New Season

The opening concert of the new CBSO season last night.  We left it a little later than usual to get our tickets so were sitting in a different place from the usual, but actually found the change quite refreshing!  Sitting in our "normal" place, up in the balcony, we get a fine view of everything but sometimes feel a little remote from the happenings on stage.  Here in the main body of the hall, the sound quality was far more immediate but this came at the expense of the view. In the second half, I found myself looking at a member of the orchestra who appeared to be doing nothing for at least two movements of the symphony.  I worked out he was probably a woodwind player - suspected a piccolo which was confirmed later in the final movement.  But until he picked up his piccolo and began to play, that still little face amongst all the other musicians playing their hearts out was quite a distraction and rather strange!

When Symphony Hall rigs up a floating basket hovering somewhere central in the auditorium, we'll be in it!  Until then, I think we are already committed "upstairs" for the next few concerts at least.

It was a cracking concert and the first sell-out we've seen in ages.  Die Meistersingers followed by Brahms Piano Concerto #2 and then Beethoven's 5th.  Wow.   We weren't the only ones to be thrilled by the whole performance - had we been on the other side of the Atlantic, the whole audience would have been on their feet immediately, but being British, only a couple of people stood to applaud whilst the rest of us simply clapped as enthusiastically as we do for rather longer than usual.

Of course, we hummed all the way home as well. 

Works every time

Opera on an English summer evening can be a risky business except at Longborough, where last night we enjoyed a fine supper in amusing company and a terrific performance of that old tear-jerker, La Boheme.  Wise friends booked a table in a marquee for our picnic and the performance itself takes place in a comfortable, if basic, opera house created from a farm building some years ago.  Still, heavy rain could mean a muddy field and a soggy evening all round, so we were relieved that the weather stayed dry and clear.

A cast of young singers in a contemporary set could have resulted in a performance which was memorable for all the wrong reasons: We still remember the performance of Rigoletto we saw in Sydney Opera House many years ago, not for the wonderful singing or the great production, but for the "hu-u-p" uttered by the henchmen as they lifted the sack containing a rather well-upholstered Gilda causing a few giggles in the audience.   But last night we could sit back and let Puccini play to all our emotions exactly as he designed.

The young cast played convincing roles - I've seen a few productions with singers who looked far too well-fed to persuade me that they were starving artists. Noel Hernandez, playing Rodolfo, looked a bit uncomfortable in his role at times but won me over with his fine voice and overwhelming ability to raise his game at all the right moments.  Madeleine Pierard was a wonderful young Musetta and Duncan Rock a fine Marcello.

Ultimately, though, it's Puccini himself who works the magic.  No matter how many times I hear it, even though I know what happens and I'm aware of the trick of the suspended note and spoken words when Mimi dies, it always makes me cry.

Genius.

No-one would have believed....

Thirty years on.  Two couples of similar vintage and musical heritage spot the notice of a forthcoming live performance in Birmingham and eagerly organise tickets for this, the 30th Anniversary tour of Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds".  Having been brought up on such things, the 24yr old "next generation" agrees to join the olds for the night and in a great evening of light and laughter (and serious political discussion!) the five of us had a wonderful time.

Great to see so many of the original musicians performing this oh-so-familiar work.  We've just about worn out the 2-CD set over the years and have enjoyed watching the DVD of the first tour, recorded some years ago.  So, it was with some trepidation that we watched Justin Hayward step onto the stage and start to sing...needn't have worried though.   

The whole thing was a huge success from start to finish.  We loved it!

Christmas comes early in Suffolk

The theme of the WI marquee at Suffolk Show this year was Christmas.  Well of course!  So I arrived on Tuesday morning to find a bunch of stockings hanging up by the hearth, ready for Santa to deliver the goods.  He was there too, with a sleigh full of toys - just the thing for a chilly May morning!

I was there to judge the competition for a Nativity scene and was thrilled to find 28 beautifully made exhibits displayed in the middle of the marquee alongside some lovely flower arrangements. So many talented and enthusiastic people about, ready and willing to take up the challenge and provide visitors to the show with plenty of inspiration.

The following morning, it was time to head home via a concert in Birmingham that evening.  Identifying a couple of interesting places to stop off en route, our first fresh air was in Northamptonshire, at Lyveden New Bield - and my goodness, was that air "fresh"!  Almost blown away by the force of the cold East wind, we didn't linger long.

We managed a quick peek inside this framework of a building having learned a little from the custodian who was snug in her warm shed.

The building had never been completed, so the empty shell sits out on this open field.  On a warmer day, it would be tempting to explore a little more of the surroundings but we chose to head back to the car.

We appreciated the fly past by this Red Kite as we walked back to the car and noticed that we were not the only ones getting blown about.

Just down the road, we paid a visit to the scene of the Battle of Naseby but sadly found little there to enlighten me, the hopeless historian, about the context.  Thankfully, google can facilitate a few details for me now I'm home!

Highlight of the day had to be the concert, then.  The photo shows the rather unconventional layout for the UK premiere of Jörg Widmann's Antiphon, a piece of music I found to be rather challenging (to say the least).  The main work was that of Mahler's 2nd Symphony and we joined an almost capacity audience to hear a stunning performance of a favourite piece.

Wow.

A day at the seaside

We've just returned from a few days away in Suffolk, a part of England which neither of us had explored before.  I had a commitment in Ipswich on Tuesday (more later) and it was a great chance to book ourselves into an interesting hotel and enjoy a few days fun.  

Here in the Cotswolds, we don't see much of the sea, so watching folks messing about in boats was interesting and the fresh air invigorating.

The English seaside on a Bank Holiday Monday was the perfect place to be, and where better than Southwold?  Though we had heard of this little gem of a place, we were captivated by its charms from the minute we arrived.

We loved Tim Hunkin's crazy machines on the Pier

and spent ages reading the little brass plaques along the handrail, each one telling a little story in a few heartfelt words.

Moving on to Aldeburgh in the afternoon, we braved a chill wind to walk along to the Benjamin Britten memorial

Created by Maggie Hambling in 2003, it's created quite some controversy but putting the environmental issues aside, we thought it an imaginative and fitting tribute to someone who features so prominently in this part of the world.

Feeling cold and more than a little windswept, we returned to Orford and took a look inside St Bartholemews church where we found a great set of kneelers.  Of course, I had to go and find this one (one of several with a WI theme, actually)

We got back to the hotel to find our best Aussie mate John had arrived - what fun!