Don't panic, it's not all about me.....need to have a quick chat about some Ghost boat thing.

If you regularly read this drivel you may have noticed that I have a penchant for opera at the cinema. I like seeing opera in this way because the atmosphere in a cinema compared to an opera house is so chilled out and the place is unlikely to sell out so you tend to find yourself having a whole row to yourself and nobody notices if you fall asleep. Always a bonus.

I used to love opera. I still appreciate it but I can't say I love it now. To be fair watching in a cinema is no substitute for seeing the genre live really. The sound in a cinema, no matter how good, can never replicate the power of the voice of an opera singer going at full pelt. There are advantages though. As long as you don't have a chorus who feel it necessary to react to every tiny little thing, being up close, in the middle of the action can be quite exciting. Having said that you are at the mercy of the editor as to what you get to see as they will decide what we as an audience need to see at any particular moment in time but that's just a small quibble.

I am not a fan of Wagner. Last night I saw, in it's entirety, only my second Wagner opera. I saw "Die Walküre" a couple of years back, again at the cinema, and last night I saw the ROH production of "Der fliegende Holländer" with the mighty Bryn Terfel and Adrianne Pieczonka. The singing was stonkingly good, truly fantastic. Bryn was brooding and dark while Pieczonka was hopeful and bright. I have always loved Pieczonka. I think she has the most incredible instrument housed in her body. It is a big voice but because of the shimmer she has at the top you never feel like she is beating you over the head with it the way some dramatic female voices do. She is also a stunningly good actress. It is an overused phrase these days but she really is a true stage animal. 

These two giants of the operatic world were joined by another giant but one who was feeling a little under the weather so an announcement was made at the beginning to ask us to bear with him. They needn't have as far as we in the cinema were concerned, Peter Rose was actually on good form. Totally holding his own as Daland with the other two even if he did resemble a Sontaran from Doctor Who. The chorus, too, were better than I have heard them in a while. The regular chorus were joined by a large number of extra chorus members and I kind of wish I had been in the theatre itself as at one point the stage was filled with men. Don't get the wrong idea, I wish I had been there because the sound must have been enormous.

All in all, I enjoyed it and the two and a bit hours, no interval, flew by. It was a surprise when the end came as it felt there should be another hour to go. This was where I got confused. I wasn't totally up on the story before I went to see it but I knew the legend of the Flying Dutchman and figured that Bryn Terfel's character was probably not going to get the girl, well not in the conventional sense anyway. I am assuming Senta is supposed to be seen doing summat she shouldn't with Erik to make the Dutchman spurn her and set sail alone but in this production she didn't appear to do anything (I might have missed it of course). Then I assumed, after Senta yells after him (The Dutchman that is) that she will remain true to him until death, she would probably kill herself but she just carried her little model boat, she had had since the beginning, to the centre of the stage and cried a bit. A total anticlimax.

That said I had a nice time. Still not convinced by Wagner though. Now, feel free to stop reading here as I am going to write a teeny tiny bit about my cabaret that DID happen on Sunday. So if you are fed up of hearing about it please go about your business and think no more about it.

There was a good turnout, about 44 people turned up (mostly friends or friends of friends, I think there were only 7 people who had no connection to me in attendance) so it was more successful in that respect than I had been expecting. It was only once it was done that I realised what an undertaking it had been. The running times were 45 minutes first half and 40 minutes second half. That is a LONG time to hold your own. I totally understand why people invite "guests" to join them on the stage during these affairs. Takes the pressure off a bit.

Everybody asked afterwards "did you enjoy it?". The honest answer was no, but not in a bad way. I didn't hate it and I want to do it again, and I want to do it again soon, but as a friend said to me, Sunday night was like having your tech rehearsal, dress rehearsal and first night (and last night) all at the same time. This was the first time I had tried out the show. In the future it might be an idea to rent a small hall and invite a few friends to come and see it for free just to give myself the opportunity to try out my material to see what works and what doesn't. To be fair there wasn't much I would change in the material I had but I hope I can deliver it better next time. I forgot a lot and got a bit lost at times, however, I am not terrible at getting myself out of a hole so I don't think I made any of my audience feel uncomfortable when I lost my way.

With hindsight, I am SO proud of myself for getting up and doing it. There is a huge difference between doing a 25 minute set on a bill with 3 other acts and what was, effectively, a one-woman show with 90 minutes of just me (and, of course, the wonderful Simona Budd on the piano). This was an immense achievement and one I need to do again. Who would have thought that 4 years of opera training would have led to this.

If anyone is interested in reading someone else's opinion of Sunday night then follow this link:

How did it come to this? The Pheasantry

I may have found the perfect job....Lyric soprano needed. Must knit!

So, it has been a while since I have written about others in my Diary so thought it was about time that was rectified and I stopped being quite so self involved.

