to sing among Venetian gondoliers Live concert recording from the Metropolitan Opera based on the play 'Le roi s'amuse' by Victor Hugo Rigoletto's daughter)Varduhi Abrahamyan (contralto Sparafucile's sister)Piotr Beczała (tenor the Duke's jester)Andrea Mastroni (bass a courtier)Sylvia D'Eramo (mezzo-soprano Count Monterone)Eve Gigliotti (mezzo-soprano Gilda's Nurse)Catherine MiEun Choi-Steckmeyer (mezzo-soprano A Guard)Metropolitan Opera ChorusDonald Palumbo (chorus director)Metropolitan Opera OrchestraDaniele Rustioni (conductor) (Quinn Kelsey as Rigoletto and Rosa Feola as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto at New York's Metropolitan Opera 2022 (Photo: Ken Howard, Supplied Met Opera)) Tracklist08:05Played at 08:05Rigoletto: Act I [59'40]Composer Metropolitan Opera Orchestra + Metropolitan Opera Chorus + Piotr Beczała (tenor) + Rosa Feola (soprano) + Scott Scully (tenor) + Andrea Mastroni (bass) + Quinn Kelsey (baritone) + Varduhi Abrahamyan (contralto) + Sylvia D'Eramo (mezzo-soprano) + Jeongcheol Cha (baritone) Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano) + National Symphony Orchestra + Vyacheslav Polozov (tenor) + Nikita Storoyev (baritone) Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas, 446 093-2 Sweet Serenade: The timeless music of Mozart, 476 9422 Published: 26 Apr 2025Sat 26 Apr 2025 at 10:00am Published: 19 Apr 2025Sat 19 Apr 2025 at 10:00am Published: 12 Apr 2025Sat 12 Apr 2025 at 10:00am Download the ABC listen app for free music podcasts and playlists Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Ottawa Tourism the simplest outings are the best ones—especially when they’re in your own backyard I’ve vaguely known about the National Capital Commission’s Remic Rapids Park Bistro since I’ve passed it a few times while biking along the Ottawa River Pathway But when my husband and I finally checked out this casual patio just north of Tunney’s Pasture recently “What took us so long to try this?” It has a primo spot overlooking the Ottawa River and the Champlain Bridge just four kilometres west of Parliament Hill but the food is really good (more on that later) there’s thought-provoking art nearby Forgive me if this post veers from sobering to happy in tone but I wanted to include both the art and the café The Remic Rapids Park Bistro is just west of artist John Felice Ceprano’s magnificent balanced rock sculptures an installation that changes every year as winter winds and spring floods wash away the rocks and Ceprano creates a new vision He has been working on this site annually for 35 years “Homage to Lost Children: Welcome Home” (“Hommage aux enfants perdus: Bienvenue chez vous”) “There were times where I would just start to cry uncontrollably while I’m working,” says Ceprano of his time creating the piece which pays tribute to the Indigenous children whose unmarked graves continue to be discovered at sites across Canada He collected and carefully placed river rocks large and small throughout the spring and summer “I’ve stopped because I feel that the statement is clear and I don’t want to make it too busy so that it would lose some of its simplicity The simplicity really comes across rather well this time So I have to hold myself back from doing any more because I realize you’ve got the statement made.” The delicately balanced rocks do indeed look like children gazing out over the Ottawa River—a traditional gathering place for Anishinaabe peoples—and it’s a sobering place to reflect on the tragic legacy of Canada’s residential schools system If Ceprano is on site when you visit (as he is most days from spring through fall) and he’s not busy I meandered up a slight hill to the Remic Rapids Park Bistro where my husband Paul was already admiring the river view from a small table We headed over to the counter to make our selections from a large chalked menu The menu also included Beyond Meat vegetarian options the bistro is known for its hot dogs and sausages in a bun so we went for those—and beer seemed like the perfect complement Paul got a 10-inch hot dog with bacon and cheese We loaded them up with condiments and diced onions and ordered a small carton of roasted potatoes with garlic sauce I suspect we could have easily kept a posse of vampires at bay Paul pronounced the hot dog one of the best he’s ever had I think I need to come back to the café and do some more research We finished off our order with some ice-cold local Kichesippi beers—BC Light for me Boom IPA for Paul—for a total tab of about $40 but I’d argue that the chance to enjoy it while watching the sun go down over the Ottawa River made it even better small lights winked on along the bistro’s perimeter and bistro manager Brad Wuest lit candles in small jars on each table indulgent parents watched pre-schoolers skip stones along the river’s surface as night closed in The last few cyclists snapped on headlamps as they rolled away into the dusk The backlit Champlain Bridge looked infinitely more romantic than it does by day but lingered until it was