1.
Axel Rudi Pell
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Circle of the Oath is the fifteenth studio album by German metal guitarist Axel Rudi Pell, and was released in 2012 on Steamhammer/SPV records. It was the album the band would record with long-time drummer Mike Terrana. The band will begin a tour on April 20 and continuing through August 4 to support the album, the tours final performance will be the 2012 Wacken Open Air festival. A limited edition digipack was released, which included the bonus live track Temple of the King from the 2011 Bang Your Head festival. Johnny Gioeli - Vocals Axel Rudi Pell - Guitar Volker Krawczak - Bass Mike Terrana - Drums Ferdy Doernberg - Keyboards Official website
2.
Carnival of Venice
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The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival ends with the Christian celebration of Lent, forty days before Easter, on Shrove Tuesday, the festival is world famous for its elaborate masks. Its said that the Carnival of Venice was started from a victory of the Serenissima Repubblica against the Patriarch of Aquileia, in the honour of this victory, the people started to dance and gather in San Marco Square. Apparently, this festival started on that period and became official in the Renaissance, in the seventeenth century, the baroque carnival was a way to save the prestigious image of Venice in the world. It was very famous during the eighteenth century and it encouraged licence and pleasure, but it was also used to protect Venetians from present and future anguish. However, under the rule of the King of Austria, the festival was outlawed entirely in 1797 and it reappeared gradually in the nineteenth century, but only for short periods and above all for private feasts, where it became an occasion for artistic creations. After a long absence, the Carnival returned in 1979, the Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice, and sought to use the traditional Carnival as the centerpiece of its efforts. The redevelopment of the masks began as the pursuit of some Venetian college students for the tourist trade, since then, approximately 3 million visitors come to Venice every year for the Carnival. One of the most important events is the contest for la maschera più bella which will be judged by a panel of international costume, traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano and the start of the carnival season at midnight of Shrove Tuesday. As masks were also allowed on Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, maskmakers enjoyed a special position in society, with their own laws and their own guild. Venetian masks can be made of leather, porcelain or using the original glass technique, the original masks were rather simple in design, decoration, and often had a symbolic and practical function. Nowadays, most Italian masks are made with the application of gesso and gold leaf and are hand-painted using natural feathers, however, this makes them rather expensive when compared to the widespread, low-quality masks produced mainly by American factories. This competition accelerates the decline of this historical craftsmanship peculiar to the city of Venice, there is little evidence explaining the motive for the earliest mask wearing in Venice. One scholar argues that covering the face in public was a uniquely Venetian response to one of the most rigid class hierarchies in European history, the first documented sources mentioning the use of masks in Venice can be found as far back as the 13th century. The Great Council made it a crime to throw scented eggs, the document decrees that masked persons were forbidden to gamble. Another law in 1339 forbade Venetians from wearing vulgar disguises and visiting convents while masked, the law also prohibited painting ones face, or wearing false beards or wigs. Near the end of the Republic, the wearing of the masks in daily life was severely restricted, by the 18th century, it was limited only to about three months from December 26. The masks were worn with decorative beads matching in colour
3.
Verona
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Verona is a city on the Adige river in Veneto, Italy, with approximately 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third largest in northeast Italy, the metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. Three of Shakespeares plays are set in Verona, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and it is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy at all, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities many times over. The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its structure and architecture. According to a theory that considers the geographical position of the city, Verona is short for Versus Romae which means In the direction of Rome because as italian people say All roads lead to Rome. The exclamation Vae Romae if understood in Latin means Alas Rome, in fact, to express distress or denounce a disgrace ancient Romans used the Latin interjection vae. So, you explain the famous poem by William Shakespeare There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory, torture. Hence-banished is banishd from the world, And worlds exile is death, the writer would express a Roman concept through its character named Romeo, a name that invokes Rome, according to which the city of Verona was a boundary between the Roman world and barbaric one. Verona was a place of passage and to horses, for those who wanted to go and had walked the Via Claudia Augusta. So the expression Vae Romae Alas Rome would indicate spirit of the place, another theory is that it is connected to the river. Vera was a name of the river Adige before the adoption of the current name, as in many similar instances in Europe the name of the town is formed with the addition of suffix -ona which means settlement over. The city was sometimes known as Welsch-Bern in German. The precise details of Veronas early history remain a mystery, one theory is it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani. With the conquest of the Valley of the Po the Veronese territory became Roman, Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC when its citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Poblilia or Publicia. The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads, stilicho defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 403. But, after Verona was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489, theoderic the Great was said to have built a palace there. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War, except for a day in 541. The defections that took place among the Byzantine generals with regard to the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city, in 552 Valerian vainly endeavored to enter the city, but it was only when they were fully overthrown that the Goths surrendered it
4.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
5.
