Download Entertainment: cinema, theatre, music, fine arts

Entertainment: cinema, theatre, music, fine arts, books
1. Your attitude to culture: does your town offer you cultural opportunities?
I like to go to the cinema. Personally speaking, films are the most vital form of art. But the prices of the tickets
are expensive and that is why I can not go there very often. The types of movies I like are comedies because they
always make me laughting. I dislike stupid action movies, because I do not like a violence. The actors I like best
are Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Paul Walker, because they can act well and they are attractive for me. For me, the
most important fact when choosing whether to see a film is an all-star cast and a topic.
I go to the theatre very rarely. The reason is that I think that theatregoing is a pastime for elderly people and I
prefer films. We used to go to the theatre about five times a year at the secondary school. Of the stage plays that
I have seen, the one called Romeo and Juliet was the most memorable because I had read and seen the film so I
comprehended it.
In our town everybody can find what he or she really enjoy. There are two roofed and one open air cinemas, one
theatre and a gallery of arts. Many of us also like to visit art exhibitions. In our town are exhibition spaces, where
the individual exhibitions take place. The most frequent are picture exhibitions, exhibitions of photographs,
statues, etc.
2.
Cinemagoing: how can films can be divided? How can we call people who participace in making
films?
There are several words in English which denote our „kino“. Cinema is the most common one used in Britain.
By „cinema“ we may mean two things. Firstly, it is the building in which films are shown. Secondly, cinema
denotes „films as an art form or entertainment“. Besides the word cinema, also pictures, movies and flicks are
used. Pictures is British English and more colloquial than cinema. Movies is American English. Movie in the
singular is used in the sense of „film“. Flicks is a slang word for cinema.
Films may be silent or sound, colour or black-and-white, dubbed or is given subtitles, it may be shot on location
or in the studio. We distinguish between several types of films. There are feature films (full-lenght films, lasting
about one and a half hours), documentaries, cartoons (or animated) and newsreels. As for the types of films, you
may prefer comedies, historical f., serious f., psychological f., westerns, horrors, war f., action f. etc. A film
which is very successful and draws in large audiences becomes a box-office hit.
An actor or an actress who plays the leading part in a film is called a star. If there are two main characters in a
film played by stars, the verb co-star is used. The other people who participate in making a film include: the
scriptwriter (the author of the screenplay), director, producer, cameraman (director of photography – head of the
camre crew), costume designer, make-up artist etc.
3.
Theatregoing: describe a theatrebuilding and its seating arrangement; people who participate in
preparing a performance; box – offices; the most famous theatres in London
Theatrical performances are mostly performed in theatre building. The two main parts of theatre building are a
stage and an auditorium. Some stages can be revolving. At the sides of the stage there are wings and at the stage
horizon there are flies and flats. The stage is separated from the auditorium by a curtain. A special place for the
orchestra is called the orchestra pit. Seats in the auditorium are on a slope. Seats on the ground floor are
orchestra stalls and stalls. Seats behind are known as the pit. Rows of seats higher up are called the dress circle
and the upper circle of the balcony. Highest of all is the gallery the back rows of which are called the gods. At
both sides of the auditorium there are boxes. In some theatres behind the pit there is also a standing room.
People who set the scenery or change it are scene shifters. Lighting technicians see to the stage lighting
(footlights, spotlights, floodlights) and sound technicians see to the sound effects.
We can buy theatre tickets at the box office, at the theatre ticket agency, at the advance booking office or we
have subscription. We can leave ou coats in the cloakroom. The usher or usherette checks our tickets, shows us
to our seats and sells us the programme. All the cast must go through endless hours of rehearsals, then comes the
day of the dress rehearsal, and then the first night performance.
Repertory: drama, ballets, pantomimas, shows, musicals, puppet shows, opera, tragedy…
The most famous theatres in London:
the Old Vic – the traditional home of Shakespeare performances
The Royal Court – specializes in modern experimental plays
The Aldwych – where the Royal Shakespeare Company is performing as well as in the Memorial Theatre
Regent´s Park – popular open-air theatre
The Mermaid
4.
