Category: Culture

The Messiah

Late to the piece but last Friday IQ went with me to the Barbican for the annual trip.

Shaz was indisposed awaiting the result of a PCR which was reported as negative just as the show was about commence.

It was a smaller scale affair with only 26 in the choir and the music played by a sinfonia rather than full orchestra. Despite this the acoustics of the venue helped project the sound thought the variation in tones was not evident as it can be with a larger choir.

The audience was reduced- fear regarding infection I suppose.

From the Barbican website:

‘Handel’s glorious Messiah holds a special place in many people’s hearts over the Christmas period, but perhaps it will be even more significant in 2021

After a year without the triumphant ‘Hallelujah’ chorus ringing out in churches and concert halls, Britten Sinfonia will give an intimate but impassioned performance. A star-studded line up of soloists joins conductor David Watkin and the Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge.’

Les Miserables revisited

The long running LesMis production has just moved to the Sondheim theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. So Joe’s and my return to the show was at a different venue to the one that Shaz and I watched in last year.

As with these it events it was full. We were near the top rung again but not so high and uncomfortable as with other shows.

The show was great and the apparent innovations introduced worked very well in my eyes. The projection of the sewers and the falling off the wall of the policeman to his death.

A wonderful experience for both of us. I would happily see again.

More RAH

Another family trip, all five, to the musical venue. The show was a mixture of classic carols and well known Christmas populars.

Good fun for the most part and of course a bit cheesy in places. There were plenty of opportunities to sing along.

Panto

The Christmas binge goes on and Friday night was Panto night at the Questors in Ealing.

A trio for five that was fully enjoyed. It was a different style of performance from last year when Shaz, Joe and I went to Wimbledon Theatre to see Paul Merton among others.

The actors were mainly children from the Questors young person’s school. There were lots of their mums and dads in the audience I think.

The Pantones was funny, good fun and beautiful. Very different from last years but good all the same and still the same classic format.

Cool.

Family visit for readings and song

This was a second time visit and this time with the boys.

It is quite a different event with readings interspaced with music both of the easily recognised and the less typical.

The reading came from the Bible but also thought pieces on believe and religion. There readers were well known – in particular Celia Imrie and Clive Myrie ( BBC journalist) who both clearly are well practised in delivering words.

Mostly beautiful music in Latin, German and English. The traditional carols in English and a selection of others sung by the choir with a very beautiful combined voice. The German version of Silent Night, Holy Night in German (Stillest Nacht) was great. Not all the offerings worked but that is how it goes.

One more event in our procession of Christmas orientated events. Keep it going.

Messiah time

Our annual experience with the classic event at a classic venue.

We sat in better seats this time, closer to the action on the central area.

The choir was powerful and the philharmonic was classy. The performers all seemed to warm up in the second half.

Another positive experience. Here’s to more in the future.

Fiddler on the Roof

A lovely idea by the boys to treat me to a trip to the theatre for Father’s day. Four months after the event but so what. I was partly to blame as we are on holiday too often!

From the Guardian:

Fiddler on the Roof review – Trevor Nunn’s magnificent revival

Menier Chocolate Factory, London
With antisemitism on the rise, Tevye’s struggles with the tsar’s thugs are powerfully topical in this note-perfect production

Mark Lawson

Thu 6 Dec 2018 13.53 GMTLast modified on Thu 6 Dec 2018 15.40 GMT

  • 5 stars5 out of 5 stars.    
Cruelly topical … Andy Nyman as Tevye at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London.
 Cruelly topical … Andy Nyman as Tevye at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London. Photographs: Johan Persson

Although much-loved and often revived, Fiddler on the Roof has been charged with excessive sentimentality and piety. As the poor Russian-Jewish milkman Tevye attempts to marry off five daughters, several of the songs have the form of prayers, and a startling percentage of the dialogue is delivered upwards.

We saw the performance at the Playhouse Theatre as the production had transferred for a limited run. I did my preparation by reading the synopsis and listening to the songs. Some were familiar and the story is easy to follow. The show was very good though the duration of sitting in the hot cheap seats with restricted leg room made a difference.

A great night out with the boys who also enjoyed the show. So all were getting out there to enjoy something new.

More Proming

The last night before the last night of the Proms. A Beethoven evening including the very recognisable #5.

I had the pleasure of going with Joe as Shaz was too busy. We managed to have a pint in South Kensington beforehand and watch the last 20 minutes of the Ashes with the beginning of England’s second innings.

And the music? Good, though as before, when the singers were on we were in some cheap seats to which the voice projection was not so good.

But good fun all the same, very recognisable intro to #5 of course and other sections. The crowd loved it all so much that the orchestra played an encore. Not typical of my experience. Joe seemed to enjoy the evening too- so a win-win.

Until the next time.

Proming

EQ is visiting and so she came with me to the Royal Albert Hall for our first visit to the Proms in 2019.

Prom 39: Elgar, Errollyn Wallen, Mendelssohn & Mussorgsky19:00 Thu 15 Aug 2019 Royal Albert HallThe sea rolls through both Mendelssohn’s overture The Hebrides and Elgar’s sumptuous orchestral song-cycle Sea Pictures. Mussorgsky’s colourful Pictures at an Exhibition and a world premiere by Errollyn Wallen complete the programme.

We were up in the gods and as a result quite warm. We managed to arrive with minutes to spare. The seats were not he best as we were adjacent to the stage and as a result the signing in particular was not well heard as I think the sound was projected forward and upwards both naturally and with the speakers rather than to the side.

As a result the Elgar pieces did not do it for me. The new piece was was a little wacky, different but not great. I found the Mussorgsky really good, worth another listen. Similar responses from EQ.

The hall was packed. Clearly the Proms remains popular.