Arlecchino (opera) of a double-bill. The first British staged performance of "Arlecchino" was in 1954 at Glyndebourne. However, Edward Clark had produced a concert version in London in 1939. The opera is in four movements with a corresponding representation of Arlecchino in each of them: The roles in "Arlecchino" are derived from the Italian "commedia dell'arte". It is unusual in that the title role of Arlecchino is primarily a speaking role. The composer has said that "Arlecchino" "has a tendency to ambiguity and hyperbole in order to place the listener momentarily in a position of slight doubt." Ronald Stevenson has described it
The Character of Rain The Character of Rain The Character of Rain () is a 2000 short novel by the Belgian author Amélie Nothomb originally written in French. The English translated edition of the novel was published by Faber and Faber. The novel, apparently autobiographical, describes the world as discovered and seen by a three-year-old child born in Japan to a Belgian family. It encompasses the themes of self-awareness, language acquisition, bilingualism, and developmental psychology. The Japanese believe that until the age of three, children, whether Japanese or not, are gods, each one an okosama, or "lord child." On their third birthday, they fall