Category: Culture
Carmen
Our annual trip to the Opera last night to see Carmen b
y the NZ Opera.
We have seen Carmen before, Sara at least twice and once for me. It is certainly a classic and so expectations were a little high. Unfortunately expectations were not met. The production seemed a little quiet and flat and the male lead did not seem to make the connection with us and possibly the rest of the audience. The applause at the end was polite rather than enthusiastic. A review in the Dom Post concurred overall.
So quite an expensive night out without reaching the heights. That is always the risk I suppose.
Let’s hope for greater success for the next cultural event.
NZSO trip for nearly all
Four plus Swen went to the Michael Fowler to experience something a bit different. Certainly a popular event with the auditorium being nearly full. We sat close to the stage so could see the musicians in action though only the feet of the star pianist!
The Elgar Symphony No 1 was recognisably Elgar and the full numbers and force of the orchestra made for a great sound.
Always good to try out the various musical options. Next up is the ‘traditional’ trip to The Messiah.
International Film Festival
The NZIFF has started. Yet again it will be a long run to the finish line for us. So far I have been to three films and Sara four, over the first weekend.
The 5th Eye is a doco made in NZ and this showing was it s world premier (a little less grand that it may imply). It tells the story of the perpetrators of the damage to the spy station in Blenheim by the “Waihopai Three” in parallel with a broader coverage of the surveillance in New Zealand, how it was done illegally, the law was changed without popular support to give more power to the national spy agencies, while John Key was, as ever, sucking up to the Americans. All this allowing more spying on Kiwis and support for the US government’s international terror actions. An important topic but the documentary was too ling, insufficiently focused and its techniques did not work as well as hoped.
I, Daniel Blake follows the misery of having to use the UK benefits system and I am sure has echoes of how other national systems work against individuals too. A Ken Loach film. A worthwhile one to watch and shows how badly the system treats people both those accessing it and those working in it.
And into the foreign experience A Country of Mine that recounts how German POWs at the end of WW2 are forced to remove mines from the Danish beaches. No one comes out well from war. the essentially boy soldiers at teh end of the war pay the price for the actions of their country and superiors. Are they responsible? Who can blame the danes for getting the perpetrators to clear up the mess rather than risk their own lives again after five years of occupation?
No one looks good. I am sure that is part of the reason for doing the film. A good one to see.
Opera experiment
A family trip to the opera on Friday this time to see The Magic Flute.
A novelty as it was sung and spoken in English. It was an experiment as Eleanor and Isaac came too.
We have seen a few operas and this was not necessarily the best that we have seen. As it was a little long and the story not quite so easy to follow as is usual.
The music did not have the same individual impact on me as is the usual case.
A Night With Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
… to experience the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as it draws on its vast repertoire in Wellington, NZ.
Last night was an experimental musical trip to the Michael Fowler centre. Live jazz- not something we have done often. I am certainly not a big follower of jazz music but as with other things, sometimes it is important to try, have an experience and learn.
The music was great. A mixture of jazz classics from the past as well as pieces written or arranged by the orchestra themselves with as beautiful piece for the encore by the main man himself- Wynton Marsalis. He is well renowned in the jazz world. Kirsten said he was the best jazz/classical trumpeter in the world.
He, along with the other artists, could play so flexibly and make their instruments produce such a variety of sound. I was particularly impressed with the drummer- not someone who usually receives attention. Along with the pianist and bassist he provided the backbone of the sound. He plays constantly and the precision and subtlety of his playing was amazing.
So certainly a good evening and a further prod to experiment with listening to more jazz. Though as feared, listening via Spotify and the single speaker doe snot seem to do the music justice. The quality and the appreciation of the skill when watching and listening live does not come through with these means.
Scottish Culture
A late update yet again.
It is the start of the international arts festival which we have attended lots of times before.
The opener which we went to on Friday was the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
As an event it is very well known and so we decided to give it a whirl. One needs to try different things. The programme included a mixture of military bands; of course the pipes of the Scottish regiments plus bands of other British regiments-the Royal Marines Portsmouth included. There were other choreographed performers too.
There were Kiwi military bands as well as other Kiwi performers.
The kapa haka group was great. The pipes were great. The Swiss drummers brilliant and the Norwegian Guards Band and Drill Team were fantastic.
However there did appear to be a reasonable amount of average quality filler.
A good evening and worth seeing something really quite different.
Not a cheap night out-$190 each!
The Messiah
Saturday evening comprised our annual trip to see the choral event of the Christmas season. The first time we went to see a performance was a long time ago at the Albert Hall. Since we have lived in Wellington we ave been maybe close to ten times. This one was quite a big event as it was being held at the Michael Fowler Centre. The NZSO and I presume big soloists and a famous conductor. Not famous to me but that does not count.
Unfortunately we found the performance a bit flat. We were sitting at the sides of the stalls ans so under the upper level which may have blocked out so of the sound. Was the choir a bit small? The male voices seemed a little overpowered by the the female ones. I found the conductor a little ‘showy’.
So good but not great.
Sara requested that we go see it a performance in New York. Nice idea but not easy.
More birthday fun with James Bond
A trip to Petone to see the new James Bond film- all the family.
A positive thumbs up from most attendees though I would say 7/10. A curry before hand-“English Curry” style would be a fair description. So very nice.
Film festival revisited
So yesterday was the end of the Wellington setting of the NZIFF.
In the last 2 weeks we have squeezed a few more films. Last night was a viewing of 45 Years that seems to have been a hit with all the critics:
“It’s a film of small moments and tiny gestures that leaves a very, very big impression”
plus Shaz, but not me. It left me cold; too slow and with no particular expression the important issues. I obviously missed the point.
‘When Marnie was there‘ is the film that Isaac requested. I enjoyed this animated film as did he. It was a little unusual in that as a Japanese film it had a lot of European influence in the characterisation.
During the week we saw ’71 a drama set in Ulster while Shaz and Isaac saw ‘Saint Laurent‘ which was huge disappointment. Reading the reviews after the event was a bit late which were in keeping with their experience.
