Giselle

Last night's gig was impressive and surprising in so many ways.
Went to see the Dada Masilo production of Giselle at The Lowry.  It's a ballet.  I've seen Romeo & Juliet at the Royal Opera House, so I knew what to expect.  Thin people, mostly girls, on pointe, wearing tutus and looking vaguely Russian, and possibly anorexic if Black Swan is anything to go by.

My +1 for the evening has a family history of dance, with older sisters and nieces interested in ballet and dance.  I bought the tickets on a whim, expecting all the above.  She was expecting the same, I think.

Lots of the audience were what you'd expect, white haired old ladies, students of ballet and music, even a few chancers like myself who just bought well priced tickets on the off-chance.

The first clue that this was different was the lack of an orchestra.  I've enjoyed many performances at the Lowry, Don Giovanni, Madame Butterfly..  Ok, mostly opera, but the lack of one was the first thing.

Not really second, because I knew beforehand that the company was from South Africa,  all the dancers were African.  Big Shock? No.  The shock was that they were exactly the opposite of what you expect from ballet.  Real-looking people (I'll get back to that later) enacting a European story of love, loss and redemption.

The story of the humiliation of Giselle is probably dealt with in  a very delicate way by the Moscow Ballet, but tonight's performance was amazingly sensual, and in some ways brutal.  There was no attempt at pretence.  The main lady was topless within a few minutes, not as a shock tactic, but a demonstration of the openness of her suffering (it continues throughout) and a signifier of her difference afterwards.

The lovemaking scene was accompanied by a soundtrack that (I hope) was created for the ballet itself.  There were references to orchestral music, but the beat and tempo was very African for this performance.

The story is a simple one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giselle

The energy throughout was not only surprising, but astounding.  The affect of the ghosts attacking Albrecht in the near-final scene was mesmerising.  Giselle's liberations of Albrecht was a masterpiece.

There are a couple of things I'd like to mention.
This was a full blooded production of people who could not only dance, but could probably beat you in a bar-fight. Looking at them dance wasn't like looking at a bunch of precocious teens prancing around on stage, it was more like a Battle Royale.  They weren't only dancers, they were athletes.  With a running time of 70 minutes, this was a burst of energy I've never seen in ballet.  I'd like to see it continue, especially to bring younger viewers in.

Here's a trailer.  It's not Romeo and Juliet, but all the better for it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJR9dkn4GBs

TL/DR  Giselle was unexpectedly awesome.  Go see.

Oh, and there was a bit where the ghosts and Giselle were going at Albrecht.  They held their arms so far back, to look like wings.  No idea how that is humanly possible.

Oh, and standing ovation from the grey ladies as well as us.  Turns out nudity wasn't invented by us :)

Don Giovanni

Ok, so Don Giovanni.  No problem.  Mozart's dying masterpiece.  No pressure.

I could say it's boring, uninteresting and not worthy of your attention, but that would be dishonest.

Over the last few years I've been immersed into the world of opera.  I've heard some of the most beautiful voices ever, voices I never expected to hear. Voices taken from the show of opera and standing on a stage with just a piano.  Astounding musicians one and all.

The first impression about Don Giovanni is the set, masterful, playful and really inventive.
Second thing would be the musicians of the orchestra and the conductor.  No way this could happen without the music to back everything up.

However, the one thing that grabbed everyones attention was the quality of the vocalists for the performance.  My personal favourite was Zerlinda, pure, clear and certainly the central voice of the evening.  It'd be unfair not to include all the other voices too, but the info on the site is a bit vague.  I'd love to give a list of the great actors/singers, but couldn't find the information.  Perhaps it's in the concert programme. I'd prefer to be able to see, at least, the pedigree of someone who sings in Don Giovanni.

There wasn't a single discordant note in the whole production.  From start to finish, the whole piece was tailored to today.  The Don's dalliances are the stuff of gossip, his conquests are available in Hello magazine.  His eventual and obvious finale, in this production, was a work of art. A second work of art.  The first was the ball scene where the whole dance was performed, stunningly, Gangnam Style.  About 10% of the under 60s audience got it, but we both enjoyed it.

Great music, great acting, astounding production, Gangnam style dancing; buy some tickets if it's coming to your area.  If not, pray for a DVD.

The wonderful Halle Orchestra

It's been a while since my last review.  I haven't posted about Madama Butterfly at the Lowry or Juan Diego Florez at the Albert Hall.  They were wonderful events, but I will perhaps discuss them later.

I must begin by saying that the Bridgewater Hall is a wonderful place to listen to music, it's designed to be good.  Then you need a great orchestra, that's the Halle.

Not being a fan of Brahms wasn't a problem.  The first part of the concert was Brahms' 2nd piano concerto, the piano played by Sunwook Kim, remember the name, you will be hearing more of this man.  A delicate touch, perfect timing and a master of dynamics, Sunwook is likely to become as acclaimed as Lang Lang.

As I've said, I'm not a big Brahms fan, but I enjoyed the concerto well enough.  But my main reason for coming to the Bridgewater Hall was to hear Sibelius.  My previous experience of Sibelius has been listening on my iPod, sometimes radio and once live.  I have all the recordings of Sibelius' Symphonies by Simon Rattle with the CBSO (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) and they really are wonderful.  However, I've never listened to any other performances seriously.  I can imagine older readers asking if I've heard Barbirolli's recordings, especially after going to the Bridgewater Hall which is, really, his legacy.  The answer is no.  But I will. I promise. Soon.

So Sibelius Symphony No2.  The last time I came to the Hall to see Sibelius, it was my favourite, the 5th. Twice as many basses as any sensible orchestra needed, but that's Sibelius.  I really can't separate the music from the man or the country.  If you get the chance, there is a 2 part documentary, made by the BBC which goes a long way to explaining the kind of person Jean Sibelius was and why and how he made the music he did.

I loved the 5th played by the Halle.  In fact I heard it twice in the same week, it was so good.  For the 2nd, I invited my father and his partner.  A great time was had by all.  There is something to understand about Sibelius' music, he wasn't a romantic symphonist, and he didn't want to be regarded as an impressionist (as some called him).  If anything, he was the beginning of a musical movement that moved away from direct representation and moved towards provoking emotion.  He was the Picasso after Monet, unafraid to change what was happening in music, masterful of the underlying technique but wanting, or needing, to move forward and change how music was made and heard.

Mark Elder and the orchestra made the evening a memorable one, each and every drop of drama was wrought from the second symphony, even to the point of slowing down the finale to build the tension.

If you get the chance to see the Halle and Mark Elder, take it.  If it's not the Halle, but it's at Bridgewater Hall, take it until the Halle are back.

This is the Barbirolli version for you:

Enjoy!

Norma

Norma at the Lowry was a new one for me.  I'd seen Madama Butterfly before Xmas, so the venue was one I liked (nice staff, great bar placing and great acoustics)

The opera itself conforms to most of the strictures of opera, great songs, great music, some dramatic acting and it ends badly for the woman.  This performance was no exception.

The story is similar to that of Medea, the possibility of killing her own children.  Not a great crowd-pleaser these days, but suitably decadent when it was first performed in 1831.  And no, Norma doesn't kill her own children in this opera, though the temptation at one point is palpable.

The vocal performances by all were exceptional, the musicianship of the orchestra was impeccable.
Bellini wrote fantastic music, Felice Romani wrote a great libretto, what could go wrong?  Very little except the set.  Too subtle for most of the audience around myself.  Druids not in white gowns?  A virgin with two children?  What's that all about?

I'd heartily recommend it for any fan of opera and music, but not for those audience members who expect a  logical narrative, possibly expecting a play with music.

Opera North put a lot of time and effort into the production, much of which seemed to go over the heads of the paying public.  Those I was close to, at least.  For me, a great show, for others, not so much.  Not the fault of Opera North.

Possibly my best week ever........

I spent a couple of weeks looking at the ads to see if there was anything interesting to listen to in Manchester.  I'd already booked my tickets for "Norma" at the Lowry, but I felt I needed something less dramatic to listen to, less frocks and make-up.

So I saw an upcoming concert by Natalie Clein.  No real decision about that one, I bought a ticket.
I was checking who was appearing during the weeks and months to come..... Nicola Benedetti.

I've been to see both these young ladies at the Royal Festival Hall or the Wigmore, but my favourite for both was the 100 Club.  Small, intimate setting with minimal accompaniment.

Natalie Clein is possibly the most interesting cellist I've ever heard.  Scratch that, I mean musician I've ever heard.  Nicola Benedetti is simply a fantastic violinist.  Both are virtuosi.

Who?  N.Clein
Next..   N. Benedetti

Yep, Tuesday was Natalie Clein, Wednesday was Nicola Benedetti.  An interesting week.

I took my son to see Natalie Clein, we were in the cheap seats to begin.  The Bach and Larcher were lovely, but still a little quiet.  After the interval, we found ourselves in much better seats to hear the Kodaly.
This was my son's first classical concert, he was impressed by the Bach and the Larcher, after the interval (and a little closer to Natalie) he fell in love with the Kodaly.  I found it an intense experience personally, a soloist, in front of 2-300 people and playing without any accompaniment.  No support, no backup.  absolutely outstanding.

The following evening I heard Nicola Benedetti.  She played the Beethoven Violin Concerto.  With the Hallé Orchestra.  It was so bad I booked a ticket for the Sunday performance of the same program.

I saw and heard Natalie Clein and Nicola Benedetti in the same week.  Could it get any better?

Yes

I bought a ticket to see Nicola again, for Sunday.  So I saw the whole program again, including Sibelius' 5th.  The Hallé kick ass, give them a try.  

Tomorrow is "Norma".

Marius Brenciu at the Rosenblatt Recitals Series 28th Sept

Musically, there are few things which impress more than a good performance.  To have a string break during a violin solo, restring, then continue from exactly where you left off is one of the few (Nicola Benedetti performing the debut of Taverner's Lalishri at the Southbank). Another was last Wednesday's recital by Marius Brenciu.


Marius didn't seem to begin confidently, though his voice was on good form.  The evening didn't follow the programme directly, but mostly it waas just the running order that was changed.  Marius sang Giordani,  Gluck and Mozart for the first part of the evening.  A slight grimace after each piece indicated his uneasiness with his own performance, though many singers would have been happy to have performed to his standard any day of the week.


After the interval, Marius explained that sometimes, the body doesn't always obey the mind.  He seemed more confident, more comfortable and actually seemed to be enjoying himself.  Verdi, Respighi,  two by Tosti (though not A vuchella) and four by Tchaikovsky completed the evening's program, my favourite being Respighi's Nebbie (which I first heard performed at the last Rosenblatt Recital).   Marius' confidence increased with each song after the interval.


From a shaky, uncomfortable-looking beginning, to end with a resounding flourish of four Tchaikovsky songs and two encores is a remarkable recovery.  It is also a display of professionalism.  At the interval evaluated his performance so far, then decided to continue.  It could easily have gone the other way.  No-one would have been surprised if he'd cancelled the remainder of the evening.  Thank goodness he didn't, his second-half performance more than compensated for a shaky start.


The two encores, neither of which I'd heard before, were obviously favourites of Marius', both sung effortlessly and with as much brio as you'll see from any tenor.

Here is a short clip of Marius with Angela Gheorghiu.

I've yet to attend an average Rosenblatt Recital, a very high standard has been maintained and I have no reason to think that will change.  For a taste of what to expect, browse the Rosenblatt Recitals Series YouTube channel and join their Facebook group to stay tuned to upcoming performances.  

From this point on, my friend Guillermina will be taking over reviewing Rosenblatt Recitals.  I'll be attending some opera performances here in Manchester, which I'll review here.  I'm hoping to get tickets for Juan Diego Flórez at The Albert Hall in May, so I hope to see some of you there!

Rosenblatt Recitals Series

Due to a slight change in travel arrangements, I will be attending the first of the new season of the Rosenblatt Recitals Series.

I'll see some of you there, I'll tell the rest of you about it.