Blues, Ballet and Bling
Aug. 19th, 2019 04:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitThis trip I did something of a musical nature on every day.
On Wednesday I went to see Blues in the Night at the Kiln Theatre. It's a story set in a run down hotel in Chicago in the 1920s, and told entirely through the use of blues songs. It was very good. It starred Sharon D Clarke as The Lady, who was excellent, as were the rest of the cast. I'd particularly mention Debbie Kurup as The Woman. The set was well conceived, and the band: piano, trumpet, sax, double bass and drums, played live on stage. I'd really enjoyed Sharon D Clarke in Caroline, or Change, for which she won an Olivier for best actress in a musical, and had jumped at the opportunity to see her again.
On Thursday I saw Matthew Bourne's Romeo & Juliet at Sadler's Wells, which was the first thing I'd booked for my London trip. This is a typical Bourne re-imagining, set in Verona Institute, which is a psychiatric institute for young people. It was stunning. A very simple set, which worked incredibly well and a cast of young dancers. The performance uses Prokofiev's music but taking the themes and re-creating the score for a 15 player chamber orchestra. Initially it's not easy to work out what's happening, but it soon becomes clear. There were outstanding performances from Harrison Dowzell (Romeo), Cordelia Braithwaite (Juliet), Ben Brown (Mercutio) and Jackson Fisch (Barthasar, Mercutio's boyfriend). I think this was the highlight of an excellent week. It has been filmed, so if you can't see it on tour, it should be shown in the autumn. (22 Oct, encore on 6 Nov).
And on Friday SM came up to London and we went to a Prom together. This was called the Victorian Prom and celebrated the 200th birthday of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The highlight of the concert was Stephen Hough (a pianist we both like) playing Mendelssohn's 1st Piano Concerto (he was a friend of Victoria and Albert) on Queen Victoria's own golden piano, which normally resides in the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. And after the interval Hough accompanied a young tenor, Alessandro Fisher, who sang Five Songs for which Albert had composed the music. Albert's music was pretty, rather than grand, but enjoyable. The piano concerto was lovely, and I was very glad we were able to hear it. The concert concluded with Mendelssohn's 3rd Symphony (Scottish).
On Wednesday I went to see Blues in the Night at the Kiln Theatre. It's a story set in a run down hotel in Chicago in the 1920s, and told entirely through the use of blues songs. It was very good. It starred Sharon D Clarke as The Lady, who was excellent, as were the rest of the cast. I'd particularly mention Debbie Kurup as The Woman. The set was well conceived, and the band: piano, trumpet, sax, double bass and drums, played live on stage. I'd really enjoyed Sharon D Clarke in Caroline, or Change, for which she won an Olivier for best actress in a musical, and had jumped at the opportunity to see her again.
On Thursday I saw Matthew Bourne's Romeo & Juliet at Sadler's Wells, which was the first thing I'd booked for my London trip. This is a typical Bourne re-imagining, set in Verona Institute, which is a psychiatric institute for young people. It was stunning. A very simple set, which worked incredibly well and a cast of young dancers. The performance uses Prokofiev's music but taking the themes and re-creating the score for a 15 player chamber orchestra. Initially it's not easy to work out what's happening, but it soon becomes clear. There were outstanding performances from Harrison Dowzell (Romeo), Cordelia Braithwaite (Juliet), Ben Brown (Mercutio) and Jackson Fisch (Barthasar, Mercutio's boyfriend). I think this was the highlight of an excellent week. It has been filmed, so if you can't see it on tour, it should be shown in the autumn. (22 Oct, encore on 6 Nov).
And on Friday SM came up to London and we went to a Prom together. This was called the Victorian Prom and celebrated the 200th birthday of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The highlight of the concert was Stephen Hough (a pianist we both like) playing Mendelssohn's 1st Piano Concerto (he was a friend of Victoria and Albert) on Queen Victoria's own golden piano, which normally resides in the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. And after the interval Hough accompanied a young tenor, Alessandro Fisher, who sang Five Songs for which Albert had composed the music. Albert's music was pretty, rather than grand, but enjoyable. The piano concerto was lovely, and I was very glad we were able to hear it. The concert concluded with Mendelssohn's 3rd Symphony (Scottish).
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Date: 2019-08-19 05:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-19 05:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-19 06:28 pm (UTC)What a busy yet wonderful week!
I bet you must be tired yet happy! (Sorry for all the exclamation marks.)
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Date: 2019-08-19 06:34 pm (UTC)I was tired by the end of my time away, but it was worth it :)
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Date: 2019-08-19 06:37 pm (UTC)Yay, tired doesn't hurt as long as it is worth it :-)
Hope you are both enjoying a cuppa now.
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