Daily Archives: 11 May, 2012

Philip Glass: Einstein on the Beach

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Barbican Concert Hall, 26 May

What exactly is Philip Glass’s first opera; is it a ballet with singing, an opera with dance, an art house play with both? Well, it’s all of these, yes, but really it’s in a category all of its own too; in the way that no-one who was there quite knew what to make of Waiting for Godot: a new existential art-form was born. Think also of the vitriol that accompanied Berlioz wherever he went, of the riot that accompanied The Rites of Spring; music almost against its will was being nudged in a new direction. At the Barbican for only nine nights, for the first time in Europe since 1976 and in this country ever, the production I saw on May 4th was all-but the same show that premiered 36 years ago in Avignon (and lost all concerned a small fortune).

The opera itself is, how to say, unusual. Four and a half hours with no interval, with no discernable arias, simplistic plot and no clear narrative; but it is hypnotic, entrancing, enveloping, sucking you into a different world that repeats and almost repeats again and again. In structure it is four acts with five intermezzos or ‘knee plays’. The two central motifs throughout are time – passing or not, looking forward and back; and numbers in any sequence, random, Fibonacci, ascending and descending.

It’s clear that Glass’s 1960s associations with Ravi Shankar and his ragas, some of which can go on for a solid day, are strong inspirations. Themes come and go, come and go, are invented and reinvented, disappear and an hour later reappear again. It is as much an intellectual exercise as aesthetic.  

There are clear strong resonances, if not premonitions of Koyaanisquatsi with the low, slow sepulchral organ, of CIVIL warS with the voice over as though from the news.

The singing itself, this being an opera, was pretty much always ensemble with usually a half dozen voices the norm. Largo al factotem is often quoted as the by-word/guide against which to measure speed, technique and clarity. Frequently this, with six voice together (not just one), with many many words per minute in perfect syncronicity, was the match. The dancers too must have supreme stamina, dancing vigorously for up to 20 minutes to a choreography of Lucinda Childs

It’s fair to say that at four and a half hours its long, a good editor could have taken this down to three with ease. To quote Glass though, less is not more, more is more, that’s why its called ‘more’. Parts of the staging are certainly self indulgent, not least a single bar of light rotating, taking a full 20 minutes to do so with no other visual elements at all. The human brain likes linear stories and this one has almost none. Whilst the music was often fast some parts of the staging were snail like, perhaps to avoid repetition, perhaps just because that is what director Robert Wilson wanted. Michael Reisman conducted, as he has for every single performance, ever!

I found the absurdity of it all strange, entrancing and exhilarating; its fair to say some won’t have. CM

Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

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 White Rock Theatre, Hastings  10 April

 Bill Kenwright’s touring version of Joseph has a lot going for it. The large cast provide both the ample choral force and the individual characters, all of whom are convincingly created and warmly appreciated. The text carries well, even if somewhat over-amplified, and the humour makes its mark. The staging is simple but magnificent, with a lighting rig many amateur performers would give anything for.

Some numbers are particularly well done.  The twenties pastiche for Potiphar and the western One more angel  both score highly in terms of vocal aplomb and dancing. When it was first conceived Elvis was still very much alive and working, but today the presence of the ‘King’ does not quite have the same impact as it appears to be a characterisation of a cartoon memory of Elvis rather than an homage. But all of this passes slickly and enjoyably by.

The problem lies with the casting of Joseph himself. While it was obvious many in the audience knew who Keith Jack was from his television history, those of us who tend only to see live performances were somewhat uneasy. He sings quite well, though without any sense of emotional impact or moulding a musical line to create character. But his inability to act or dance was only too quickly heightened by the high quality of the work around him. When the story line effectively came to an end and the company set out to enjoy a knees-up reprieve of all the best bits, Keith Jack vanished from the stage, only to return for a slow rendition of his hit number.

I accept that TV series can help to build audiences, but it is disconcerting to find that the weakest member of the ensemble is a better dancer than the lead. BH

Will Todd’s Nightingale comes to The Sage

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Hertfordshire Chorus at The Sage Gateshead

It is said the English romantic poet John Keats wrote his Ode to a Nightingale in a single day in 1819, inspired by one of the birds singing in a garden. Evidently it took the Durham-born composer Will Todd rather longer to set it to music, having been commissioned by Hertfordshire Chorus patron Rod Jones. In the programme, Todd reveals the humility he felt, having to work with a poem which has meant so much to so many people. He writes about his working method, the succession of drafts, the first “heartfelt and very bad”, and the intensifying pressure as the deadline approaches.

The resulting one-act choral symphony was premiered at London’s Barbican arts centre last May but got its first stunning North East performance recently, sandwiched between Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42 and the Mozart Requiem.

The Hertfordshire Chorus, under its Newcastle-born musical director David Temple, made an impressive sight, its ranks of black-clad singers – more than 100-strong – ranged across the stage. The choir makes a big sound, as you might expect, but most impressive of all, it is extremely well drilled and can turn on a sixpence.

Todd’s work puts great demands on the singers, its big, long notes and phrases seeming to invite hyper-ventilation, but all proved equal to it. Keats wrote of nature and the realisation of mortality (he would die a couple of years later of tuberculosis, aged just 25) in a poem full of light and shade. Todd’s piece, comprising great ebbing and flowing tides of sound, does justice to it, capturing the mood even if – inevitably – some of the words are lost.

Accompanied by the English Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Tristan Jurney, Todd’s work proved more than just a tasty starter before the main Mozart course was served.

But the Requiem was brilliant too, bringing out the best in soloists Katharine Watson, Kitty Whately (Kevin’s talented daughter), Joshua Ellicott and Michael Bundy.

