First, I have to tell you that today D and I went to hear Handel's opera, Xerxes. What a treat! The singers ranged from good to outstanding, the costumes were fine, and the orchestra was very good as usual. The only thing we did not cotton to was the scenery, and that may have been just us being - well, not "with it". The title role (Xerxes, king of Persia) was sung by a sopranist (a term new to me). If I am interpreting the term correctly, it is a man (not a castrato) who sings falsetto in a soprano range. A counter-tenor sings falsetto in the contralto to mezzo-soprano ranges. The man we heard sounded like true soprano with a more golden than silvery tone (unlike some males, who when using their falsetto ranges, sound either scratchy, thin, and/or strained). Amazing.
Okay, now back to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea. This lattice work in one of the buildings is a neat design that would lend itself to all sorts of possibilities. Quilting being just one of them.
One of the buildings is set with a lake surrounding it.
A family with three girls dressed in traditional costume (in honor of Golden Week) were playing nearby.
Love the design in the glass lantern as well as the one looking up at the underside of a roof point and a third in another lantern!
The rest are just photos of things I found lovely. Most of these were in the area of the Palace grounds that have not yet been restored.
Lock on a door:
Looking through a doorway to admire the light on the building opposite:
A wonderful wooden door:
Looking through another opening (notice the panel to the right of the opening - a lovely tree) to the garden beyond:
Finally for today - six (I think) lovely bouquets:
Happy to hear the opera was terrific. And I can't help but admire all the painstaking beautiful carving and painting that some people do. It's really a lost art in this country. And that's truly a shame! But South Korea certainly is a beautiful place.
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