Your attitude to music: musical instruments; Prague Spring Festival, The Proms, The Edinburg
Festival; the main concert halls in London and Opera Houses; types of music; what kind of music
do young people like; famous British and American musicians, composers and singers; your
attitude to dancing
We can divide musical instruments into four groups: strings (violin, viola, cello, double-bass, harp), brass
(French horn, trombone, trumpet, tuba), woodwind (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, flute), percussion (cymbals, drum,
timpani, triangle).
We can listen to church, organ and chamber music, operas, operettas and musicals. Young people prefer modern
music, such as rock and pop, rap, techno, house, etc. Elderly people like listening to classical, country, brass
band music, folk, blues, soul, jazz, etc.
When I was younger, I used to go to some disco every weekend to dance till morning but it stops interest me
nowadays. At the age of 16 or 17 many young people also take dancing lessons, but I did not attend them.
Prague Spring Festival – the 1st Prague Spring international music festival was held ater WW II. in 1946, with
the idea of promoting the broadest possible understanding among nations – for music is an international
language that can be understood by all people, wherever they may come from. The festival is opened every year
with Smetana´s „My Country“ on May 12th, the anniversary of Smetana´s death. It has become a tradition for
some of the performances to be given in the beautiful public gardens of Prague or in churches or even at Prague
castle. It is attended not only by great foreign conductors, soloist and chamber ensembles, but also larger bodies
– orchestras, opera companies, choirs or song and dance ensembles. The festival lasts about a month and always
closes with Beethoven´s 9th symphony.
The Proms - every summer a very popular season of orchestral concerts, known as the Promenade Concerts, is
held at the Royal Albert Hall from July to about the middle of September. The Proms were started about 70 years
ago by a famous British conductor, Sir Henry Wood, for the purpose of encouraging young people to take an
interest in good music. He knew that there were many young people who would like to go to concerts but who
could not afford to buy seats. So he decided to give a season of concerts once a year at which people without
money could stay during the performances instead of paying for seats. He called this concerts Promenade
Concerts because „to promenade“ means „to walk about“. The last night of the Proms is always a special
occasion, and the atmosphere is one of excited expectation. The programme is usually a popular one, and during
the last hour or so so the concert popular old British tunes and songs are played. The audience joins in singing
the songs and at the end of the concert there are loud cheers and applause for the conductor.
The Edinburgh Festival of Music and the Arts
There are three main concert halls in London: the Royal Festival Hall (a large modern building with about
3,000 seats; it is one of the finest concert halls in the world and the acoustics is excellent), the Royal Albert
Hall (a national memorial to Queen Victoria´s husband; it has about 10,000 seats, the quality of sound in this
hall is not so good as it is at the Royal Festival Hall) and the Queen Elizabeth Hall (is the smallest and newest
of the three; it is situated near the Royal Festival Hall and has seats for about 3,000 people).
Permanent Opera Houses in London: Sadler´s Wells Theatre (operas in English), the Royal Opera House at
Covent garden (operas in original languages) - they were opened in the 18th century and performed opera and
ballet.
Henry Purcell – English Baroque composer
George Gershwin – American composer (Rhapsody in Blue, Porgy and Bess – African-American opera)
Louis Armstrong – American trumpet player and singer
Benjamin Britten – British composer of the mid 20th century
Leonard Bernstein – American composer, conductor and pianist (musical West Side Story)
Elvis Presley – American singer and guitarist, the most influential performer of the rock-and-roll era.
The Beatles – a famous British pop group from 1960 – 1970, the members were John Lennon, Paul Mc Cartney,
George Harrison and Ringo Starr; they also starred in two films – A Hard Day´s Night and Help
5.
Fine arts: what can you see in art galleries and museums; who is your favourite painter; do you
know any British and American artists; the most famous galleries in London
In museums and art galleries, which display sculptures and paintings, we look with pleasure at statues and
sculptural groups cut in sandstone, granite, marble, carved in wood or moulded in clay, plaster or bronze, or have
a high regard for paintings (landscapes, life size portraits, still lifes, sketches, miniatures) painted in oil and in
watercolours, drawings, graphic art (prints), engravings or woodcuts. Even people who are not fond of the fine
arts meet examples of them when they look at book illustrations or cartoons and photographs in their favourite
magazine.
I like looking at pictures but I do not understand them very well. My favourite painter is Josef Lada, because his
paintings are simple and I remember them from books, which I or my mother read in my childhood.
Hans Holbein – German painter and woodcut artist, he was court painter to England´s Henry VIII.
Wenceslas Hollar – Bohemian engraver. He was the 1st landscape engraver to work in England and recorded
views of London before the Great Fire of 1666.
Sir Christopher Wren – English architect, designer of St. Paul´s Cathedral in London.
Thomas Gainsborough – English landscape and portrait painter
William Turner – English landscape painter who painted romantic landscapes
Henry Moore – British sculptor
Andy Warhol – American Pop artist and filmmaker. He made his name in the 1960s with paintings of Campbell
soup cans, Coca Cola bottles, and film stars.
The most famous galleries in London:
The National Gallery – the greatest collection of paintings
The National Portrait Gallery – collection of portraits of Britain´s prominent men and women from 16 – 20
century
The Tate Gallery – opened in 1897 on the basis of Henry Tate´s gift of 65 paintings by English masters
6.
Architecture: what styles do you know; what characteristic features do they show; is your home
town rich in architectural monuments
The Romanesque style (11 – 13 century) – rounded arches, round and small windows, massive walls, lack of
ornament; rotundas on Říp and in Znojmo
The Gothic style (12 – 15 century) – pointed arches, stained-glass windows; St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, the
Karlštejn and Křivoklát castles, Charles Bridge, the Old Town Hall (Peter Parléř)
The Renaissance style (15 – 16 century) – architecture typical of half-timbered middle-class houses, lower
buildings with simple facades, ornamented by grafitti and stucco, windows and doorways have a square or
rectangular form; Belvedere in Prague, the Telč chateau, Litomyšl
The Baroque style (1600 – 1750) – rich, assymetric and extravagant decoration, often in gold and marble, bent,
oval and curved lines, in the interior contrast between dark and light; The Loretto and St. Nicolas Churches in
Prague, St. Paul´s Cathedral
The Art Nouveau style (1890 – 1910) – marked by sinuous lines and stylized flowers; the Main Station, the
Municipal House, theatrical posters by Alfons Mucha
The Modernist style (also known as Functionalism) – emphasis on rationalism and the elimination of ornament,
makes use of new materials (glass, steel, concrete); Le Corbusier, J. Kotěra
The High Tech style (the 1980s) – expresses ideals of modern movement; Lloyds Building in the City of
London (, famous for having large tubes for water, air and electricity showing on the outside, Richard Rogers –
he was chosen to design the Millenium Dome at Greenwich in London)
I live in the town of Havířov and it is the youngest city in our Republic, it was founded in 1950s, so it is not rich
in architectural monuments.
7.
Tell us about your reading habits: give us the examples of fiction and non-fiction; why do or do
not read books; your favourite Czech, British and American writers; what does an ordinary book
consist of
The books are divided into two groups – fiction and non-fiction. Fiction is for example novels (science short
stories, westerns, travel books, thrillers, crime fiction, psychological and historical novels, adventure tales, love
stories), short stories and tales and poetry. Non-fiction is encyclopedia, outlines, atlas, textbooks, dictionaries,
biographies, autobiographies etc.
There are various ways to choose a book for reading. Some of us read a book for its subject and setting, others
for the author or on personal recommendation. We read for relaxation and pleasure, or we look for information
and advice.
In this country, my favourite writer is Michal Viewegh because I find his writing thought-provoking and good
for having a good time. My favourite foreign writer is Jackie Collins because she writes about people from a
high society. I also like Arthur C. Clarke because he writes about supernatural phenomenon. I like to read
Cosmopolitane magazine because it gives me much good information about relationships, fashion, movies,
music and health. I do not read any newspaper regularly because I am not interested in politics. When I was a
child, I liked reading comics because they were funny. The most I liked four „heroes“ from „Čtyřlístek“ and a
dog called „Barbánek“. Mother also read me fairy tales in my childhood.