Miss Watson, a bit of a nightingale herself, also shone in the earlier Mendelssohn piece, a work of delicate beauty.

The audience was disappointingly small but it departed happy. Hopefully the Hertfordshire Chorus will be back before too long. It has championed Will Todd whose mounting achievements should be celebrated here on his home soil.

Vienna Festival Ballet: Swan Lake

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White Rock Theatre Hastings, 24 April

Ballet designers and choreographers love to include balls and grand occasions to allow the dancers to display their expertise. Swan Lake is no exception opening with a series of varied dance styles, with the heroine Odette the leader of the swans not appearing until Act 2 (in theatre parlance a  ‘nine o’clock spot’.) Very well worth waiting for she was, played by the delightful and diminutive Ryoko Yacyu.

With the familiar Tchaikovsky score, it was immediately obvious that the dancers are accustomed to working to electronic music. Following the original choreography of Marius Petipa,  Prince Siegfried, Richard Hackett, meets Odette by the lake of the title, when she explains how she and her friends have been turned into swans by the wicked magician Rothbart, to be restored only by the love of a prince.

The dual role of Odette/Odile, traditionally the one in white tutu, the other in black, has brought fame to prima ballerinas from its premiere in 1877 with the revered Pierrina Legnani, in the 20th century Alicia Markova, Margot Fonteyn, and Darcy Bussell, and today Ryoko, who created an instant rapport with the audience.  In a company of all-round ability, outstanding was the youthful athleticism of Italian Francesco Bruni as the Jester, and the quartet Jodie McKnight, Akiho Sakuraba, Felicity Ramsay and Annie Cannon, who presented as a vital part of the story the frequently-parodied Dance of the Cygnets.

The happy ending was greeted by the audience with resounding applause. MW

Magdalena Reising with the Blue Cafe Jazz

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Jazz Breakfast  St Mary in the Castle Sunday 15 April

With her sparkling personality and instant rapport with her audience, imported from Hibernia via her Polish parentage and now resident in this area Magdalena is truly multi-faceted, and her programme reflected this.

The combination of Magdalena’s harp with Steve Thompson’s double-bass and Terry Seabrook’s  keyboard under the title  Blue Cafe Jazz is intriguingly original. Certainly the solos of all three, integrated into the action, were much appreciated by an audience obviously in tune with the jazz idiom.

Magdalena’s professionalism based on intimate contact with her audience reached those at the rear of the auditorium as readily as those in the tables at the front. Beginning with a Polish melody Dzigo Roza, she demonstrated her expertise on the harp in her own compositions, changing to a set of familiar standards.  Terry and Steve were dominant in The Waiting Game, the trio closing the first half with a hit from The Sound of Music, My Favourite Things.

Openng the second half Magdelena gave the full treatment to the ballad The Nearness of You, the second chorus in jazzed-up format, leading into an up-tempo version of the  Al Jolson number Bye Bye Blackbird.  A harp solo was the wistful reminder of the Jacobite era Charlie is My Darling, the trio joining for My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose.  Terry at the keyboard sequed into Autumn Leaves, Steve joining for the second chorus, Magdalena following for The End of Love.

Magdalena bowed to the audience’s request for more with a sympathetic treatment of Edith Piaf’s signature La Vie en Rose, repeated in the English version Take me to You Heart Again.     
A greatly applauded first visit by this unique trio to St Marys with hopefully more to come.

The next Jazz Breakfast is on Sunday May 20, welcoming the return of vocalist Tina May.  Admission  £8, members £7. MW

Rye Wurlitzer

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 Rye College Sunday 22 April   Donald Mackenzie

Exchanging the Metropolitan aura of the organ of the Odeon Leicester Square for the blossoming spring of the Rye countryside, Donald Mackenzie opened his programme on Rye’s Wurlitzer with a selection from Broadway musicals, Cabaret, Hello Dolly, Everything’s Coming up Roses from Gipsy. Then came a whistle-stop tour of Western Europe with Tulips from Amsterdam,  Sous les Toits de Paris, Funicule Funicula, Anton Karas’s Harry Lime Theme,  Falling in love Again, ever associated with Marlene Dietrich, That’s Amore, and a foot-tapping selection of Strauss Waltzes ending topically with Voices of Spring.

Jack Strachey, famous for These Foolish Things, wrote other hits as well.  Donald chose In Party Time, remembered as the introduction to BBC’s Housewives’ Choice.   A selection of Gracie Fields’ favourites began with Sing as We Go, Sally, the comedy number I Took My Harp to a Party, Now is the Hour, The Isle of Capri, Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye, and ended with Everything Stops for Tea appropriately announcing the interval.

The second half opened from Eric Coates’s suite The Three Elizabeths,  the topical Springtime in Angus, and the third movement now termed Youth of Britain.  Jerome Kern contributed numbers from the scores of Showboat and the Astaire-Rogers  Swingtime,  Look for the Silver Lining,  Smoke gets in Your Eyes, Why Do I Love You,  Can’t Help Lovin’ that Man, Let Yourself Go, All the Things You Are and Ole Man River.

A request item was Highland Cathedral (not penned by a Scot but two German tunesmiths).  Donald ended with a reminder of the music of  Noel Gay, the public persona of Reginald Armitage, organist of Wakefield Cathedral, The Sun Has Got His Hat On (a Thirties film number for comedian Jack Hulbert but with renewed popularity in the West End revival of Me and My Girl,)  The Fleet’s in Port Again, Hey Little Hen, and most of all The Lambeth Walk.     MW