KARACHI: The Consul General of France and Mrs Pierre Seillan proved to be the perfect guests in Karachi by graciously hosting an exclusive, by-invitation-only event featuring French opera music as part of the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the Karachi Metropolitan Building. The musical event celebrating French culture and the people's love for Paris seemed to be a perfect way to pay homage to one international city by another.
The evening began at the Arts Council exactly on time - 8:30pm sharp – just as the invitation card had intimated. Some dyed-in-the wool Karachiites still showed up late, some as late as 9:15 by which time the evening was almost over. One wonders what the French hosts thought of this disrespectful behaviour. Worse still was the audience's behaviour when the evening drew to a close. Although they honoured the performers with a standing ovation, most then proceeded to walk towards the exit. They probably figured that since they were up they might as well leave. This reasoning, however, turned out to be faulty as it interrupted the ceremony in which the performers were presented with bouquets and ajraks as mementos of the time they spent in Karachi.
The French ensemble "Chants de Garonne" included Jean-Francois Gardeil (baronite), Veronique Guin (soprano), Pierre Espiaut (tenor) and Fabein Prou (pianist). The operatic pieces they performed were derived from "La Vie Parisienne" by Jacques Offenbach, "Veronique" by Andre Messager, "Le Roi d'Ys" by Edouard Lalo, and "Ciboulette" by Reynaldo Hahn. Each performance oozed with enthusiasm and passion, with a lively instinct for comic timing that never failed to amuse the audience. It did, however, make one wish that a more elaborate set, costumes, makeup, etc, had been used by the organisers. For they are after all attributes that many have come to associate with the word 'opera'.
That lack of theatrical richness was more than made up for by the unflinching enthusiasm of the host Counsul General Pierre Seillan who invited couples on stage to dance to the lively French songs performed in the second half of the evening. When no one seemed willing to take him up on this offer, he demonstrated the much celebrated – and envied - French flair for panache by sweeping his wife on stage and swirling with her in perfect rhythm to the music. Both the performers and the audience appreciated this spontaneous gesture.
KARACHI: The Consul General of France and Mrs Pierre Seillan proved to be the perfect guests in Karachi by graciously hosting an exclusive, by-invitation-only event featuring French opera music as part of the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the Karachi Metropolitan Building. The musical event celebrating French culture and the people's love for Paris seemed to be a perfect way to pay homage to one international city by another.
