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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

Staycation: The Cotswolds

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Last weekend I ventured out of London to the Cotswolds  for the first time. The Cotswolds seems to consist of many cute little towns that all look the same and that offer an array of antiques, clothing for  the elderly and places to eat lunch. It is all rather civilised. Lunch in the Cotswolds turned out to be a very cruel sport. Establishments were either offering a one hour wait, or menu boards outside saying they were full and didn't want you approaching them. Once inside one of these sought after establishments, no menu could be considered complete without deep fried brie and some form of lasagne. With menus like that on offer it was no surprise everywhere we turned we saw fat people, such as Gloucester at sunset... Incidentally, the trip to Gloucester was accidental after being frightened out of Cheltenham by chain restaurants and loose women amongst the regency terraces. It was a chance to take in the cathedral, the various shopping arcades built circa 1970/1980, and a ra

Hot news this week in London

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IMG_1753 Originally uploaded by Paul-in-London Dr Zeuss meets the brown word...

Opera: Aida

The Royal Opera continues in its current trend to show flesh with its slightly naughty version of Aida . I caught up with it on opening night last week, and this new production looks great. And with plenty of partial nudity, it can be a little distracting. While it has been a controversial choice in staging, I thought it helped since I really don't care for Aida as an opera - a small story blown out into epic proportions that goes on forever. Still, conductor Nicola Luisotti also gets a great sound out of his orchestra and chorus (if perhaps not his soloists). His thoughts on the opera are captured in the latest podcast from the Royal Opera as well. Opening night was also a charity fundraiser with HRH in attendance ( wheeling in his wife ), so the standard of dress was a little bit better than usual at Covent Garden as well... It runs until 16 May and worth catching.

The other Westminster question on election night...

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Listen! via AudioBoo Posted via web from paulinlondon's posterous

Play: Holding the Man

On election night, I was in Whitehall at the Trafalgar Studios watching the Australian (gay) play Holding the Man . The play is about two boys and their fifteen year relationship from meeting at a good Catholic school in Melbourne in the late seventies through to the early nineties.  It is based on the book of the same name . The story is part coming of age, part coming out, part gay life in oz in the eighties, and part dealing with HIV and AIDs. Two out of the four parts are quite depressing, but at least the coming out and coming of age parts are charming. Surprisingly for a play that has won a lot of awards (in Australia), I found it to be like a cliff notes version of the book. While I have not read the book, after seeing the play I feel I have a sense of its geography, but not its sentiment. The direction and staging don't help much either, which is fairly uninspired with too many "comic" diversions and a set that looks like a tip. This is a shame as the cast

Scenes from tough times in a phone booth in London

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IMG_1745 Originally uploaded by Paul-in-London Card reads: Hot Transexual. Busty boobs. Fit, sexy, English, naughty babe. £60 recession special. For when times are tight I suppose...

Scenes from Springtime in London

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Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous