Smashing a violin

Having put a link to this elsewhere, I though I ought to put it here too:

(you might be too righteous to read it where I posted!)
This is the climax of Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King, a piece about George III's madness and death - the youtube page claims that this is the comedic climax but I think it's far too dark. I saw this piece with the Fires of London back in the 70's where the instrumentalists were all in huge bird cages and the singer reaches in through the bars and grabs the instrument. It is difficult for me to listen to Handels 'Comfort Ye' without it summoning up Maxwell-Davies' swung version - but that's not in the bit above so you're safe!
You probably don't want to invite this singer to this years Royal wedding!
I do love the comedic touch with the 'cello at the end of the extract though...!

Once is quite enough

Lara Bruckmann singing Sondheim's - I never do anything twice - not to be watched if you feel you might be shocked! Wickedly funny.

Church as Theatre

I was grandstanding with these dirty old men (sorry that's illustrious benefactors) twice this week, you'll just have to google or wait for the full album to appear to find out what they are ogling! But I'm back from Rome!!

We went!

Bit of a busy week - hence the slowdown of blogging - on Monday I went with BATS (the church book group) to MADS (I see a javascript banner is that a firefox isn't the browser I'm expecting artifice..?)the local amateur dramatic society - to see Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular a rather black comedy but an interesting study of 1970's kitchens. I thought the ending was weak but the getting there was enjoyable. Inevitably some of the acting was better than others but the cast carried it well.
Wednesday night was Io non ho paura at the Silk Screen - I was one of(?) the recommenders of this film - so in spite of having a meeting afterwards I thought I'd better turn up. I saw this back in 2004 at the cornerhouse (www.iononhopaura.it appears to have gone now)-
seeing it again, I though some bits were slow but once it got to the combine harvesters and the rush to the climax I was absorbed and moved. Half the fun earlier was waiting to see the audience jump when the kidnapee first appears...
Then Thursday night was 'Waiting for Godot' at the Library Theatre in Manchester
. Definitely played for laughs even at the most desperate moments. At the start of Act 2 one of the audience just in front of us, stifled a sneeze and David Fielder's Vladimir, milked the moment. I'd never seen the play before - though I had acted a bit of it as an Easter Saturday epilogue back in 1982. I'd urge you to see it but I think tonight is the last night! - nothing happens, waiting for night to fall. The play's text is available here. Also I remember the spontaneous applause at the end of Lucky's monologue and Pozzo's repulsive Churchill. An interesting counterpoint after seeing 'Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead' in the same theatre last year.

Blood Wedding

We paid a visit to Cortijo el Fraile, the scene of the tragic events that inspired Lorca's Blood Wedding. Here are two photos, one of the farm, and the other of the chapel which is part of the farm.


Couldn't get inside so the picture was taken though a hole in the door...
A very isolated spot, one can understand the isolation that led to the events of the horrific tale.

More culture..

Last Saturday I did get to the Wilmslow Orchestra's performance of the Shostakovitch 10th Symphony - why do these sites remove the last concert details - keeping the site up to date is commendable but it is as if the concert never was!! The there was the Edward Gregson Metamorphoses which started the concert which I rather enjoyed - heavily under the influence of Lutoslawski I thought - though I plead guilty to that too! The Mendelssohn violin concerto was ok I though the soloist took a little time to settle down and the Shostakovitch was good - the bassoon began to show signs of exhaustion before the end - but for an amateur orchestra it was I thought pretty good!
On Tuesday a trip to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the library theatre in Manchester - after initial excitement of having wine spilt over us at the Italian restaurant opposite the theatre - turned into a most enjoyable evening. I've always wanted to see this, I have a copy of the play but have never seen it before and somehow missed out on the film - so I knew where the jokes were. I thought Michael Jenn - as the player - came close to stealing the show - a review is here. I seem to remember a theatre group in Cambridge in the 70's alternating performances of this with Hamlet using the same cast.
Then on Wednesday evening it was Central do Brasil at the Silkscreen which I thought was brilliant with the interaction between the young lad and the letter writer - Guardian review here.
A busy week - both workwise and in the evenings!