Rita Charbonnier's Blog
December 8, 2009
The Fountain of Arethusa, in the Ortygia island. Photo by Leandro's World Tour.
It was twenty years ago that I first set foot in Sicily. I had passed the auditions and managed to get into the School of Classic Theatre which is in Syracuse. My idea of what Ortygia might be like was a bit far-fetched: people had told me that it was like a little island joined to the city by a bridge which, for some reason, I had pictured as a wooden drawbridge. Young and defenceless, with a rather bizarre...
November 2, 2009
Portrait of Virginia Woolf by George Charles Beresford (1864-1938), Victorian studio photographer.
Virginia Woolf wrote her famous essay, A Room of One's Own in 1928 / 1929, reworking ideas from two lectures she had given to her students at Cambridge on the subject of women and literature. One of the most interesting aspects for me was the part about William Shakespeare's imaginary sister-poetess.
Woolf states that there is a very close link between any artistic creation and the artist's...
October 13, 2009
Photo by Sapphireblue.
On her blog A World of Words, Lucinda Byatt writes:
Thanks to Rita Charbonnier for drawing my attention to this great discussion among fans of Italian historical novels and four authors – at the moment of writing this, there have been a total of 428 comments!
[At the moment of publishing this post, there have a been a total of 607 comments!:]
It was a real eye-opener to discover the buzz of excitement created by Massimo Maugeri on his blog Letteratitudine when a few days...
September 18, 2009
This was quite an unusual book signing for my new historical novel Alexandre Dumas' Strange Day – published only in Italian, for the moment. I was wearing an 18th century costume! It was during the 2009 Turin International Book Fair and it was so funny to stop passers-by, talking to them in an old-fashioned Italian!… Oh, don't be afraid: there's no Italian dialogue in this video. Just funny pics and great music.
Check out Rita Charbonnier's YouTube Channel!
Posted in Historical Fiction Tagged: ...August 29, 2009
Unfinished portrait of Mozart.
If you are a lover of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music then you will probably be familiar with the Mozart Forum, a wonderful site dealing with the life and works of the great master. You can exchange information and make contact with experts in the field and ask them questions. You will find the link on my website and I recommend any Mozart fan to go and have a look.
Since 12th July there has been ongoing debate about which is the best Mozart biography available on th
July 20, 2009
— Rita Charbonnier, from the volume Perti, Martini e Mozart published in Italy by Pàtron Editore, R. Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, 2008
Portrait of Mozart as a child.
When they were children, Wolfgang and Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart were a successful duo, a pair of enfants prodiges who shared exhilarating experiences, such as performing for the kings of Europe, and dramatic ones such as an illness that took both of them to the brink of death. In 1765, in The Hague, Nannerl became ill first wit
June 10, 2009
May 9, 2009
April 7, 2009
This was a literary party for my novel, Mozart's Sister, in Rome. The video is spoken entirely in Italian but there are some English captions and the music is nice. Enjoy!
Check out Rita Charbonnier's YouTube Channel!
Posted in Mozart's Sister Tagged: Videos, YouTube
March 4, 2009
— Rita Charbonnier, from the volume Perti, Martini e Mozart published in Italy by Pàtron Editore, R. Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, 2008
Water colour painted by Louis de Carmontelle in 1763 in Paris.
There will never be a definitive answer to this question. Those of Mozart's biographers who mention his sister Nannerl, generally take it for granted that she was a good player, but would absolutely not have been able to compose. I wonder how one can claim to judge a talent that never had the possi
