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Belters and bohemians: Opera Locos @Sadlers_wells

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At the start of the Opera Locos performance, the announcement says that they really are singing. You could be forgiven for wondering that, given the amplification turns up the backing track and the voices so loud that you can't always tell what's real. But this is a mostly harmless and slightly eccentric blend of opera classics fused with the occasional pop classic. However, recognising the pop tunes would help if you were over a certain age. The most recent of them dates back twenty years. It's currently playing at the Peacock Theatre .  Five performers play out a variety of archetype opera characters. There's the worn-out tenor (Jesús Álvarez), the macho baritone (Enrique Sánchez-Ramos), the eccentric counter-tenor (Michaël Kone), the dreamy soprano (María Rey-Joly) and the wild mezzo-soprano (Mayca Teba). Since my singing days, I haven't recognised these types of performers. However, once, I recall a conductor saying he wanted no mezzo-sopranos singing with the s

News: Underground rubbish

Today was one of those days when I had to be at Cannon Street in the City by 9am, so when the tube went tits up and I was still in Clapham, it made for an interesting day transferring from bus to tube to tube to get there. I did make it just in time, but it could have been worse as some people were stuck underground for over two hours . Current travel tip for London is to allow for an hour and a half getting anywhere at the moment…

Scenes from outside the Cambridge Theatre Covent Garden Friday 17:07

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Scenes from outside the Cambridge Theatre Covent Garden Friday 17:07 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ .

One last look at NYC

One last look at NYC from the Wintergarden …

Scenes from London Bridge Tube Thursday 18:42

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Scenes from London Bridge Tube Thursday 18:42 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Waiting for the next southbound Northern Line tube. Severe delays as to be expected nowadays...

Scenes from London Bridge Thursday 18:22

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Scenes from London Bridge Thursday 18:22 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ .

Scenes from Liverpool St Station Thursday 17:35

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Scenes from Liverpool St Station Thursday 17:35 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Watching England beat Trinidad and Tobago ... At this stage no goals but plenty of beer... While I didn't watch the game you could tell how well England was doing by the silence. If there was a roar that dropped off instantly you knew there was a near-miss. A roar that continues means there was a goal... England are now through to the next round. Interestingly at a hardware store the other day I was offered one of those flags for cars for free. I told the lady behind the counter I would be just fine without one...

Scenes from the City, Thursday 17:05

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Scenes from the City, Thursday 17:05 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . The streets were empty but the pubs were full...

Scenes from Noel Coward Theatre Wednesday 22:29

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Scenes from Noel Coward Theatre Wednesday 22:29 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Trekkie Monster and actor Simon Lipkin post Avenue Q tonight. It is still in preview until the end of the month but if the audience reaction is as strong as it was tonight for the show, then Avenue Q surely will be around for a while in the West End. A great show with an amazing amount of energy where twenty somethings (some real, some puppets) sing about life lessons such as "What do you do with a B.A. in English?" and "The Internet is for Porn". The latter song is where we meet Trekkie Monster... Of course humourous songs aside, this show has a real story and a lot of heart. It is warm and fuzzy on so many levels. If the Muppets grew up (and were not sanitised when Disney bought them out) then they would be doing shows like this. A show for the Miss Piggy generation if there ever was one...