Monthly culture, March 2024
Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranth07MAR24: Cold Comfort Farm (Schlesinger, 1995) -- BBC iPlayer
I don't think I'd ever seen this 1995 film, though I know the book well. Of course it loses some of the humour (and science fictionality) of Gibbons' novel, but the screenplay (by Malcolm Bradbury, apparently) is excellent and the performances extremely good. Though the cast (McKellen, Lumley, Atkins, Fry, Beckinsale, Sewell) all look very young.
09MAR24: Fairport Convention -- Union Chapel
Sadly, this long-awaited gig was underwhelming. I didn't feel the spirit of Fairport or enjoy the music, much of which was newish and thus unfamiliar. We left early.
14MAR24: Nyad (Chin / Vasarhenyi, 2023) -- Netflix
Annette Bening as open-water marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, Jodie Foster as her friend and coach: tells the story of Nyad's (controversial) attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida, with a very subtle sub-plot about the sexual abuse she endured from her childhood swimming coach. This was a slow and sometimes harrowing film (jellyfish!) and depicted Nyad as a driven woman, often careless of others' feelings
16MAR24: The Barber of Seville (Rossini, arr. Charles Court Opera) -- Wiltons Music Hall
Small company (Charles Court Opera), single pianist (who got a standing ovation at the beginning of the second half), Western setting: Rosina is a barmaid and her guardian Bartolo owns the saloon. Almaviva is pretending to be a cowboy, and Bertha is a good-time girl with a Cockney accent. My first note on this performance, though, was an elaborate heart next to the word 'Figaro': Jonathan Eyers really was fantastic in the role, flamboyant and warm. "With incentive, I'm inventive"... Samantha Price (Rosina) has an exceptional lower register. Thoroughly delightful: I already have tickets for their performance of G&S 'The Sorcerer' later this year.
17MAR24: Requiem (Faure) / The Music Makers (Elgar) -- Blackheath Halls
I knew and liked the Faure, though it is far from exciting: the Elgar was, as far as I can tell, new to me, and I enjoyed it a lot. 'We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams...' from 'Ode' by Arthur O'Shaughnessy. Jess Dandy, the contralto, has an amazing voice, and I shall keep an eye on future performances. Blackheath Halls Orchestra and Choir (joined by Blackheath Choir) on good form.
28MAR24: Maudie (Walsh, 2016) -- Netflix
Biopic based on the life of Nova Scotian folk artist Maud Lewis: Sally Hawkins is great in the title role (her arthritis, her art and her lack of social nous are all conveyed honestly and convincingly) and Ethan Hawke does a splendid job as her sometimes abusive, often unkind husband. Grinding poverty, though, and some nasty family secrets: not exactly a cheerful watch.
I don't think I'd ever seen this 1995 film, though I know the book well. Of course it loses some of the humour (and science fictionality) of Gibbons' novel, but the screenplay (by Malcolm Bradbury, apparently) is excellent and the performances extremely good. Though the cast (McKellen, Lumley, Atkins, Fry, Beckinsale, Sewell) all look very young.
09MAR24: Fairport Convention -- Union Chapel
Sadly, this long-awaited gig was underwhelming. I didn't feel the spirit of Fairport or enjoy the music, much of which was newish and thus unfamiliar. We left early.
14MAR24: Nyad (Chin / Vasarhenyi, 2023) -- Netflix
Annette Bening as open-water marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, Jodie Foster as her friend and coach: tells the story of Nyad's (controversial) attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida, with a very subtle sub-plot about the sexual abuse she endured from her childhood swimming coach. This was a slow and sometimes harrowing film (jellyfish!) and depicted Nyad as a driven woman, often careless of others' feelings
16MAR24: The Barber of Seville (Rossini, arr. Charles Court Opera) -- Wiltons Music Hall
Small company (Charles Court Opera), single pianist (who got a standing ovation at the beginning of the second half), Western setting: Rosina is a barmaid and her guardian Bartolo owns the saloon. Almaviva is pretending to be a cowboy, and Bertha is a good-time girl with a Cockney accent. My first note on this performance, though, was an elaborate heart next to the word 'Figaro': Jonathan Eyers really was fantastic in the role, flamboyant and warm. "With incentive, I'm inventive"... Samantha Price (Rosina) has an exceptional lower register. Thoroughly delightful: I already have tickets for their performance of G&S 'The Sorcerer' later this year.
17MAR24: Requiem (Faure) / The Music Makers (Elgar) -- Blackheath Halls
I knew and liked the Faure, though it is far from exciting: the Elgar was, as far as I can tell, new to me, and I enjoyed it a lot. 'We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams...' from 'Ode' by Arthur O'Shaughnessy. Jess Dandy, the contralto, has an amazing voice, and I shall keep an eye on future performances. Blackheath Halls Orchestra and Choir (joined by Blackheath Choir) on good form.
28MAR24: Maudie (Walsh, 2016) -- Netflix
Biopic based on the life of Nova Scotian folk artist Maud Lewis: Sally Hawkins is great in the title role (her arthritis, her art and her lack of social nous are all conveyed honestly and convincingly) and Ethan Hawke does a splendid job as her sometimes abusive, often unkind husband. Grinding poverty, though, and some nasty family secrets: not exactly a cheerful watch.
