Sometimes beauty is right in front of us yet we don’t notice. Sometimes the ordinary can be extraordinary. Such is the case with this video of kite flying. Had we been walking by the park at the time, we probably would not have noticed. Kite maestro Ray Bethell flys three kites in a “wind ballet” set to what I consider to be the greatest operatic duet of all time: Delibes’ “The Flower Duet” from his opera Lakme. Bethell’s synchronized control of the three kites is magnificient. Watch carefully to see some outstanding kite flying.
“The Flower Duet” is sung as Lakme and her servant Mallika gather flowers. The version used in Romancing the Wind is very good; Joan Sutherland is a grande dame of opera. But given my choice, I prefer the duet as rendered by Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca, of which the following is a recording of a live performance:
An American Editor 