Vctorian College of the Arts
MediaRelease2006
August 2006
The Meaning of Life…Der Sinn des Lebens / Il Senso della Vita / Le Sens de la Vie
A multilingual performance of theatre and music presented by Alliance Francaise, the Embassy of France, the Goethe Institute, the Italian Institute of Culture by students from the Victorian College of the Arts, the University of Melbourne, and Monash University.
On Wednesday 23 August at 7pm, students from the Victorian College of the Arts, Monash University and the University of Melbourne will perform a multilingual feast of excerpts from seminal theatrical and musical works of the 20th Century in Europe.
The performance project will celebrate ‘Europe beyond its borders’: the languages and culture of France, Italy and Germany through excerpts from great European writers and composers — Fo, Pirandello, Ionesco, Brecht, Weill, and Berio. The works will be performed by language and music students from the VCA, Monash and Melbourne Universities with English translations provided in the program brochures.
The event is presented by European cultural and ambassadorial institutions based in Melbourne: Alliance Française, the Embassy of France, the Goethe-Institut, and the Italian Institute of Culture together with the three universities.
The excerpts have been chosen for their differing treatments of the meaning of life and following the performances a discussion will be led by Dr David Kram (Head of Opera, Victorian College of the Arts), Ms Dominique de Gasquet, (Cultural and Scientific Attache at the French Embassy in Melbourne), Mr Edouard Mornaud (Diretor, Alliance Française) Ms Renate Elsaesser (Director, Goethe Institute), and Ms Simonetta Magnani (Director, Italian Institute of Culture).
“Melbourne is without a doubt the most cultural Australian city – the closest to Europe and home to scores of European emigrants,” said Dominique de Gasquet. “It therefore is a wonderful opportunity to bring together Australian students, lovers and native speakers of French, German and Italian to celebrate European culture and immerse ourselves in these works of cultural significance.
“It is also a marvellous opportunity for the students: to memorise and perform important texts provides insight into intonation, pronunciation, breathing, style and vocabulary and the shared experience of ‘communicating’ which is the best way to learn and fall in love with a language,” said Ms de Gasquet.
The performance will be followed by refreshments.
ADMISSION IS FREE
Dates: Wednesday 23 August, 6.30 for 7pm
Venue: Federation Hall , Grant Street Southbank
RSVP essential by Friday 18 August
Bookings by fax to 03 9525 5064