Coriolanus - National Theatre at home Click here for tickets In a week when we are all discussing power – the use of power, the abuse of power, the limits of power – by looking towards Washington DC and the havoc wreaked by one man drunk on his own power, Shakespeare has the last word. Shakespeare always has the last word and it’s worth taking another look at his Coriolanus to hear what he has to say about the power of a popular leader when the mob rises for him ….and then turns against him. Directed by Josie Rourke for the Donmar Warehouse, and available through the National Theatre, Tom Hiddleston is as complex and fearsome a leader as Rome demands but, when the political climate changes, he lacks the personal resources to combat the shock of failure. Sound familiar? If you can bear to wend your way through the thicket of registration and subscription and payment pages to get to it – the National Theatre makes it as difficult as possible – you can subscribe either to a year’s worth of National Theatre productions at an annual £83.32 or buy a single play on a monthly subscription of £8.32. If you only want one production, choose this method, but, after having viewed it, remember to cancel your repeating payments before they charge you for the next month. I’m So Excited – Dancing with Moviestars Click here to watch I’m willing to bet that, like me, you need something to cheer you up this week and here it is. A very skilful video producer called Tony Coates has spliced together an irresistible sequence of short movie clips so cleverly that I defy even the most depressed among us not to get up and dance. My prescription for what ails us – no, not Covid-19, just the sadness that surrounds us right now – is to play this clip, for fun, three times a day. You’ll be surprised how much more cheerful you’ll feel. Works for me. But if you insist on some intellectual test mixed in with your enjoyment, play it a second time while trying to identify the movie stars as they flash past and, when you’ve done that, play it again and work out which movies they come from. When you’ve done all that, if your mood hasn’t improved 100%, there’s no hope for you. Noel Coward Art and Style – Guildhall Gallery of Art Click here for access I’ve been waiting for this exhibition to open for months, not least because they’ve borrowed one of my paintings to hang in the exhibition, a little seascape that Noel Coward gave my late husband, Sheridan Morley, as a thank-you when he completed his authorised biography of Coward, A Talent to Amuse. As you can imagine, I’m very keen to see how my painting looks on the walls of a real art gallery instead of in a corner of my living room. But, alas, that’s not going to happen any time soon because the Guildhall Art Gallery is currently closed. Another reason to hope this wretched pandemic will soon be over. No word yet, but I’m hoping that much of the art and many of the artifacts will be shown virtually from Jan 14th online as a foretaste of what is to come. Noël Coward: Art & Style celebrates the dazzling visual side of Coward’s life and work by taking a fresh and vibrant look at the glittering world that Coward created. Bringing together never-before-seen materials from the Coward Archive, the exhibition will demonstrate vividly the enormous impact that he and his creative circle had on the fashion and culture of his time, and how his legacy and influence still resonate today. The world première of this new exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of Noël Coward’s West End debut as a 19-year-old playwright. Check the website. Liza Minnelli – 1978 Tony Awards Click here to watch I’m a sucker for a real star. I love the lights, the glamour, the talent, the charisma. And when you see it, you know it. Liza Minnelli was the real thing, an unmistakeable, solid gold STAR. Here she is at her starry best, in City Lights, a number from Kander and Ebb’s 1978 musical which they wrote for her, The Act. We haven’t seen her on stage for many years but when I need a star quality fix I turn to Liza. Even her mother, the legendary Judy Garland, didn’t have her versatility. Liza can sing, dance, act, and nobody’s smile can light up a stage this fast. It’s not a great song – it’s just a great star turn. If you have doubts, just try to imagine anyone else doing it. Met Opera free stream – Renee Fleming Week Click here to watch Talking of star quality, Thais, heroine of Massenet’s opera which you can see this week as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s nightly free stream, is, in her way, just as big as star as Liza or, indeed, the great American soprano, Renee Fleming, to whom this entire operatic week in devoted. The glamourous Thais is one of her favourite roles, and she has always said that she felt Massenet (who died in 1912) wrote it for her. In fact, he wrote it for another American soprano, Sibyl Sanderson, with whom he was desperately, and hopelessly, in love. The conventional wisdom is that it’s so musically challenging that most sopranos won’t attempt it which is why Massenet’s other operas, Manon and Werther, are more frequently produced in major houses. I haven’t seen this opera since Beverly Sills sang it at the Met in 1978 and I didn’t see Renee Fleming live in 2008 so I’m really looking forward to it. Also on the Met stream this week, starring Renee Fleming, are her portrayals of the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro (the role of her Met debut) to the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and the title heroines of Armida, Rodelinda, and Rusalka. Fleming, now at the end of her operatic career, is a wonderful singer who is currently spreading her considerable influence all over the opera world, teaching, master classes, and, during the pandemic, dozens of free appearances to raise money for a variety of musical causes. Matisse – Tate Gallery Click here to watch The vibrant and colourful exhibition, Matisse: The Cut-Outs, shown at Tate Modern in 2014, displayed the beloved French artist’s abstract collages and pioneering papiers découpés, exploring how Henri Matisse continued making art when illness kept him from painting. In the video tour of this now-iconic show, art historian Jacky Klein explores how this revolutionary artist changed the face of modern art and was able to keep creating in his later years. The video is short but informative, explaining how and why Matisse made the cut-outs which have become so famous and giving us useful pointers on what to look out for in the collages. The exhibition is no longer on at the Tate but I found this video tour stood up on its own.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
May 2024
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