Showing results by author "Valerio Di Stefano" in All Categories

LibriVox volunteers bring you 12 different recordings of Serenade by Oscar Wilde. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of April 20th, 2008.

Der Kaufmann Wasili Andrejitsch Brechunow und sein Knecht Nikita machen sich an einem Dezembernachmittag trotz eisiger Kälte und Schneegestöber mit dem Pferdeschlitten auf, da Wasili Andrejitsch einem benachbarten Gutsbesitzer einen Wald abkaufen will. Während der Fahrt nimmt der Schneesturm zu, sie kommen vom Weg ab und verirren sich, landen jedoch in einem Nachbarort. Mehrfach bietet sich die Möglichkeit, von der Weiterfahrt abzusehen und den nächsten Tag abzuwarten, aber der rücksichtslose und dabei selbstgerechte Wasili Andrejitsch will sich das günstige Geschäft nicht entgehen ...

As Russia goes to war against Japan, Tolstoy urges those at all levels of society, from the Tsar down to the common soldier, to consider their actions in the light of Christ's teaching. "However strange this may appear, the most effective and certain deliverance of men from all the calamities which they inflict upon themselves and from the most dreadful of all—war—is attainable, not by any external general measures, but merely by that simple appeal to the consciousness of each separate man which, nineteen hundred years ago, was proposed by Jesus—that every man bethink himself, and ask ...

Sevastopol Sketches (Russian: Севастопольские рассказы, Sevastopolskiye rasskazy) are three short stories written by Leo Tolstoy and published in 1855 to record his experiences during the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) in the Crimean War (1853-1856). The name originates from Sevastopol, a city in Crimea. The book has also been released under the anglicized title The Sebastopol Sketches and is sometimes titled Sevastopol Stories. These brief "sketches" formed the basis of many of the episodes in Tolstoy's magnum opus, War and Peace. Sevastopol in December: In ...

The Cossacks (1863) is an unfinished novel which describes the Cossack life and people through a story of Dmitri Olenin, a Russian aristocrat in love with a Cossack girl. This text was acclaimed by Ivan Bunin as one of the finest in the language.Additional proof-listening was done by mim@can & katzes.

Pózdnyshev se había casado y tenía varios hijos pero su matrimonio no había ido bien. Durante un viaje en tren explica a un pasajero lo terrible de esta unión en la que él había vivido un infierno atormentado por los celos. Esta obra folosófica fue escrita por Tólstoi en una época de crisis existencial en la que se plantea y reafirma en los valores del espíritu como la castidad y en contra de las apariencias, las pasiones y la impureza. (Summary by Montse González)

Childhood is the first published novel by Leo Tolstoy, released under the initials L. N. in the November 1852 issue of the popular Russian literary journal The Contemporary. It is the first in a series of three novels and is followed by Boyhood and Youth. Published when Tolstoy was just twenty-three years old, the book was an immediate success, earning notice from other Russian novelists including Ivan Turgenev, who heralded the young Tolstoy as a major up-and-coming figure in Russian literature. Childhood is an exploration of the inner life of a young boy, Nikolenka, and one of the books in ...

Leo Tolstoy's "A Confession," written in 1882 shortly after a life-altering spiritual crisis, is a brutally sincere reflection on life, morality, and the nature of faith. Tolstoy describes in great detail the process by which he lost his faith in established Christian churches, the meaninglessness of wealth and fame, the agony of acute depression, and how he overcame misery and dread through personal study of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Along the way, he contrasts the artificial faith and arrogance of educated people with the genuine faith and humility of the Russian peasant. This work, and...

A land owner, Vasili Andreevich, takes along one of his peasants, Nikita, for a short journey to another town. He wishes to get to the town quickly 'for business'. They find themselves in the middle of a blizzard, but the master in his avarice wishes to press on. They eventually get lost off the road and they try to camp. The master's peasant soon finds himself about to die from hypothermia. The master leaves him on the horse to stubbornly try to find the road. When he returns, he attains a spiritual/moral revelation, and Tolstoy once again repeats one of his famous themes: that the only true ...

Poderoso y controvertido, considerado uno de los mejores novelistas de todos los tiempos y varias veces candidato al Premio Nobel, Leon Tolstoy (1828-1910) aún tiene mucho que decirnos. Escritor realista, fue un prolifico creador de profundos retratos psicológicos. Trató de plasmar en su obra su pensamiento social a la vez que describir la sociedad rusa con todas sus contradicciones. Un ferviente cristiano-anarquista y anarco-pacifista que rechazaba la guerra y la propiedad de la tierra, inspiró líderes y movimientos alrededor del mundo, incluyendo a Mahatma Gandhi. Sus obras ...

