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Tuesday, June 7th, 2016 07:24 am07-MAY-16: Fred's House -- The Junction, Cambridge
What an excellent gig! Full of verve, nice Seventies vibe, exuberant singer and good songs. Plus, although it was technically a standing-only gig, we got there early enough to get seats.
11-MAY-16: Lucia di Lammermoor, Royal Opera House
M had a spare ticket, hurrah! This was the Katie Mitchell production that sparked outrage due to explicit sex: I don't know if they'd toned it down by the time we saw it, or if we just didn't notice the worst bits. (We were off to the left of the ROH: the production is 'split-screen', with different action on the left and the right of the stage, and we didn't have a good view of the left half.) The production does highlight the sexual politics and the misogyny -- Lucia's 'wedding feast' is a pool game, not a woman in sight. Blood everywhere, too. But the music is sublime and often cheery. Marvellous singing, especially from Aleksandra Kurzak as Lucia and Artur Ruciński as Enrico.
21-MAY-16: London Choral Sinfonia; Haydn, War and Peace -- Cadogan Hall
Haydn's Masses have become some of my favourite choral music. The London Choral Sinfonia gave us Salve Regina, Te Deum and the Nelson Mass: they started with a shorter piece I had not heard before, Insanae et vanae curae, which was fantastic. Interestingly, the choir includes male altos -- not something I remember seeing before. Will definitely look out for more concerts by this group.
25-MAY-16: Justina Robson interview, BSFA -- Artillery Arms
Interviewed by Kate Keen, who asked plenty of pertinent questions and got interesting responses. JR's recurring theme: 'dead people in your head'. And her apology: 'I naturally complicate things'. An offhand comment provoked me to find and reread Andre Norton's The Jargoon Pard; I also learnt that JR was inspired by Holdstock's Lavondyss -- communal tales, big ideas. Plus some commentary about Glorious Angels, her latest, which I loved.
What an excellent gig! Full of verve, nice Seventies vibe, exuberant singer and good songs. Plus, although it was technically a standing-only gig, we got there early enough to get seats.
11-MAY-16: Lucia di Lammermoor, Royal Opera House
M had a spare ticket, hurrah! This was the Katie Mitchell production that sparked outrage due to explicit sex: I don't know if they'd toned it down by the time we saw it, or if we just didn't notice the worst bits. (We were off to the left of the ROH: the production is 'split-screen', with different action on the left and the right of the stage, and we didn't have a good view of the left half.) The production does highlight the sexual politics and the misogyny -- Lucia's 'wedding feast' is a pool game, not a woman in sight. Blood everywhere, too. But the music is sublime and often cheery. Marvellous singing, especially from Aleksandra Kurzak as Lucia and Artur Ruciński as Enrico.
21-MAY-16: London Choral Sinfonia; Haydn, War and Peace -- Cadogan Hall
Haydn's Masses have become some of my favourite choral music. The London Choral Sinfonia gave us Salve Regina, Te Deum and the Nelson Mass: they started with a shorter piece I had not heard before, Insanae et vanae curae, which was fantastic. Interestingly, the choir includes male altos -- not something I remember seeing before. Will definitely look out for more concerts by this group.
25-MAY-16: Justina Robson interview, BSFA -- Artillery Arms
Interviewed by Kate Keen, who asked plenty of pertinent questions and got interesting responses. JR's recurring theme: 'dead people in your head'. And her apology: 'I naturally complicate things'. An offhand comment provoked me to find and reread Andre Norton's The Jargoon Pard; I also learnt that JR was inspired by Holdstock's Lavondyss -- communal tales, big ideas. Plus some commentary about Glorious Angels, her latest, which I loved.