Due to having a friend in the ENO chorus I have found myself on 3 occasions fairly recently up at the Coliseum in London. The first was before Christmas for "Fidelio" (number one in my top ten favourite operas - don't judge me Beethoven haters), the second time was last week for "Rigoletto" (not in my top ten but hovering just outside I would say) and the third was not strictly a trip to the Coliseum as I saw "Peter Grimes" at the Vue cinema at Valley Park, Croydon (this is definitely now in my top ten). Perhaps my top ten operas will be my next post. If I show you mine perhaps you can show me yours.

Let us begin with visit number 1. I am afraid I don't remember everything about this outing and I should stress I was at the dress rehearsal where, unfortunately, Emma Bell, the Fidelio in "Fidelio", had very little voice so someone else sang from the side of the stage while she "walked" the role. I also had the "other" Florestan, Bryan Register (how fantastic is that name?). The bits of dialogue he had to deliver reminded me of Meatloaf for some reason but that said, vocally (singing), he was fabulous. It is always thrilling when a voice fills the London Coliseum. Very few manage it with ease due to it's aeroplane hanger like proportions.

There was good work also from Adrian Dwyer (my mate - he was Ferrando to my (and Camilla Roberts) Fiordiligi at GSMD in 2002) and Sarah Tynan. Unfortunately they were hindered by the libretto. In fact the whole cast were hindered by the libretto. It was as if the director had been handed the translation he had to use and decided "that won't work with what I have planned, oh well let's just ignore it". Perhaps that is exactly what happened. All in all it was a very strange production but then what did I expect, it was Calixto Bieito directing. Visually interesting but made very little sense to a girl like me and I did come out thinking I must be really stupid not to have got that. The one part I remember vividly was when Fidelio gave Florestan some bread. Instead of eating said bread Florestan proceeded to rub the bread into his face as if exfoliating. Try as I might I have yet to work out what that could mean.

So it wasn't the most successful production of Fidelio I have ever seen but it got me out of the house and it is always a pleasure to hear a big chorus singing the thrilling finale of it. Anyway, onwards and upwards to another strange production. This time "Rigoletto". This was marginally more successful but again was not without it's problems. It was sung very well and the set was stunning. Set in a gentleman's club it was all wood panelling and big plants plus a roaring fire stage left. It looked fantastic when the curtain went up, however it quickly became apparent that there was very little they could do to change it so we, as an audience, were trusted to assume they were in different places. I think. There was even the use of a front cloth, which I hate. This kind of behaviour reminds me of panto and local AmDram productions. All that was missing was a song sheet and Sparafucille splitting the audience down the middle to see which half could sing "La donna è mobile" the loudest. 

Anyway set restrictions aside I did enjoy it plus I had a whole row, virtually, to myself in the upper circle which always makes me happy. On to "Peter Grimes". WOW.

I wish I had seen it in the theatre and not in the cinema as some of the shot choices by whoever was in charge of shot choices were odd. During the bigger chorus scenes I wanted more wide shots to take in the action but the cameras would focus on individuals and not always the correct individuals. But hey, it did not spoil it for me. This is the sort of thing ENO really knows how to do and, in my humble opinion, what they should do more of. Instead of doing productions of operas originally in other languages using a translation written years ago for a specific production that makes absolutely no sense in the new one, concentrate on opera originally written in English. Or spend the money on new translations and have the translator collaborate with the director so that both their visions can be realised. Just a thought. (Of course ENO might already do this. I may just have been unlucky with the translations of Fidelio and Rigoletto)

There was not really a weak link in this production (there were a couple I didn't much care for but I will keep it to myself who). The Ellen, Elza van den Heever, was stunning. She looked the part and her voice was so beautiful. I don't think she has done anything here before (I could be wrong, research is not my strong suit) but I really hope either ENO or the Royal Opera bring her over again to do summat as I would be there like a shot to hear her live. I wasn't totally convinced by her acting in some parts early on but her handling of the scene at the end was so good. She cried superbly. Her knitting, on the other hand, needs work. During the Sunday Morning scene she had to sit and knit and it was obvious that she was not a natural knitter. For future reference ENO, I am an EXCELLENT knitter. Stuart Skelton was the Grimes. There is no denying he has an incredible voice and such fantastic stage presence but I think I would have enjoyed his larger than life performance more from a distance. Also, I should mention the 2 Nieces, Rhian Lois and Mary Bevan. Not only were they fantastic singers they had been directed to act like they were one person (most of the time). They reminded me of the twins in The Shining. Astonishing and creepy work.

The stars of the show, however, were the Chorus. Every time I hear the ENO Chorus they sound better than the last time. They were on stunning form. I hope that the powers that be realise what a super talented group of people they have assembled there and look after them as it isn't always the case that a whole chorus appear to be as committed to their task as this lot were. I am in awe.

Here endeth my very wishy-washy take on ENO's recent ventures. I love that even when their productions don't quite hit the mark with me I am never bored and there is always plenty to talk about. Just don't skimp on the small stuff. If you need someone to knit while they sing make sure they can do it first.