Boyhood is the second in Tolstoy's trilogy of three autobiographical novels, including Childhood and Youth, published in a literary journal during the 1850s. (Introduction by Bill Boerst)

Two love stories are set against the backdrop of high society in Tsarist Russia. Anna awakes from a loveless marriage to find herself drawn irresistibly to the dashing cavalry officer, Count Vronsky. Levin struggles with self-esteem, and even flees to the country, before gaining courage to return and offer himself to the beautiful and pure Kitty. Through troubled courtships, reconciliations, marriage and the birth of each one’s first child, Anna and Levin experience joy and despair as they each struggle to find their place in the world and meaning for their lives. (Introduction by MaryAnn)

‘La Decadencia de la Mentira‘ forma, junto con otros títulos, la biblioteca de ensayos de este importante escritor victoriano. En ella, Wilde se sirve de una fructuosa conversación entre dos amigos, los sagaces Cyril y Vivián, para entonar una apología del esteticismo y del “arte por el arte”. Aterrizando en las entrañas de Vivián, Wilde transmite una poderosa crítica contra la naturaleza y la realidad. Inquiere en que estas destruyen cualquier intento de manifestación del arte, pues ambas tratan de concebirlo sin servirse de la belleza, apartándola de su lado. De hecho y ...

Guido Ferranti, a young man, travels to Padua with his friend Ascanio after receiving a mysterious letter from a stranger, claiming to know the true secret of Guido's birth. His plan of revenge goes awry, however, when he falls in love with his enemy's beautiful wife, the Duchess of Padua. (Summary by Wikipedia and wildemoose) Cast:Simone Gesso, Duke of Padua; Hugo the Headsman: Algy PugBeatrice, Duchess of Padua: Arielle LipshawAndreas Pollajuolo, Cardinal of Padua: ToddHWMaffio Petrucci; Servant; First Soldier; Usher: Charlotte DuckettJeppo Vitellozzo; Count Moranzone: Martin GeesonTaddeo ...

La muerte de Iván Ilich (ruso: Смерть Ивана Ильича, Smert Ivana Ilichá), publicada por primera vez en 1886, es una novela corta del escritor ruso Lev Tolstói. Dentro de su bibliografía, se encuentra hacia el final de su producción. Para algunos analistas de la obra de Tolstói, esta historia reflejaría las luchas intelectuales y espirituales que poco tiempo atrás el autor había atravesado, en la crisis que tuvo cuando alcanzó los 50 años y que superaría con un radical cambio espiritual. En la novela, los temas tratados son la naturaleza tanto de la vida como de la ...

This volume contains the thirteen letters of the poet Dante Alighieri translated from their original Latin, including the famous and controversial letter to his patron Cangrande della Scala. The letters provide a good deal of context for the reader of Dante regarding his political and philosophical positions. In the final letter, the authenticity of which has been hotly contested by scholars, the author dedicates the Paradiso to the Veronese Cangrande, explains his Divine Comedy's title (then just Comedy), and discusses much of the work's content. Summary by Mary J.

La Divina Commedia, originalmente Commedìa, è un poema di Dante Alighieri, capolavoro del poeta fiorentino, considerata la più importante testimonianza letteraria della civiltà medievale e una delle più grandi opere della letteratura universale. È diviso in tre parti chiamate cantiche: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso; il poeta immagina di compiervi un viaggio ultraterreno Il poema, pur continuando i modi caratteristici della letteratura e dello stile medievali (ispirazione religiosa, fine morale, linguaggio e stile basati sulla percezione visiva e immediata delle cose), tende a una ...

Despite its optimistic title, Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well has often been considered a "problem play." Ostensibly a comedy, the play also has fairy tale elements, as it focuses on Helena, a virtuous orphan, who loves Bertram, the haughty son of her protectress, the Countess of Rousillon. When Bertram, desperate for adventure, leaves Rousillon to serve in the King's army, Helena pursues him. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett) Cast:Bertram: David NicolClown: Denny SayersCountess of Rousillon: Ruth GoldingDiana: Arielle LipshawDuke of Florence: Robert FletcherFirst Gentleman: Brett W. ...

De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the vernacular) is a short essay written by Dante Alighieri in Latin. The work remains incomplete; only one and a half books are extant. It is believed to have been composed during Dante's exile, probably at some point between 1302 and 1305. The work revolves around the relationship between Latin and vernacular, and the need for a literary language, with an excourse on the poetic forms in vernacular. - Summary by Leni

The Divine Comedy (in Italian, Divina Commedia, or just La commedia or Comedia) is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri in the first decades of the 14th Century, during his exile from his native Florence. Considered the most important work of Italian literature, the poem has also has enormous historical influence on western literature and culture more generally. Dante represents the three realms of the afterlife in his three canticles (Inferno--Hell; Purgatorio--Purgatory; Paradiso--Paradise) in a way that reflects and, at the same time, goes beyond Christian tradition of the 14th Century. ...