The Merry Wives of Windsor – Stratford Shakespeare Festival Click here to rent Alone among all his fantasies, histories, comedies, and tragedies, Shakespeare only wrote one play that was set in his own time, in a real place, peopled by those who were, or could have been, his neighbours and friends. It turned out to be his only true “modern-dress” play. The Merry Wives of Windsor, an affectionate picture of contemporary Elizabethan English middle-class life, was written, it is said, at the request of Queen Elizabeth 1 who, having enjoyed Henry 1V, Part One, asked for another play featuring his larger-than-life character, Sir John Falstaff, preferably about Falstaff in love. Obviously, a request from the monarch has the force of a royal command and what Elizabeth wants, Elizabeth gets. In Merry Wives, Falstaff is pursuing two respectably married women at the same time, failing to anticipate that the ladies will, quite literally, compare notes. Nor does he reckon on the mischievous spirit in which the wives will use their wits and wiles to teach him the error of his ways. Set in the 1950s, in a town not unlike Stratford, Ontario, this 2019 Antoni Cimolino production from Canada’s renowned Stratford Festival brings Shakespeare’s rollicking comedy close to home – and close to our hearts. It stars Geraint Wyn Davies as Falstaff with Sophia Walker and Brigit Wilson as Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, the targets of Falstaff’s seduction plans. Shakespeare critics have long been sniffy about the literary quality of Merry Wives but, played well, by good comic actors, it’s a riot and not to be dismissed as ‘minor’ Shakespeare. Rental $3.99 Billy Budd – Teatro Real de Madrid Click here for tickets 800 liters of water, two sails, thirty pulleys, sixty hammocks: for the Bicentenary of the Teatro Real of Madrid, director Deborah Warner created a colossal production of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd. A critically-acclaimed performance, praised for its depth and intelligence, this story revolves around a young sailor, Billy Budd (Jacques Imbrailo), and John Claggart (Brindley Sherratt), the unscrupulous master-at-arms obsessed and crazed by Billy’s angelic beauty. Baritone Jacques Imbrailo, who inhabits the title role, delivers a stunning rendition of the young sailor’s part, while British singers Toby Spence and Brindley Sherratt provide solid interpretations of Captain “Starry” Vere and of John Claggart. In the pit, Ivor Bolton masterfully deploys, along with the Orchestra of the Teatro Real, all the energy and power of Britten’s fifth opera. A now iconic production, coproduced by the Opera of Rome and the Royal Opera House. Pieter Saenredam - National Gallery Click here to watch Why is someone drawing graffiti inside a church and what does this tell us about how artists used their imagination when painting everyday life? Did drawing graffiti and dog training, really go on inside churches in the 17th century? Saenredam was a pioneering Dutch painter of church interiors and topographical views. He was among the first architectural painters to emphasise topographical accuracy in his drawings, although in his paintings variations were introduced for pictorial effect. He was particularly interested in the depiction of natural light flooding vast and complex interiors. Saenredam was born at Assendelft, the son of an engraver. His training took place at Haarlem, with Frans Pietersz de Grebber in whose studio he remained until 1622, and he became a member of the Haarlem guild of painters in 1623. He produced topographical drawings of other towns in the Netherlands, but remained chiefly active at Haarlem and he was closely in touch with the leading architects of his day, including Jacob van Campen, designer of the Amsterdam Town Hall. In this short film about the 1626 painting by Pieter Saenredam of the Buurkerk in Utrecht, Justine Rinnooy Kan, the National Gallery’s Dorset Curatorial Fellow, picks out some surprising details and some behaviour we wouldn't expect to see inside a church . Place – Mikhail Baryshnikov Click here for tickets Place is a sensational dance film, but only for the dance-mad, because it’s pretty weird. It was especially created for world-famous dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov & Ana Laguna by an outstanding international team of artists, including legendary choreographer Mats Ek, and Grammy, Cannes award-winning director, Jonas Akerlund. Ana Laguna is a Spanish/Swedish dancer who was born in Saragossa, Spain. At 19, she started her career at the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm under Birgit Cullberg and Mats Ek, where she danced roles by Merce Cunningham, Maurice Béjart, Christopher Bruce, Jirí Kylián, and Ohad Naharin, among others, eventually becoming Mats Ek’s choreographic assistant. Mats Ek is the son of Anders Ek, one of Sweden’s most celebrated actors, and Birgit Cullberg, the choreographer and artistic director for the Cullberg Ballet Company. Mikhail Baryshnikov is Mikhail Baryshnikov and anything he chooses to dance is worth looking at. Stick with this one, it grows on you. PERFORMANCES TO KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF Barbara Cook in Melbourne Click here to watch In the opinion of many, she was the greatest of all cabaret singers. Here is Barbara Cook in concert. Those creamy top notes, brimming with warmth and confidence, the irresistible comic timing, the absolute fidelity to the intention of the composer and lyricist, the pure joy in singing, and that extra special something – call it charisma, call it talent, or call it sheer genius - that raises this full-length Barbara Cook concert, recorded in Melbourne, Australia when she was on top form, several years before she died, to great heights. As bad waiters always say, these days, 'Enjoy'. Christine McVie - Songbird Click here to watch Christine McVie, the English musician whose smoky vocals and romantic lyrics helped catapult the rock group Fleetwood Mac to international success, died this week. It's hard to believe that she was 79. She wrote some of the most cherished lines in the Fleetwood Mac songbook, writing the lyrics to global hits like "Everywhere," "Little Lies" and "Don't Stop" — a track that became synonymous with Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. In her lyrics, she chronicled the highs and lows of love in simple but soulful terms. "You Make Loving Fun," one of the melodic high points of Fleetwood Mac's tours, summed up the joyful abandon of romance. Here she is singing perhaps her most famous song, in a simple and glorious arrangement, playing for herself. Rock stars come and go but I believe Christine McVie will be missed. Here’s why.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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