THIS WEEK’S ARTS ONLINE. With all the brave and determined activities of artists and arts companies, finding ever more innovative ways to communicate their talent during this peculiar and destructive time, the fact remains that theatres, cabarets, concert halls, and other venues remain closed, and those who make their living in them are, still, largely unemployed. The government promised £1.57 billion to support the arts. Where is it? Who can access it? Which companies are being supported by it? And, other than private fund-raising attempts by people in show business themselves, which of the thousands of out of work artists and support staff are being helped? It is clear that help, such as it is, is coming from artists who can ill afford it, helping their colleagues, from little, hastily-set-up charities raising small sums from each other, not from the much-touted schemes of government and industry. A case in point is on today's blog - two young songwriters have written an original song to raise money so that some young singers have the chance to sing a piece of new music. It takes a lot of organisation and they've done it all themselves, from home, on their phones. Fans and theatre lovers are, thank goodness, donating small sums to their favourite theatres or ensembles, and we have learned that if we want to see and hear new plays and music, we should pay for ‘tickets’ to see them online, even if they are streamed free. What is becoming clear is that it’s up to us. What happened to the £1.57 billion? Who knows? The Diary of One Who Disappeared – Scottish Opera https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/the-diary-of-one-who-disappeared/ Part dramatic song cycle, part miniature opera, Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared is an unorthodox, unclassifiable work about a naive young farmer’s son who falls desperately in love with a wild gypsy girl. On September 20th, in this live concert performance direct from Glasgow, tenor Ed Lyon, replacing an ailing Nicky Spence, leads a company that includes the great mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer as the gypsy Zefka, as well as Catriona Hewitson, Heather Ireson and Sioned Gwen Davies. Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford conducts an ensemble of 12 musicians in a rarely heard orchestral version of Janáček’s feverish fable of obsessive love, desire and escape. A Marvellous Party – Noel Coward celebration https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwJXpQskLWdMMRWBZnvDjCbvQzn Also on September 20th, at 7.30 BST and 2.30pm EST, and then available for 14 days, a streamed celebration of Noel Coward with an astonishing cast of contributors including Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Cush Jumbo, Emma Thompson and Giles Terera and, by my count, about twenty more very twinkly stars. The rather breathless press release doesn’t say what these twinklies are going to do but the whole occasion is to mark the legacy of Noel Coward on the 100th anniversary of his first West End appearance. Coming too, although not this week, is a major exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery which will celebrate the dazzling visual side of Coward’s life and work. More on that closer to its opening. Tommy Tune/Ann Reinking – Kennedy Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8b8s70iL2Q Here’s one of those clips that regular readers know are an obsession of mine. This one come from 1988, the Kennedy Center Honors, and popped up during the tribute to George Burns, one of that year’s honourees. Look for the split second precision, the easy synchronicity, the almost casual ability to attune themselves to one another, and the way their heads are aligned simultaneously. Only the greatest of show dancers can do this and make it look easy. And these two, both now retired, were the greatest. How lovely that YouTube allows us to appreciate them still. Imagine a World That Didn’t Sing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1GtFWOJWJA&feature=youtu.be This is one of those miraculous small projects that have grown and flourished during lockdown that I find infinitely touching. What started as an aspirational recording project to give 15 members of British Youth Music Theatre some focus during lockdown, grew exponentially when professional performers both here and in the US responded to a call-out to support these young people at the start of their journey. The resulting 90 strong choir includes West End performers, Grammy award winners and some of the most successful session recording singers in the industry, coming together to sing an original song by John Nicholson and Alex Rudd. Here’s Imagine a World That Didn't Sing. Houston Person with Emmet Cohen Trio - Live From Birdland https://events.broadwayworld.com/event/houston-person-with-the-emmet-cohen-trio-9-15-7-pm-et/ Tenor saxophonist Houston Person is a living legend of jazz. The South Carolina native is a keeper of the soul jazz tradition, having earned his reputation on the 1960’s-70’s “Chitlin’ Circuit,” in organ groups led by John Hammond, Charles Earland, and Don Patterson. Most notably, he spent three decades as the melodic foil to the late jazz vocalists Etta Jones and Freddy Cole. On this occasion, Houston teams with emerging star pianist Emmet Cohen’s trio. With Yasushi Nakamura (bass) and Evan Sherman (drums). Tuesday September 15th at 7pm EST but, don’t despair, it’ll be available for the following 30 days on the Broadway World channel. Tickets are $23.50 from Broadway World.com Rosemary Clooney…….With Love https://youtu.be/2u1QmAIXOB4 Here’s George’s auntie, the incomparable Rosemary Clooney, in a television special from 1982. The technical quality is exactly what you’d expect from a video from 1982. I don’t care and I hope you don’t either because she’s so wonderful. I’d take her, and the Concord Jazz All-Stars, on any terms. Here’s an hour of creamy vocals, immaculate phrasing, world class jazz playing and terrific songs performed with deceptive simplicity and unassailable artistry. And she’s so NICE. Painting on Copper – National Gallery https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/stories/a-curated-look-close-up?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NG_2020September_Newsletter_M&utm_content=version_A&sourceNumber=69412 Letizia Treves, one of the National Gallery’s specialist curators, talking about something, which, like most of their curated videos, I’d never thought about before. In this case, painting on copper. She’s looking here at some of the Gallery’s smaller paintings, the ones you walk past on your way to the bigger, better known works. I love these curated talks even though they make me feel even more ignorant than usual. Metropolitan Opera - Week 27 Streams https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/ This week’s opera streams from the Met are all bel-canto favourites. I don’t know which to choose so I recommend you look at the above website for Week 27 and decide for yourself. The Don Pasquale sounds tasty but also Bellini’s I Puritani, but you can’t go wrong with Rossini’s Le Comte Ory so, you see my dilemma. The array of some of the world’s greatest singers is on offer – Netrebko, Garanca, Radvanovsky, and my favourite, Joyce DiDonato. Impossible to choose. As a reminder, each opera is streamed free on the listed date at 7.30 NY time but continues to be available on the same website for the following 24 hours for those of us not on NY time. La Boheme – English National Opera https://eno.org/whats-on/eno-drive-live/ Staying with opera, (we’re rather heavy on opera this week) here’s something new for the adventurous London opera lover with a car. This is not an internet show, not even a stream, but I’m including it because I know a lot of you want to know about the innovations of artists and companies trying something that might work during lockdown. So, if you’re desperate for some live singing, the English National Opera is trying drive in opera. Singers on stage are reflected on large screens, you don’t leave your car, the music is brought to you on big speakers. All this is at Alexandra Palace from September 19th. This 90-minute, no interval, version of La Boheme, Puccini’s tragic romance, is performed live by two alternating casts of principals and the ENO chorus and orchestra. If you’re planning to go, please let me know how well it works. Steve Martin/Gilda Radner – Saturday Night Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3k9_XbLxNY&fbclid=IwAR0OjdWfxft6RpWEgin5trazxcvpV-TBm7TrWmkVdajRLjmCTztGrzZ5_2k To finish this week, a bit of fun. As a counterpoint to the fabulous professionalism of Ann Reinking and Tommy Tune’s Soft Shoe, here’s the opposite. Comedians Steve Martin and the late great Gilda Radner Dancing in the Dark. Equally professional and, I think you'll agree, just as appealing. And much funnier.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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