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Cultural Catchup
It has been a busy few weeks. Not only have I started WERK, I have been ingesting CULTURE, including but not limited to:
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Very impressive cast: Gary Oldman does a wonderfully subtle shift from quiet civil servant to incredibly menacing spymaster; Mark Strong exudes physical and mental anguish; the Seventies (with that sole swag of tinsel on the Circus tea-trolley, the squeezy tomato in the Wimpy bar, the dim lighting) were grimily realistic; I liked what they did with the homosexual (sub)text, including adding some in. The final ten minutes is a tour de force, all the more powerful for being sans dialogue.
- Warrior
Went to see this on the basis of TOM HARDY, who did not disappoint though this is very much not My Kind of Film. Hollywood-sanitised, family-friendly, heartwarming movie about blokes beating one another to a pulp. Surprisingly unviolent. I continue to be impressed by Mr Hardy's acting: his character in this is really rather unlikeable, but has Depth and Facets.
I did find the ending rather unsatisfactory for nearly all the characters, though, and I'm still not sure whether my perception of who betrayed Tommy's secret is correct.
- The Elixir of Love (Donizetti)
The ENO production of Donizetti's most frivolous opera is set in 1950s America, in Adina's Diner: pretty pastels everywhere, sugary tunes, some blissful duets. Realised that I had been listening to the 2-CD set in the wrong order for a long time -- at least this is one explanation for my complete failure to remember that my favourite bits are in Act Two, not Act One.
The translation was a little clunky, and some of the American accents were ... differently successful. William Robert Allenby's Dulcamara really hit the spot, and his Cadillac was very shiny: Sarah Tynan (Adina) and Ben Johnson (Nemorino) seemed to take a while to warm up. Fun and frothy.
- Mahler, Symphony #8 ('Symphony ofA Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine')
The finale of Lorin Maazel's Mahler cycle: big in every respect (three choirs, large orchestra, eight solo singers, and the RFH organ (WIP, not yet fully restored); last night's performance was well over the 90-minute mark, and not a single one of those moments was dull. Additional, and unwanted, excitement provided by the collapse during the final movement of one of the double-bass players, who was helped off the stage by colleagues. Apparently shaken but okay. I was impressed by the rapidity of help offered and by Maazel keeping an eye on the basses, and the door behind them, afterwards.
I would have got even more out of this performance if I knew the piece better: as it was, I sat dazed, and hitched a lift with the Muse who was in attendance. (Concerts are brilliant for generating creative inspiration.)
I have also, recently:
- had a chest x-ray (no nasties)
- increased my peak air flow from ~180 to ~350 (still some way to go, but steroid inhaler is fab)
- been to the beach (blissssss)
- been to a barbeque
- had a birthday (thanks to all who sent good wishes or turned up to present in person!)
- had a grand day out with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ladymoonray
- cleaned a lot of data
- read some books
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Very impressive cast: Gary Oldman does a wonderfully subtle shift from quiet civil servant to incredibly menacing spymaster; Mark Strong exudes physical and mental anguish; the Seventies (with that sole swag of tinsel on the Circus tea-trolley, the squeezy tomato in the Wimpy bar, the dim lighting) were grimily realistic; I liked what they did with the homosexual (sub)text, including adding some in. The final ten minutes is a tour de force, all the more powerful for being sans dialogue.
- Warrior
Went to see this on the basis of TOM HARDY, who did not disappoint though this is very much not My Kind of Film. Hollywood-sanitised, family-friendly, heartwarming movie about blokes beating one another to a pulp. Surprisingly unviolent. I continue to be impressed by Mr Hardy's acting: his character in this is really rather unlikeable, but has Depth and Facets.
I did find the ending rather unsatisfactory for nearly all the characters, though, and I'm still not sure whether my perception of who betrayed Tommy's secret is correct.
- The Elixir of Love (Donizetti)
The ENO production of Donizetti's most frivolous opera is set in 1950s America, in Adina's Diner: pretty pastels everywhere, sugary tunes, some blissful duets. Realised that I had been listening to the 2-CD set in the wrong order for a long time -- at least this is one explanation for my complete failure to remember that my favourite bits are in Act Two, not Act One.
The translation was a little clunky, and some of the American accents were ... differently successful. William Robert Allenby's Dulcamara really hit the spot, and his Cadillac was very shiny: Sarah Tynan (Adina) and Ben Johnson (Nemorino) seemed to take a while to warm up. Fun and frothy.
- Mahler, Symphony #8 ('Symphony of
The finale of Lorin Maazel's Mahler cycle: big in every respect (three choirs, large orchestra, eight solo singers, and the RFH organ (WIP, not yet fully restored); last night's performance was well over the 90-minute mark, and not a single one of those moments was dull. Additional, and unwanted, excitement provided by the collapse during the final movement of one of the double-bass players, who was helped off the stage by colleagues. Apparently shaken but okay. I was impressed by the rapidity of help offered and by Maazel keeping an eye on the basses, and the door behind them, afterwards.
I would have got even more out of this performance if I knew the piece better: as it was, I sat dazed, and hitched a lift with the Muse who was in attendance. (Concerts are brilliant for generating creative inspiration.)
I have also, recently:
- had a chest x-ray (no nasties)
- increased my peak air flow from ~180 to ~350 (still some way to go, but steroid inhaler is fab)
- been to the beach (blissssss)
- been to a barbeque
- had a birthday (thanks to all who sent good wishes or turned up to present in person!)
- had a grand day out with
ladymoonray- cleaned a lot of data
- read some books
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(And I think you may be conflating two kinds of steroids, but I May Be Wrong.)
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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
I agree with you about the authentic grimness of the seventies setting, but I was also impressed by the way the film was often stylish with it: lots of rooftops and back alleys with beautiful cinematography.
I remember the Alec Guinness BBC version, and I was a little startled to realise that that version was a contemporary drama, and this one is a historical piece. I think one difference between them is that Guinness portrayed Smiley as weary, and Oldman makes him implacable and enigmatic. (I read the book years ago, and I think Guinness's portrayal was closer to it, but I think Oldman's is more to my taste.)
It's interesting how they draw a connection between Anne Smiley and Karla, both of whom are supremely important to Smiley, but both of whom are kept off stage. I think that equation is new to the film, too.
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Did you realise we actually heard Sarah Tynan two nights running? I managed to completely miss the fact she was singing in the Mahler as well (from a box, apparently). Doh.