almost completely dark (One of many nice things about visiting the bistro in September: no mosquitoes!) the café is a great place to take a break anytime you’re exploring Ottawa’s west-end pathways Remic Rapids Park is just north of Tunney’s Pasture and just west of the Parkdale Avenue exit from the Sir John A Macdonald Parkway (watch for the Remic Rapids sign) One of the most pleasant ways to get there is by bike or on foot along the Ottawa River Pathway The NCC’s seasonal Remic Rapids Park Bistro is open daily from late spring until mid-fall Hours vary; when we visited in early September We visited the bistro as part of Ottawa Tourism’s #Invite2 campaign It encourages all Ottawans to invite two friends or family members to town for three nights to enjoy everything our city has to offer Did you know that if everyone in Ottawa did that it would pump $500 million into our local economy That would be a real boost to restaurants and hotels which have felt the impact of the last two years particularly keenly Looking for more ideas for things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Please subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or buy my guidebook, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100km Getaway Guide Thank you Ottawa Tourusm & Laura Paquet I am grateful for the coverage of this year’s project “Hommage aux enfants perdux bienvenus chez vous; Homage to lost children You’re most welcome–thanks for creating such beautiful art John’s work on the river is one of my “must go” places I take all my new Comer friends there as my special place and definitely have a drink or a snack at the bistro near by It’s beautiful in fall as it is in the summer Thank you John for your heart-felt art work you can also enjoy some really tasty hot dogs and frosty beers at the Remic Rapids Park Bistro 2022: The Remic Rapids Bistro will (with luck) be up and running by the weekend of January 29 and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" © 2024 Ottawa Road Trips/Cornerstone Word Company. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy Under the direction of Hugh Halliday and conductor Andrea Licata Opera Australia revives Elijah Moshinsky's landmark production of Verdi's Rigoletto and a hired hitman occupy the knotted heart of the opera Verdi considered the character of Rigoletto to be the greatest Recorded live in concert at the State Theatre Amartuvshin Enkhbat (Rigoletto)Liparit Avetisyan (Duke of Mantua)Stacey Alleaume (Gilda)Gennadi Dubinsky (Monterone)Roberto Scandiuzzi (Sparafucile)Sian Pendry (Maddalena)Luke Gabbedy (Marullo)Virgilio Marino (Borsa)Christopher Hillier (Ceprano)Dominica Matthews (Giovanna)Leah Thomas (Countess Ceprano)Jennifer Bonner (Page)Ryan Sharp (Usher)Opera Australia ChorusOrchestra VictoriaAndrea Licata (conductor) Explore Opera Australia's production of Rigoletto here. (The dynamic set of Opera Australia's Rigoletto (Image: Jeff Busby).) Tracklist09:05Played at 09:05Rigoletto: Act I [59'11]Composer Roberto Scandiuzzi (bass) + Luke Gabbedy (baritone) + Gennadi Dubinsky (bass) + Stacey Alleaume (soprano) + Dominica Matthews (mezzo-soprano) + Virgilio Marino (tenor) + Christopher Hillier (baritone) + Amartuvshin Enkhbat (baritone) + Liparit Avetisyan (tenor) + Sian Sharp (mezzo-soprano) + Leah Thomas (soprano) + Jennifer Bonner (soprano) + Ryan Sharp (bass) Geoffrey Parsons (piano) + Thomas Hampson (baritone) Thomas Hampson: Romantic Songs, 7243 5550472 2 Welsh National Opera Orchestra + Welsh National Opera Chorus + Joan Sutherland (soprano) Verdi The Complete Works - Ernani, 478491-6 unforgettable Opera Nigh in Sydney Opera house This Rigoletto Opera is a treasure with all of the amazing Do hope that soon will be able to see this magnificent Opera Nights on DVD as these performances in the beautiful Sydney Opera House Our absolute favorite singer is the thrilling Gianluca Teranova and do hope that we will be able to see him again and again on DVD in his unforgettable role of the Duke! Il tuo indirizzo email non sarà pubblicato Subscribe to Ottawa at Home for only $25.00 + hst per year Ottawa At Home is published by Ottawa At Home Media Inc Website Design by Lightswitch Creative During this year’s edition of the Gaulitana International Music Festival the title role on which the entire opera hinges was excellently portrayed and sung by Piero Terranova in a role that brings out the best and the worst in the character Equally convincing was the Gilda of Natalia Roman: fluid effortless singing and supported very well by secondary characters such as the hit-man Emanuele Cordaro’s Sparafucile and Agata Bienkowska as his sister Maddalena One would have preferred a vocally more authoritative and menacing Monterone It is sad that an important role such as that of the lecherous and cynical Duke of Mantua taken by tenor Giorgio Casciarri was so disappointing His was initially rather convincing acting even if a small physique unmatched by vocal prowess eventually rendered attempts at being the ideal Don Juan rather