Costume
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Costume is the distinctive style of dress of an individual or group that reflects their class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. The term also was used to describe typical appropriate clothing for certain activities, such as riding costume, swimming costume, dance costume. Appropriate and acceptable costume is subject to changes in fashion and local cultural norms, before the advent of ready-to-wear apparel, clothing was made by hand. Costume comes from the same Italian word, inherited via French, National costume or regional costume expresses local identity and emphasizes a cultures unique attributes. They are often a source of national pride, examples include the Scottish kilt or Japanese kimono. In Bhutan there is a national dress prescribed for men and women. These have been in vogue for thousands of years and have developed into a dress style. The dress worn by men is known as Gho which is a robe worn up to knee-length and is fastened at the waist by a called the Kera. The front part of the dress which is formed like a pouch, in olden days was used to hold baskets of food and short dagger, but now it is used to keep cell phone, purse and the betel nut called Doma. The dress worn by women consist of three known as Kira, Tego and Wonju. The long dress which extends up to the ankle is Kira, the jacket worn above this is Tego which is provided with Wonju, the inner jacket. However, while visiting the Dzong or monastery a long scarf or stoll, called Kabney is worn by men across the shoulder, women also wear scarfs or stolls called Rachus, made of raw silk with embroidery, over their shoulder but not indicative of their rank. Some stylized theatrical costumes, such as Harlequin and Pantaloon in the Commedia dellarte, exaggerate an aspect of a character, the wearing of costumes is an important part of holidays developed from religious festivals such as Mardi Gras, and Halloween. Christmas costumes typically portray characters such as Santa Claus, in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States the American version of a Santa suit and beard is popular, in the Netherlands, the costume of Zwarte Piet is customary. Easter costumes are associated with the Easter Bunny or other animal costumes, in Judaism, a common practice is to dress up on Purim. During this holiday, Jews celebrate the change of their destiny and they were delivered from being the victims of an evil decree against them and were instead allowed by the King to destroy their enemies. A quote from the Book of Esther, which says, On the contrary is the reason that wearing a costume has become customary for this holiday. Buddhist religious festivals in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia and Lhasa and Sikkim in India perform the Cham dance, parades and processions provide opportunities for people to dress up in historical or imaginative costumes
6.
Mask
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A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes and they are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearers body. In parts of Australia, giant totem masks cover the body and this word is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Arabic maskharah مَسْخَرَۃٌ buffoon, from the verb sakhira to ridicule. However, it may come from Provençal mascarar to black. This in turn is of uncertain origin — perhaps from a Germanic source akin to English mesh, but perhaps from mask- black, other related forms are Hebrew masecha= mask, Arabic maskhara مَسْخَرَ = he ridiculed, he mocked, masakha مَسَخَ = he transfomed. Some ceremonial or decorative masks were not designed to be worn, although the religious use of masks has waned, masks are used sometimes in drama therapy or psychotherapy. One of the challenges in anthropology is finding the precise derivation of human culture and early activities, with the invention, the use of masks dates back several millennia. The oldest masks that have been discovered are 9,000 years old, being held by the Musée Bible et Terre Sainte, and the Israel Museum. At the neanderthal Roche-Cotard site in France, a likeness of a face was found which is about 35,000 years old. In the Book of Genesis, one can read how Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover their nakedness after eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The masquerade motif appears in the Bible on two different levels, an attempt to people and an attempt to fool God. What shaped Judaic ritual was a prohibition against fashioning a statue or a mask. In the cult of Shiva, found in Anatolia from circa 6,000 BC, rené Guénon claims that in the Roman saturnalia festivals, the ordinary roles were often inverted. Sometimes a slave or a criminal was temporarily granted the insignia and status of royalty, the Carnival of Venice, in which all are equal behind their masks, dates back to 1268 AD. The use of masks in the Jewish Purim festivities probably originated in the late 15th century. The North American Iroquois tribes used masks for healing purposes, in the Himalayas, masks functioned above all as mediators of supernatural forces. Yupik masks could be small three-inch finger masks, but also ten-kilo masks hung from the ceiling or carried by several people, Masks have been created with plastic surgery for mutilated soldiers. Not all cultures have known the use of masks, but most of them have, throughout the world, masks are used for their expressive power as a feature of masked performance - both ritually and in various theatre traditions
7.
