Daily Archives: 7 December, 2015

The Mikado celebrates 200 performances at English National Opera

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On Sunday 6 December, British mezzo-soprano Dame Felicity Palmer presented director Jonathan Miller and the cast and chorus ofThe Mikado with a cake to celebrate the 200th performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic at the London Coliseum.

ENO The Mikado - 200th performance - Sir Jonathan Miller with cast 2 (c) Richard Hubert Smith

This production first premiered for English National Opera on 21 September 1986 and has delighted audiences for almost 30 years. During this time, it has played to over 400,000 audience members and has been broadcast on ITV (in 1987) and screened live to cinemas across the UK and internationally (3 December 2015).

Original cast members include: Eric Idle playing Ko Ko, the Lord High Executioner, Lesley Garret, Jean Rigby and Susan Bullock as Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo, Dame Felicity Palmer as Katisha and the late Richard Angas as the Mikado.

Miller’s ‘glorious production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best comic opera’ (Daily Express) has become a true audience favourite and is the perfect Christmas treat for all the family. Its Marx Brother’s inspired song-and-dance take on Gilbert & Sullivan has long been a hit with theatre-goers of all ages. Full of high-kicking chorus lines, satirical touches and a wonderfully elegant score it tells the tale of Nanki-Poo and his love for Yum Yum. There’s just one snag. She’s betrothed to Ko-Ko, the new Lord High Executioner. And he needs someone to execute otherwise it’s his own head on the block. Perhaps Ko-Ko and Nanki-Poo can come to some arrangement, without anyone losing their head?

The Mikado runs until 6 February 2016 www.eno.org

photos(c) ENO/Richard Hubert Smith

Bexhill Choral Society

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St Augustine’s Church, Bexhill, Saturday 5 December 2015

Ken Roberts

The year’s roll round so quickly it hardly seems twelve months since we were last here for the traditional carol concert from Bexhill Choral Society. If the programming is familiar there is always enough variety to keep us on our toes. On this occasion we had two carols which were certainly unfamiliar to me and a number of others which are more rarely performed, alongside familiar favourites, and of course carols for audience participation.

Bob Chilcott’s The Sparrow’s Carol is a chirpy delight and was set against Alan Bullard’s gentle Scots Nativity. There was an unfamiliar American setting of Away in a Manger which charmed, and Philip Ledger’s Bell Carol maintained the local connections, along with the opening Sussex Carol. Bob Chilcott was also heard in a fine arrangement of Silent Night.

As usual, Ken dusted off his saxophone for a Christmas Medley before the interval, and the evening concluded with Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride and Bernard’s Winter Wonderland.

Kenneth Roberts not only conducts with aplomb but knows his forces well. As a result his own arrangements are particularly apt and successful, not only for the choir but also for Cinque Ports Brass who accompanied throughout.

It was good to have both Robert Aldwinckle on piano and Nigel Howard at the organ, avoiding any unnecessary rushing between consoles.

The choir certainly did themselves proud. Though there were only five tenors listed in the programme, there was no sense of the male voices seeming under-powered. They had a number of exposed sections which were roundly filled, producing a full and very pleasing tone. Female voices were richly focused with no problems at the top of the range.

In May we are to her Puccini’s Messa di Gloria  and Poulenc’s Gloria. Put that in your diary now.

Seaview Carol Concert

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St John’s, Pevensey Road, Hastings, Saturday 5 December 2015

This has been a good year for Seaview. The 30th birthday has brought The Big Sleep, among other events, to help the community at large realise how important it is to the area and the scope of its work.

It may be that the recent publicity brought more people to the carol service. This was certainly one of the largest congregations we have had for the event, which meant the singing was even more enthusiastic than normal.

The acoustic in the church is not helpful, and some of the speakers were not clearly heard at the rear of the church, but their love for Seaview, and their passion for its work, communicated even where the words did not get through.

now and then

No such problem with the music. The a cappella group Now & Then gave us fine versions of I saw three ships, January Lullaby and Driving cold winter away. They were followed by Seaview’s own choir who sang Silent Night and Once in Royal David’s City, and chanted Mary had a baby to great effect.

The final group were Sound Waves who brought us Past 3 o’clock, God rest ye merry, and a whimsically funny version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. They were joined by the Seaview Choir for a full version of Silent Night, before the music concluded with everyone joining them for Good King Wenceslas.

At this point everyone was able to move to the back of the church were refreshments were provided and a chance for people to chat and catch up with each other after a very busy few weeks.

 

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Dome, Brighton, Sunday 6 December 2015

An afternoon of warmly romantic music when the weather outside was wet and blustery. Stephen Bell’s enthusiasm is catching and he added a new layer of energy and life to a programme which was itself full of life-enhancing joy. Dvorak’s In Nature’s Realm may not be the most complex of scores but its sense of light and air was well captured and the melodic fragments danced throughout.

 

There was more weight to come from Strauss and Bruckner, and the former’s Horn Concerto was dynamically led by soloist Martin Owen. He created a noble, almost heroic, stance in the opening movement and this flowed over into the slow movement with its finely crafted cantabile sections. The bravura stance of the finale was highly effective and roused the audience to a genuinely enthusiastic reception.

Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, the Romantic, is probably his most approachable for those unfamiliar with the majestic structures he creates. The opening shimmered into life and the climaxes were well built, with a real richness of tone. The brass, who had proved themselves more than able in the Strauss, here excelled themselves with superlative playing even when very exposed. The wonderful sparkle of the scherzo came fully to life and prepared us for the monumental impact of the fire of the finale.

There were a large number of empty seats this afternoon. For such a fine event – and such splendid playing – this was a real pity. Just because the programme did not include Mozart or Vivaldi should not mean that there is not magnificent music on offer.

Then next concert, on 31 January, brings us Weber, Prokofiev and Brahms – and don’t forget the New Year Concert on Thursday 31 December.