hollow was his rendering of La Donna è Mobile oddly enough while lying supine on a tavern table the duke is always very proud of his horizontal escapades May Caruana’s Giovanna was carried off well as were other roles as the courtiers Borsa (Dave Monaco) Count Ceprano (Marco Tinnirello) and Countess Ceprano (Patricia Buttigieg) Minor roles were carried off by Annabelle Zammit’s Page and David Debono’s Herald Enrico Castiglione’s artistic direction was straightforward traditional as far as the lovely period costumes were concerned but not his minimalist set design which I liked as all eyes and ears were on the singers and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra The latter was directed with great ability by Colin Attard The day after the above performance saw the continuation of the Gaulitana Festival During a late morning recital at the Gozo Seminary chapel the Coro Lirico Siciliano directed by Francesco Costa presented a series of works which were revealing in more ways than one It began with seven sacred works by Bellini a composer who is mainly known for his immortal opera-tic gems Cor Mundum Crea and Canone a Due Voci were fine Very beautiful were the solos Gallus Cantavit and O Salutaris Hostia the second one even better and interpreted by counter tenor Alberto Munafò Siragusa A great revelation was baritone Riccardo Bosco whose gorgeously full warm voice was quite incredible for one so young (a mere 23) he sang solo parts in Giuseppe Ramella’s Le Sette Parole di Gesù Sulla Croce This was introduced by the choir who shared the rest of this fine work with the soloist as was for the most part the Missa Brevis by Carlo Maria Magno The surprise here was that in the Gloria some solo passages were sung by Alberto Munafò Siragusa in what sounded like a low tenor high baritone voice: very versatile indeed One just wished that given the smallness of the chapel the deafening parts marked fortissimo could have been toned down The choir was accompanied throughout at the organ by Stephen Attard who performed Bellini’s charming Sonata in G Major to great effect This recital was presented in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority and the Italian Cultural Institute Lord Chambray and Victoria council collaborated in the Satruday evening recital held at the Gozo Ministry This featured a trio of well-known Maltese musicians: pianist Michael Laus violinist Marcelline Agius and viola player Nadya Debono after many years of enjoying the conducting gifts of Laus was very glad to be reminded what a really fine pianist he is He also introduced each work with brief and interesting information Pianist and ladies made a formidable trio and it was a very welcome and happy choice that the recital opened with Ignaz Lachner’s Piano Trio in B Flat Major a fine 19th century Austrian composer overshadowed by greater contemporary giants were the three Kreisler waltzes arranged by Michael Laus The happiness in Liebesfreud perforce contrasted with the wistful Liebesleid which was followed by the folksy Schön Rosmarin The evening ended with three pieces by Shostakovich arranged by Levon Atovmyan: Präludium These were pleasantly rendered and amusingly ironic pieces A number of recitals featured promising young musicians in collaboration with Prada Perfumes at the Gozo Ministry Hall was that with Pierre-Louis Attard on the violin accompanied at the piano by his father Colin The undoubtedly talented youngster grows in musical stature as could already be seen in his handling of Wieniawski’s Legende He was no less assertive in two short pieces taken from Bach’s Partita N The sombrely sedate Sarabande was offset by a really sprightly Gigue in which the violinist put in a lot of soul was in Vidui (Contrition) and Ningun (Improvisation) from Bloch’s Baal Shem Suite seductive Roxane’s Song from Szymanowski’s Król Roger But it was replaced in due course and re-started to the best Following a pretty brilliant allegro non troppo from Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole another acclaimed performance had to end in an encore: Karl Bohm’s Introduction and Polonaise The festival ended with a performance at Xagħra’s basilica by the Wycliffe Choral Society from Stonehurst Directed by Christopher Swain and with Josef Laming on the organ the works performed were Beethoven’s Mass in C The soloists in the Beethoven Mass were soprano Mary Morgan tenor Roland Kitchen and bass Andrew Hopwood Morgan also handled very well the only solo part in Poulenc’s work It is a pity that the apparently more numerous society at home was not in full force here and there were some passages in both works during which the male choral sections sounded too weak and hesitant There were fine moments as well and the solo parts and interaction in the Mass worked best What one could say was that the stylistic differences between the two works were well-projected Attard said that the Gaulitana Festival was awarded the Europe for Festivals please 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