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Post by tmesis on Dec 9, 2022 16:37:13 GMT
Unfortunately illness has struck again and tonight’s show is cancelled. Not having much luck with this - tried to see it at the weekend and the same thing happened.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 4, 2022 21:41:02 GMT
I enjoyed this hugely last night. The 3 hours running time absolutely flies by. I was fortunate to be in the middle of the front row, only around three feet away from the actors at times, and the intensity was almost overwhelming. The production was dark, quite stylised but so effective. I found Terera the equal of Hilton in terms of performance with a particularly good Cassio from Rory Fleck Byrne.
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Post by tmesis on Dec 3, 2022 23:03:51 GMT
Sorry AddisonMizner but although I enjoyed the production and the performances were all first rate it failed to move me even slightly and I thought it was musically well below par, really just second rate pastiche Richard Strauss. The whole thing was one continuous arioso that never blossomed into a fully fledged aria - not even at the end where there was a golden opportunity. Lots of operas are mainly/completely arioso but you have to be a seriously good composer to bring this off and Heggie isn’t.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 28, 2022 17:48:36 GMT
I hugely enjoyed this on Saturday. It’s the last of Paul Miller’s Shaw productions that he has specialised in during his tenure in Richmond and the equal of all the others produced there. There’s not a weak link in the cast and at times it’s very funny, particularly because of a gloriously over the top performance from Alex Baht as Sergius.
The only surprise was they stuck with the 3 acts/2 intervals presentation. Since the timings are 35’/35’/50’ they could easily have run acts 1 and 2 straight through, even allowing for the considerable change of scene between the first two acts.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 27, 2022 23:35:55 GMT
D'Angelo was excellent and she has the most to sing - there really wasn't a weak link vocally. Some great, witty choreography too with which all the principals were involved which was executed with great aplomb.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 27, 2022 17:38:14 GMT
The previous new Handel opera productions have been by two of my least favourite directors, namely Barrie Kosky and Katie Mitchell so it was with some trepidation that I attended this yesterday since it was by another of my less favourite directors: Richard Jones. Well I have to report that this was absolutely terrific. A really clever, funny and visually arresting production that actually manages to clarify a confusing, and frankly rather silly, plot.
Vocally it was high calibre. The stand outs were Lisette Oropesa as Alcina. Rich of tone and technically secure (maybe just a tad too much vibrato) she was a commanding presence. Rupert Charlesworth (Oronte) had a lovely Handelian style to his phrasing and, best of all for baroque sensibilities, was Mary Bevan as Morgana - sassy of demeanour but beautifully pure of voice.
It was well played by the ROH orchestra but I think they missed a trick by not hiring a specialist period band.
This production deserves to be revived many times.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 27, 2022 14:33:40 GMT
Not much to add except I was deeply impressed by this too. I’m not a fan of the two-hander but this, and The P word (Bush) are both exceptional examples of the type.
Yet again an example of Downstairs being the best bit at Hampstead.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 14, 2022 8:11:21 GMT
There are always day seats for this (£20) on TKTS showgirl.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 13, 2022 17:22:45 GMT
So pleased I caught the final performance of this last night. I found it a totally absorbing and moving hour in the theatre and a perfect postlude to The York Realist. The pitch perfect cast had the audience hanging on every word.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 10, 2022 18:52:25 GMT
Let's not forget the excellent NT production of 1999, with a top notch cast: Simon Russel Beale, Daniel Evans, Clive Rowe and Dennis Quiley.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 10, 2022 17:27:56 GMT
I was underwhelmed by the theatre generally - no legroom in row A (and I’m short,) fairly narrow darkish corridors, ingress and egress inadequate and just lacking any character.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 10, 2022 17:21:50 GMT
ROH still do good curtains, although for more modern productions (which are now becoming the norm) they’re not always used.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 10, 2022 17:14:51 GMT
According to Norman Lebrecht there is a Whitehall leak that the Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport is in talks with RAH to run The Coliseum. It will not own it, just manage it. The Coliseum will be a subsidiary venue where it can transfer successful shows.
Can’t quite see how this will work but see slippedisc.com.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 6, 2022 19:52:32 GMT
I’ve seen he many times. I was going to say she is an absolute star principal at the RB but the company is so fabulous at the moment that they’re all brilliant.
She also seems to be very nice, modest person.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 6, 2022 19:44:48 GMT
I think this is a difficult one to sum up. I did very much enjoy it but I expected (wanted) it to be better than it was. The performances are all top notch, particularly Brayben and Rannells and I loved the set and the direction. Act 1 absolutely fizzes but Act 2 is a bit of a let down - although many, even classic, musicals have this problem. Graham’s script is excellent so I think the problem lies with Jake Shears and Elton John. The lyrics are OK but a bit pedestrian and to begin with I thought Elton had produced a really good score but as it went on the music got more and more samey and he really does overdo the power ballad shtick for Brayben and really should follow Sondheim’s mantra that less is more.
In the 70s I was a massive Elton John fan and his songs from this era have a melodic freshness, harmonic sophistication and structural integrity that he has never (and few others) equalled since. Above all I don’t think he’s a very theatrical composer. The music is definitely better than for Billy Elliot, which is a musical that works despite the dreary score - it really does feel that Elton, a famously fast worker, just churned Billy out one wet weekend in Windsor - and the era of the story coincides with his heyday but unfortunately he doesn’t have the spark of originality that was there in his earlier years. Too many songs have the same melodic tics, harmonic clichés, predictable piano riffs and unoriginal modulations to make a satisfying score.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 6, 2022 17:39:16 GMT
I revisited this production mainly because Juan Diego Florez was singing Rodolfo but more of that later.
This was my third time seeing this production and I now find the set for acts 1 and 4 (which is actually over half the opera) annoying. It really is ugly and reminds me of some horrendous glamping pod.
Musically it was very bottom drawer. Conducted with no warmth of feeling or flair by Kevin John Edusei with a rather steely voiced Mimi in Ailyn Perez. I’ve very much enjoyed Florez when, in lighter roles by Donizetti and Rossini he was the show-pony of the upper tenor tessitura but he has now started to do heavier roles and the voice is way too light and thin for them. I expected this to some extent but his lack of amplitude and warmth was almost laughable at times. Danielle de Niese gave it more oomph but, my God, she over acts the part.
Easily the most charismatic performance of the night was from Andrey Zhilikhovsky as Marcello and he had much more empathy with Florez than Perez did so that their ‘bromance’ duet in Act 4 was really touching - much more than anything sung by Rodolfo and Mimi throughout the evening.
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Post by tmesis on Nov 5, 2022 16:58:22 GMT
Kathy Burke at Tammy Faye this afternoon.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 29, 2022 17:07:59 GMT
I hated this. The nature of the storytelling was beyond tiresome. It seemed to take forever to get to the interval, at which point I fled.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 29, 2022 11:06:35 GMT
I was disappointed by this. I remember enjoying the book which I must have read around 40 years ago but finding the film unengaging and this likewise. It was well performed but you just didn’t care enough about the characters.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 25, 2022 9:50:32 GMT
What an enjoyable musical this is. Funny, sad, romantic with some top notch songs - nearly all in the minor key (or modal) to give it the necessary Middle Eastern feel - but pretty rare in a musical as most don’t have a single number that’s not in a major tonality. Interestingly the three songs also quoted: Summertime, My Funny Valentine and Sunny are all also largely or completely in the minor. The final song though, which is very definitely in the major, has a similar feel to Sunday from Sunday in The Park with George and brings the whole evening to a satisfying conclusion - no mean feat in such an episodic musical.
Some have compared this to Come from Away but I enjoyed this much more and the songs are far more interesting.
A great cast is led by Alon Moni Aboutboul and Miri Mesika - both superb and the supporting actor/musicians took that sometimes maligned skill to a whole new level. A special shout out to Andy Findern who doubled on tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet and alto flute, playing the latter with haunting atmosphere towards the end.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 18, 2022 6:13:32 GMT
I too am usually no fan of the two-hander but this was just fantastic. From the outset you’re swept up in the lives of these two very different men and for 90 minutes it just doesn’t let go of your emotions which, because it is so well written, fluctuate wildly throughout the evening.
