The Kiss

The violin concerto The Wandering of a Little Soul was a mere unfinished project of Leoš Janáček (1854–1928). In May 1926, when he returned from an official visit to England, where his Sonata for Violin and Piano was played by the excellent violinist Adila Fachiri, he was impressed by her performance and considered composing a violin concerto, which he called “The Wandering of a Little Soul”. However, he soon abandoned the work in progress and put the manuscript score aside. It is a mysterious composition about which we know very little. Janáček later used parts of this concerto in the overture to the opera From the House of the Dead, and it is interesting that already in the score of the violin concerto we find the banging of the prison shackles – as if a prelude to the next opera. The reconstruction of this composition was performed by Miloš Štědroň and Leoš Faltus.

Janacek was the most significant Czech composer in the generation that followed Smetana and Dvorak.

A deliciously diverse anthology of essays, stories, poems, and graphic memoirs, where writers explore the deeply human act of kissing.

Are you turned off by slobbery, deep tongue kisses? Do you find kissing boring? Are you embarrassed to give your first kiss? If so, then read this…

Combining a sizzling crime drama with an action thriller for one of 1973's top hits, Shaw Studios united their new star, sultry 25 year old Taiwanese actress Chen Ping, with their first international kung fu hero, Lo Lieh ("King Boxer", aka "Five Fingers Of Death") to tell the searing story of Chu Ling–a rape victim out for revenge. She's infected with "Vietnam Rose", a form of VD brought to Hong Kong by American sailors, but also schooled in street fighting by her crippled boss.

Nicole is one of the brightest stars on the international opera scene. In October 2015 she made a sensational debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to unanimous critical acclaim, singing Micaëla in Carmen; in December 2015 she returned to Covent Garden in the lead role in Eugene Onegin opposite Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Nicole has been known to Australian audiences for several years through her major roles for Opera Australia; she has already won the 2013 Neue Stimmen competition (Germany) and received nominations in the International Opera Awards and Australia’s Helpmann Awards.