Masque
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The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio. Professional actors and musicians were hired for the speaking and singing parts, in the tradition of masque, Louis XIV of France danced in ballets at Versailles with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The masque tradition developed from the elaborate pageants and courtly shows of ducal Burgundy in the late Middle Ages, masques were typically a complimentary offering to the prince among his guests and might combine pastoral settings, mythological fable, and the dramatic elements of ethical debate. There would invariably be some political and social application of the allegory, such pageants often celebrated a birth, marriage, change of ruler or a Royal Entry and invariably ended with a tableau of bliss and concord. Masque imagery tended to be drawn from Classical rather than Christian sources, Masque thus lent itself to Mannerist treatment in the hands of master designers like Giulio Romano or Inigo Jones. The New Historians, in works like the essays of Bevington, in English masques, purely musical interludes might be accompanied by a dumbshow. The rustic presentation of Pyramus and Thisbe as an entertainment in Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream offers a familiar example. Spectators were invited to join in the dancing, at the end, the players would take off their masks to reveal their identities. A descriptive narrative of a processional masque is the masque of the Seven Deadly Sins in Edmund Spensers The Faerie Queene, a particularly elaborate masque, performed over the course of two weeks for Queen Elizabeth, is described in the 1821 novel Kenilworth, by Sir Walter Scott. Later, in the court of James I, narrative elements of the masque became more significant, plots were often on classical or allegorical themes, glorifying the royal or noble sponsor. At the end, the audience would join with the actors in a final dance, Ben Jonson wrote a number of masques with stage design by Inigo Jones. Their works are thought of as the most significant in the form. Sir Philip Sidney also wrote masques, william Shakespeare wrote a masque-like interlude in The Tempest, understood by modern scholars to have been heavily influenced by the masque texts of Ben Jonson and the stagecraft of Inigo Jones. There is also a sequence in his Romeo and Juliet. John Miltons Comus is described as a masque, though it is reckoned a pastoral play. Reconstructions of Stuart masques have been few and far between, part of the problem is that only texts survive complete, there is no complete music, only fragments, so no authoritative performance can be made without interpretive invention. In the 18th-century, masques were even less frequently staged, but because of its ephemeral nature, not a lot of documentation related to masques remains, and much of what is said about the production and enjoyment of masques is still part speculation. While the masque was no longer as popular as it was at its height in the 17th Century, during the late 17th century, English semi-operas by composers such as Henry Purcell had masque scenes inset between the acts of the play proper
8.
Costume party
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A costume party or a fancy dress party is a type of party, common mainly in contemporary Western culture, where guests dress up in costumes. Costumed Halloween parties are popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, typical events for Australians that involve dressing up are the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the staff Christmas party and cricket matches. One of the oldest examples of fancy dress being worn in Australia is on display at the Western Australia Museum. It was a fancy dress costume worn by Miss Rita Lloyd, aged nine. Its a tradition to have a party at a university graduation. The origins of fancy dress parties in the United Kingdom can in some respects be traced to masked balls of the 18th century period, in the period to 1850, fancy dress balls were a typical part of the social life of music festivals. Common costumes of the period were historical characters, generic historical or regional clothing, abstract concepts. Popular characters included, for women, Marie Antoinette and Elizabeth I, notable amongst early events in the 20th century was the Chelsea Arts Club ball. Such events were often elaborate affairs and for the most part confined to those with considerable means, amongst the general population, costume parties also occurred with increasing frequency from the late 1940s onward, although for the most part the costumes were simple affairs until the mid-1970s. Prior to cheap imports from the Far East, most costumes were either hired. Retail purchased costumes are, in respect of the UK, a modern phenomenon although accessory items had been available for some time. Since the increased rate in late 1990s onwards saw the many materials / products being imported from the Far East. This has seen the price of purchased costumes becoming more and more affordable, coupled with the modern trend in costume parties, retro fashion as a costume theme is also popular, the costumes to some extent parodying or pastiching the fashions of earlier decades. Amongst the most popular parodied costumes are, Audrey Hepburn, Madonna in her stage outfits. Fancy dress parties are popular year round in the United Kingdom, the 1996 novel Bridget Joness Diary features the classic British costume party theme Tarts and Vicars at which the women wear sexually provocative costumes, while the men dress as Anglican priests. Fancy dress parties have held by the British Royal Family. In late nineteenth century New York, costume parties were popular amongst the affluent, costumes were typically historical European aristocracy. Authenticity was important, even extending to using actual period elements, for example, Cornelia Bradley-Martin attended her own ball dressed as Marie Antoinette, wearing jewellery actually owned and worn by Antoinette herself
9.
Costume coordination
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Costume coordination is a method of dressing actors, employees or a person or group for theatrical productions and any venue requiring a fully realized character. Just as with costume design, the costume creates the over all appearance of the characters, sometimes coordinators may have a small budget to augment the existing stock or alter it for production needs. Many theatres with smaller budgets regularly reuse existing stock, especially older companies with large costume warehouses, coordination of costumes is also required at theme parks and festivals which require performers and dancers to have a consistent appearance, or maintained as originally designed