Waleed Akhtar is a major talent (not just as playwright but also actor) and Esh Alladi gives at times a heart-breaking performance. It is simply, but so effectively staged.
One of the absolute highlights of the many things I have seen this year and I urge anyone to see it before it closes.
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Post by tmesis on Oct 11, 2022 10:00:55 GMT
I bloody loved this.
It was beautifully staged and acted - all five characters really engaged me and swept me along with the story. It seems unfair to single out Giles Terera when they were all at the top of their game but he was just exceptional - every nuance, gesture, look…I can’t wait for his Othello.
It was also quite touching that the audience response last night was quite vocal; lots of groans, oohs and ahs and an almost total standing ovation at the end.
Oh and the music - so effective! Not just the songs, but the incidental music was so atmospheric and evocative
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Post by tmesis on Oct 4, 2022 16:06:34 GMT
How about Paradise Found at the Chocolare factory? My friends and I walked out at the interval but one friend remained and said only about a quarter of the audience returned. I stayed to the bitter end. For me it was still worth it to see Mandy Patinkin live.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 27, 2022 10:38:56 GMT
Another enthusiastic vote for Pacific Overtures from me. I absolutely adore everything about it. And the songs are exquisitely subtle - even by Sondheim’s high standards.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 22, 2022 9:11:01 GMT
Most of Act 2 of Merrily We Roll Along has me blubbing. Not a specific number as such just the way we know that the growing optimism has already been shattered. I saw the Donmar production and was teary throughout Act 2 Totally agree - no other musical makes me quite so emotional. The finale song, Our Time, where they are full of innocence and aspiration is so moving.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 17, 2022 11:31:44 GMT
Since this play is a much admired classic it is with trepidation that I have to say I was bored (very) by last night’s performance. Clocking in at 3 hours it really outstays its welcome. I didn’t like the tricksy pointless rainfall - I’m sure it came at considerable expense which would have been better spent on the actual set. After filling The Olivier stage handsomely for Jack Absolute we’re back to the default position for this space ie. a no set set.
Also I don’t know if it was because of the pointless precipitation but it was freezing cold throughout in row F of the stalls.
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Post by tmesis on Sept 13, 2022 13:38:06 GMT
Really looking forward to this - seeing it in October.
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Post by tmesis on Aug 27, 2022 12:57:14 GMT
Mahler’s 2nd with Rattle conducting LSO was quite an event on Wednesday night. The RAH - pretty problematic for so much classical music - was well nigh ideal for such a monumental piece. The off-stage instruments were really effective.
I’ve seen Rattle many times in concert and quite often been underwhelmed, even when conducting BPO but he really delivered here and the all important, transcendental climactic ending was the best I’ve ever heard in this piece.
It’s on BBC 4 tomorrow night.
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Post by tmesis on Aug 23, 2022 19:01:46 GMT
I saw Glenn Close play it at NT in 2002 (with Iain Glen) when she was 55 and very good she was too.
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Post by tmesis on Aug 20, 2022 20:49:29 GMT
So because of the rail strike had to do 100 mile round trip in the car for today’s matinee (actually the last 10 miles - Midhurst to Chichester - is beautifully scenic so didn’t mind.)
Absolutely loved it. I was impressed by the previous London production at The Novello which I saw twice but this was even better, especially with Stroman’s choreography. It’s a terrific score with a blend of some of the best, lesser known, Gershwin songs with lots of his well known classics too.
All the principals were excellent. Carly Anderson as Polly was wonderful with a particularly good version of Someone to Watch Over Me - it’s a difficult song to do well and several well known singers have murdered it. Tom Edden was fantastic as Zangler with a really precise performance that strengthened the humour. But obviously the star is Charlie Stemp. His singing voice is only average - he did give a very affecting performance of They Can’t take that Away from Me - but my goodness he’s got charisma, charm but also vulnerability, and his spell binding dancing has the elegance of Astaire. He’s just so damned fluid! Charlie’s also a great physical comedian (pratfalls etc.) Basically he just oozes star quality and you can’t take your eyes off him when he’s on stage.
Chichester is noted for its high proportion of elderly patrons but I think for the Saturday Matinee the average age goes up even more so it was particularly gratifying that today there was a near 100% standing ovation.
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