It’s Not the Same When I tell my friends who are missing the opera, or the ballet, or their favourite museum, that they can see almost anything they want, for free, on the internet, they invariably respond, “But it’s not the same”. No, it’s not. And it won’t be for quite a long time. But aren’t we lucky that so much actually is available and we can see it now? That play you missed earlier in the year, that opera you couldn’t justify the ticket price for, the trip to London to see the exhibition that didn’t fit your work schedule, the sold-out concert, all these are at the click of your fingers now. Is it the same as if you were there? No, of course it’s not. But now, with nearly all of our artistic options cruelly stamped out for the foreseeable future, we’ve discovered another world of artistic ambition. Some of it is home based, singers and musicians and actors performing from their kitchens and living rooms, giving their audiences a fresh look at their talents from close up. Some of it is archival, the arts institutions opening their figurative doors to let us into the treasures they have in their own libraries. Some of it is making use of technology recently invented to discover entirely new methods of expression. Who had ever heard of Zoom until the past few weeks and yet actors, writers and directors are already harnessing it for new plays, rapidly rehearsed and instantly available on the net. These plays, which in conventional circumstances would take years, certainly months, to come to fruition, are now being produced in days and hours. Are they all wonderful? Of course not. But then, not all plays produced conventionally are wonderful either. Many of us have, during the past few years, given up our beloved physical books for the convenience of reading on a Kindle. And we miss the smell of the paper, the pleasure of holding a book in our hands, the sight of the books on the bedside table. But we’ve become accustomed to carrying the equivalent of dozens of books in our pockets and we like it. So it is with the internet. Is it the same as going to the Royal Opera House or the Palladium? Do you feel the same tingle as that moment before the curtain goes up in a crowded theatre? Or the catch in your stomach as the conductor raises his baton? No, it’s not the same. But it can be pretty damn good. And it’s free. And you can stop and start it. And you can have a cup of tea while you’re watching. It’s not the same, but it could be a lot worse. So here it is. Another week of treats. Where to start? Trouble in Tahiti https://www.operanorth.co.uk/watch-online/watch-online-trouble-in-tahiti/ Leonard Bernstein used to lament that when he died all anyone would remember of his would be West Side Story and he was nearly right. But there was so much more, music written for the theatre, for the concert hall, for popular cabaret, for religious observance, for ballet, even the opera. This bitingly funny, one-act chamber opera is one of my favourites and is almost never performed. It’s set in 1950s suburbia, a satire about a couple trapped in the American Dream. It has some wonderful musical numbers, and this version from Opera North stars Quirijn Lang and Sandra Piques Eddy as an unhappily married couple trying to make it work. It’s running on Opera North’s YouTube channel for three weeks from now until June 1. Midnight Your Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Op38hQA5s Diana Quick is a mother who is desperately trying to communicate with her estranged daughter in this one-woman play by Adam Brace which will be streaming from Donmar Warehouse for seven days from Wednesday. She is in London, her daughter is in Palestine and, every Thursday, she tries to reach her. The play is not new but its themes of aging and isolation resonate even more loudly at this time of lockdown. It explores the real meaning of long distance communication as the mother is seeking to find things to occupy herself while separated from the only person she really cares about. It is directed, as it was at its premiere ten years ago, by the Donmar’s Artistic Director, Michael Longhurst, but remotely this time, in Diana Quick’s own home. A Walk in the Countryside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VP1NFYSY2E&utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NG_2020Apr_CuratorAtHomeVids_M&utm_content=version_B I’m really enjoying the National Gallery’s 10-minute tours of some of their most famous paintings, guided by their curators. This one is by Lucy Chiswell, the Dorset Curatorial Fellow for Paintings 1600-1800, in which she explores a day in the countryside through paintings by Rubens, Constable and Corot. Even very familiar paintings are enriched by having the insights that a real expert can provide, given in this gentle but enthusiastic manner. Those of us stuck indoors with no access to the countryside at the moment could certainly use a day out in nature, even if it’s virtual. By the way, don’t forget to click the Full Screen button on your device to get the better view of the paintings and their details. Alvin Ailey’s Cry https://www.alvinailey.org/performances-tickets/ailey-all-access Cry, a solo performed by one of the greatest dancers of my lifetime, Judith Jamison, was a breakthrough in modern dance. I saw Jamison dance this fabulous ballet at an early performance in 1972 because I was working with Alvin Ailey at the time and, at the end, I was so moved that I wept all the way home. I’ve seen it many times since and it moves me every time although, fortunately, not as all-encompassingly as the first time. Now that Ailey himself is long dead and Jamison long retired, this is a memory of a time when modern dance was inventing itself and we had never seen black dancers who could do this, who could make their own experiences into universal art that could affect us all. If you’ve never seen it, and you love dance, you owe it to yourself. Juilliard – Bolero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqzkn-jX-JU I don’t really understand why there is such a passion for Maurice Ravel’s Bolero. It’s rather a boring piece of music, repetitive and simplistic, and, except for its catchy rhythm, seems to me to have little to recommend it. But clearly I’m wrong because dancers and musicians worldwide seem to be mad for it. The best of all recent interpretations, pace Torvill and Dean, is this one, the young dance and music students from the Juilliard School in New York (with a few very distinguished grownups who make tiny guest appearances, so short you might miss them) throw themselves into this exuberant performance as though it were the greatest music ever. Which, on this showing, it seems to be. The kids are the point. This is pure pleasure. Lucia, Ariadne, and Traviata https://www.metopera.org/season/on-demand/opera/?upc=811357016664https://www.metopera.org/season/on-demand/opera/?upc=811357011478 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wiGeh2c8LI The word ‘icon’ is vastly overused. Everything these days is ‘iconic’. But, well, some things actually are. Asked to come up immediately with the three most significant opera performances of my operagoing past I think my choice would be 1. Maria Callas’ Tosca, 2. Joan Sutherland’s Lucia di Lammermoor, 3. Jessie Norman’s Ariadne aux Naxos. You may have a different list and, if so, do send it to me. But these three are, for me, yes, iconic. And two of them – Lucia and Ariadne -are streamed from the Met this week and next. And if that isn’t enough, the Royal Opera House is streaming their La Traviata with Renee Fleming, Joseph Calleja, and Thomas Hampson. What a week. Unless, of course, you hate opera. Antony and Cleopatra https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDq1XzCY0NIOYVJvEMQjqw This week’s National Theatre stream has Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo in Shakespeare’s title roles. This modern dress production offers a straightforward reading of the text but I must own that I felt little connection between these two. Unless you feel that these lovers are more than spoilt elderly brats toying with two countries, this couple become merely self-indulgent rich folks. The politics of Rome and Egypt were in their hands and their personal and sexual attraction, their affair of the heart got in the way of their ability to order the affairs of their respective states. Fiennes appears more like a self indulgent drunk than a stateman who must return to Rome to salvage his country. Catch it before Thursday. You’ve Got a Friend
https://youtu.be/RSD7WqHrFlA Ann Hampton Callaway is one of America’s top jazz singer/pianists and a best-selling recording artist. Her sister, Liz Callaway, is a completely different kind of singer, a show singer, having starred in many Broadway musicals. They both perform highly successful cabarets all over the world but rarely together. I love them both, severally, and all too occasionally, collectively. If you need a pick-me-up in the hard times, here it is, both Callaway sisters, courtesy of Carole King's great song. Have a good week.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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