I have been attending classical music concerts since my early teens. And as this year’s Proms season ends I’m struck that I’ve been here, as it were, for a very long time. The Royal Albert Hall feels almost as familiar as my own sitting room.
Dancer Fernando Montano tells us how he wanted to ‘do my bit’ to combat plastic pollution with incredible fundraiser, Dance for the Sea
Columbian performer and Royal Ballet principal Fernando Montano on what moved him to create an evening of performance supporting the Marine Conservation Society, shooting incredible underwater images and an unsung hero of British theatre. Read the interview then book your tickets for Fernando Montano and Friends – Dance for the Sea.
NEWS: Royal Ballet star hosts charity show Fernando Montano and Friends – Dance for the Sea in aid of Marine Conservation Society
Leading Latin American dance star and Royal Ballet soloist Fernando Montano will stage Fernando Montano and Friends – Dance for the Sea, an evening of music and dance, later this month to raise both awareness and funds for the Marine Conservation Society. Book your tickets now!
ALBUM REVIEW: Justine Balmer – Simple Thing
From Coldplay to Claude Debussy, crossover soprano Justine Balmer’s debut album Simple Thing is a collection of songs that work well together.
‘Great music which finds so many ways into our hearts’: Celebrating the splendour of Tchaikovsky’s three great ballets
I was a little late to the party in respect of Vladimir Jurowski’s scintillating new recording of the original 1877 version of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (Yevgeny Svetlanov’s orchestra) but I’ve been much absorbed by it, thrilled by it.
Paying tribute to André Previn & his ability to embrace music of spectacularly diverse genres
Leonard Bernstein and André Previn very different animals. But their completeness as musicians, their ability to embrace and cherish music of spectacularly diverse genres, their connection with popular culture, their many and varied gifts as conductors, composers, pianists, and impossibly eloquent commentators make them kindred spirits in so many respects.
Album Review: Songplay – Joyce DiDonato
In Joyce DiDonato’s album Songplay we have the epitome of what we Brits call a ‘Marmite’ experience with elements to love and/or loathe whether or not you buy the concept in the first place.
‘I hope Hamilton will influence opera around the world’: Alison Buchanan on Pegasus Opera & their new production Shaw Goes Wilde
As Pegasus Opera prepares to stage it’s latest production, Shaw Goes Wilde, at the Royal Academy of Music, Artistic Director Alison Buchanan tells us about playing a character with dominatrix tendencies and how the opera world can learn from the success of Hamilton. Read her fascinating interview, then book your tickets for the production!
NEWS: Pegasus Opera Company premieres Hagemann double bill, Shaw Goes Wilde
Two one-act operas based on works by George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde will receive their UK premieres when Pegasus Opera Company brings Shaw Goes Wilde to the Royal Academy of Music later this spring. The double bill of works composed by Philip Hagemann play a limited run from 12 to 14 April 2019 , so book your tickets now!
‘Thoughtful, detailed, durable: That’s what fires up this critic
I have often been asked if I listen to music differently when reviewing or not reviewing. It’s an interesting question. There is, you could say, a heightened level of awareness when ‘in working mode’.
Gauging the significance of The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess in the chronology of American music theatre
The recent revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess at English National Opera and the prospect of comparing all its available recordings in BBC Radio 3’s Record Review has prompted me to look a little deeper into this landmark score and to reassess its significance in the chronology of American music theatre.
‘In his music, as in life, he was always on stage’: Why Leonard Bernstein the composer was a game changer
There wasn’t much that Leonard Bernstein didn’t try his hand at at least once – and wanting, needing, to experience it all applied as surely to the music he wrote as to the music he conducted.
Why it’s an amazing time for diversity of style in ‘musicals’ on both sides of the pond
It’s an amazing time for diversity of style in “musicals” on both sides of the pond. Hamilton’s hip-hop, street poetry, storytelling, David Yazbek’s middle-eastern infused charmer The Band’s Visit, Jeanine Tesori’s Fun Home (newly arrived at London’s Young Vic while her dazzlingly original Caroline Or Change plays at the Playhouse Theatre).
It’s never too late to play music for pleasure…
I write a lot about the performing arts I watch other people engaging in. Last week, for a change, it was my turn. I went to Benslow Music in Hitchin for three days – for the sixth or seventh time and immersed myself in string quartets for three days. It was my birthday on the […]
The post Playing for pleasure appeared first on Susan Elkin.
Text of the Day: Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
OPERA: PASSION, POWER & POLITICS – Victoria & Albert Museum ★★★★★
Opera: Passion, Power and Politics is a vast and exhilarating exhibition which explores the complex and beautiful history of opera as well as its power to affect us all. In collaboration with the Royal Opera House, the exhibition examines seven operas both in the context of the composer’s lives and the cities and countries they were originally performed in.
FROM DOWN UNDER: Thaïs in Concert
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra served up a dreamy slice of heaven in their Mid-Season Gala presentation of Thaïs in concert.
INTERVIEW: Talking classical music crossovers with Theatre Counterpoint
Music and theatre have always held a close, interlinking relationship – as performance arts, it could be argued that one is incomplete without the other. Both are emotive, structured and able to open discussion and debate about a myriad of other issues that are pertinent and observant in society.
ALL THE ANGELS – Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
All the Angels is a fascinating, moving examination of the power of music to inspire, to challenge, and to regenerate souls, as well as an unnerving glance at the strange intimacy between composer and singer engendered by the rehearsal process.
AMADEUS – National Theatre
Revival of Peter Shaffer’s most famous play is more a musical triumph than a textual one.
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