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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

Scenes from an office lunch Monday...

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Scenes from an office lunch , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . When caterers make lunch with their feet...

Scenes from Clapham Common Sunday 20:02

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Scenes from Clapham Common Sunday 20:02 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . After one fine day on the common...

Scenes from Waterloo Bridge Saturday 12:40

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02062007627 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Singing Bulgarian folk music first thing on a Saturday morning is not the best thing for a hangover, but I am sure by next Friday when the Overture starts on the South Bank it will sound all rather sensible... Well as sensible as a few hundred people singing on a boat going up the river can sound... After rehearsals it became a bit of a task to avoid the free runners. The brutalist buildings at the South Bank Centre are proving ever popular for this sort of thing...

Theatre: Rose and other adventures...

In the month it took to get my internet put up I did get up to the following: Caught The Rose Tattoo with Zoe Wanamaker. Great play and well worth the £10 tix. It is great to see more Tennessee Williams plays in London and here is hoping that the fashion for reviving his work continues... It wasn't hard to resist doing ones best impersonation of Sicilian impersonator with colleague AW. It sort of goes, "Naw naw naw naw naw... Naht mah Rrrrose!" Perhaps it was the fine wine, but after the play AW and I photographed the grass on the theatre and groped a cast iron statue on Waterloo Bridge ... It was a great night... Saw Pelléas et Mélisande (translated: Pelléas and Mélisande) at the Royal Opera. I had been warned that the opera was boring so sat in the cheap seats but it turned out to be all rather exciting and dramatic. Sure it all ends in tears but what a way to go... The champagne at interval cost more than the ticket but it was all rather worth it... Particularly whe

Office Banter

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Colleague (offering a mint): Paul, do you like soft mints? Paul: I like them soft, I like them hard, but my favourites are curiously strong...

Scenes from Trafalgar Square Friday

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Scenes from Trafalgar Square Friday , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . In keeping with a "grass in unusual places" photo montage... I present... Trafalgar Square (and on fat bastard with a camera trying to take a photo of a yoof having a rest)... Internet is connected at last so regular updates will resume shortly...

Scenes from the National Theatre Saturday

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Scenes from the National Theatre Saturday , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Grassy and Wet (and it has been a long time but should be back on the internet after moving!)

Conversations over food in the office at lunchtime...

Colleague: Gee Paul, that looks good... Paul: Well... You are what you eat...