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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

Overheard at the cafe Wednesday...

Man #1 : I'm just bored with it all... Man #2 : Well I know a guy who can get you cheap Viagra... Man #1 : I don't need Viagra, I just need better looking talent...

Film: Physique er Casino Royale

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Casino Royale , originally uploaded by peter-noster . Tuesday night I managed to catch Casino Royale at the Odeon at Leicester Square. It is a big cinema with a big screen and every inch of screen counts with this Bond outing. There are explosions, there are chases, there is a fantastic free-running stunt and there are those swimming trunks . You need a big screen to take all of that in... I have to say I was very impressed with this Bond flick. Sure the script had some pretty bad dialogue at times and the direction wasn't always slick, but as a package it all hung together very well. It helps with Daniel Craig in the lead as someone who can act and fight too. This film has set him up very nicely to set Bond in a new direction (if that's what the punters end up wanting). I have never read any of the Ian Flemming novels and I understand that the film version is fairly faithful to the book as it explains how Bond gets his double-o status. It is what is referred to as a "

Scenes from Clapham High Street Sunday 02:25

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DSC04004 , originally uploaded by Pauly_ . The messy end of the evening... No vomit, but plenty of fat... This is the second drunk girl that I have encountered this weekend. The first required two ambulances Friday night after too much white wine. Before they whisked her away she managed to throw up in a jug of cosmopolitan... Well that cocktail was so five years ago anyway... This one I just tripped over on the way out of an establishment... She wasn't moving for anybody...

Overheard on my footpath Saturday evening...

Girl #1 : Aye think aye need a belt for thees dreess... Girl #2 : Aww aye think aye need a belt for meyne too...

Scenes from Carnaby Street Saturday 14:57

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DSC03997 , originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Christmas shopping in full swing... And rather annoying when you are trying to get into Soho quickly...

Scenes from North London Wednesday 22:57

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Scenes from North London Wednesday 22:57 , originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Quiet night in N4... Only the noise of the traffic and the whir of the CCTV camera could be heard...

News: Bond premiere

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Daniel Craig as Bond! , originally uploaded by yahoo_movies_uk . The new James Bond movie Casino Royale had its premiere tonight in Leicester Square . The early reviews are saying this "reboot" of the series is a good one... But really all the talk is about this particular scene of Daniel Craig emerging from the water... Hmm bit of an upper body workout happenin' there... (And ok it was a cheap excuse for a bit of flesh on the blog site...)