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Music Matters
Jul. 21st, 2015 10:02 pmIn addition to the theatre I went to three very different performances which involved music.
Firstly, High Society at the Old Vic. Up to a couple of years ago I would never have thought I'd enjoy musicals, but now I really do. It's definitely a feel good experience. Plot with a happy ending; singing; dancing - just so much fun. And songs which everyone recognises. Jamie Parker as Mike Connor, forgetting one of the lines in "Well, did you evah?" Joe Stilgoe as Joey Powell, playing the piano at the beginning and incorporating tunes suggested by the audience. It was the first thing I went to and started my holiday on and excellent footing.
As a complete contrast Thursday lunchtime I went to St Martin in the Fields for Great Sacred Music. A short performance, lasting little over half an hour, which included a couple of hymns the congregation were invited to join in with. The theme for that particular week was the modern Scottish composer James MacMillan. He's not a composer I would go out of my way to hear, but being in Trafalgar Square anyway I was glad to have had the opportunity to learn more about him.
And then in the evening I went to Sadler's Wells to see Matthew Bourne's The Car Man. My best description would be fanfic set to ballet. It is an AU of Bizet's opera Carmen. There is slash: Luca/Angelo and full-frontal nudity. I prefer my ballet to be slightly more traditional and in that sense enjoyed the second act more than the first. To me some of the ensemble pieces would have been at home on the set of a musical rather more than a ballet. Nevertheless I enjoyed the spectacle and have added it to my list of things I am glad to have seen. Also, I was pleased to identify Bizet's L'Arlessiene as being included in the ballet.
Firstly, High Society at the Old Vic. Up to a couple of years ago I would never have thought I'd enjoy musicals, but now I really do. It's definitely a feel good experience. Plot with a happy ending; singing; dancing - just so much fun. And songs which everyone recognises. Jamie Parker as Mike Connor, forgetting one of the lines in "Well, did you evah?" Joe Stilgoe as Joey Powell, playing the piano at the beginning and incorporating tunes suggested by the audience. It was the first thing I went to and started my holiday on and excellent footing.
As a complete contrast Thursday lunchtime I went to St Martin in the Fields for Great Sacred Music. A short performance, lasting little over half an hour, which included a couple of hymns the congregation were invited to join in with. The theme for that particular week was the modern Scottish composer James MacMillan. He's not a composer I would go out of my way to hear, but being in Trafalgar Square anyway I was glad to have had the opportunity to learn more about him.
And then in the evening I went to Sadler's Wells to see Matthew Bourne's The Car Man. My best description would be fanfic set to ballet. It is an AU of Bizet's opera Carmen. There is slash: Luca/Angelo and full-frontal nudity. I prefer my ballet to be slightly more traditional and in that sense enjoyed the second act more than the first. To me some of the ensemble pieces would have been at home on the set of a musical rather more than a ballet. Nevertheless I enjoyed the spectacle and have added it to my list of things I am glad to have seen. Also, I was pleased to identify Bizet's L'Arlessiene as being included in the ballet.
