Facing torture, a servant girl turns her eyes to the heavens and sings of love.
Her soprano voice swirls high and fills the room as she declares her resolve of unrequited devotion to a prince in disguise.
After her heart-wrenching aria, there is a moment of stunned silence before the audience erupts in applause.
Such was a scene from Puccini’s
Turandot staged at Penang’s Dewan Sri Pinang in 2003.
The opera, followed by
Carmen that was staged the year after, was among the last large-scale performances by the Penang Arts Council (PAC) that brought numerous operas and operettas to Penang.
Unpaid carers in Salisbury have received an early delivery from Santa’s helper Helen Dowse this Christmas. Some 127 bags of goodies containing homemade cakes, biscuits, jams and hand crafted gifts have been distributed to nominated carers across Salisbury by volunteers. Nominees include people who care for a family member, relative or friend, and range from young carers to partners of elderly, disabled or people living with dementia or other chronic illnesses. Behind the project to recognise and thank unpaid carers is Salisbury Carers’ Champion Helen Dowse who put out a call for local people to contribute to the goodie bags and to nominate worthy recipients.