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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 gym Saturday...

Man #1: Oh I didn't realise that the gym closed at 7... Man #2: Yeah so what are ya going to do? Man #1: Well I need to go to the bathroom anyway so I will catch ya later... (He walks off... The sound of a door closes is heard) Noises then heard: Pfft! Phwt! Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb!

Theatre: Present Laughter

Tuesday night after digesting an unusual chicken curry meal, I was ready to see the Noël Coward play Present Laughter with Anna. We decided that rather than seeing it at the start of the run, a frightfully witty Coward play would be just the thing to keep those post-Christmas January blues away. What kept us entertained was not the acting or the witty script, but the thought that the show was going to be short. Oh how wrong we were. But we weren't the only ones. At the end of act one half the audience was in such a need of a drink they got up and headed to the exits only to be turned away... There was more to come. It wasn't until about 9pm did we get an intermission. By that time we both realised that coffee was more important than gin to get through the remaining ninety minutes. Ah yes, we were firmly in the realms of the National Theatre where every play gets the worthy treatment... Every pause is made to last... Every unnecessary addition (such as the radio announcement of

Scenes from the National Theatre Bistro

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Scenes from the National Theatre Bistro , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Before the theatre, one does need to get some food to eat, and the charming little food cafe at the National Theatre does a few small meals that simply taste as good as they look... It's chicken curry if you were wondering...

Scenes from the East End Sunday

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London - East End , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . A rather specific requirement for models in a shop window...

Movie: I'm Not There

Since Christmas it has been a chance to drink loads of champagne, sleep in and do very little. However before the holidays came to an end I did manage to catch the Bob Dylan movie I'm Not There . The film directed by Todd Haynes uses a number of actors to depict different periods of Dylan's life. Watching it and not knowing a great deal about Dylan's life except for that period where he went electric probably doesn't help, but it is a fascinating movie that probably gets better with repeated viewings. Cate Blanchett as Jude Quinn (electric / druggy Dylan) was particularly entertaining and who would have thought her hair was a perfect match for him at that period (even if it was not a wig)?

Scenes from a kitchen at Christmas (early preparations)

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Christmas 2007 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . I could have written about the concerts I saw this week which included Cecilia Bartoli with a slight cold yodelling in tribute to early 19th-century diva Maria Malibran, or about the five hours of Wagner I sat through in a coma on Friday (mental note: Parsifal isn't my cup of tea), but anyway, I thought this was far more appropriate for Christmas day...

Overheard at the midnight Eucharist...

Woman: Who are those men in black? Man #1: They are the priests... Man #2: No they are the vergers... Woman: Virgins? Man #2: No vergers... (to Paul) We know they ain't virgins...