TW: Suicide Jean Cocteau wrote La Voix Humaine in 1928 as a one-act play. Francis Poulenc set it to music 30 years later, despite having already known Cocteau well for years, and gave the reason for the delay as having needed more life experience to do it justice. During those years he struggled with depression […]
Four Nights In the Green Barrow Pub is the third of Cassandra Tse’s shows I’ve seen, and each one was wildly different from the others. M’Lady had me in stitches, The Aliens, in tears. Four Nights, though, took me down memory lane. Having a hundred noisy musical Irish cousins of my own, I was probably […]
Blackbird Ensemble are “NZ’s most exciting chamber orchestra”, and Thursday’s homage to Björk supported that claim more than competently. A collection of strings, horns, percussionists, and Claire Cowan’s multi-instrumentalism brought director Cowan’s arrangements to vibrant and emotional life. The musicians were more than just that; in their glowing boiler suits they became part of a sensory […]
During the interval of last night’s performance of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, I popped outside for a bit of cold air and second-hand smoke. As I stood reading the playbills, a group of four people bustled out, one of whom was loudly and petulantly proclaiming “But I want PUCCINI!!!” They did not […]
Liz and Frank have spent the past few years achieving the sort of anaemic existence that passed for middle-class success for my parents’ generation. Careers, a house, a child. Carefully curated shelves of books and knick-knacks in the living room. This living room is the stage for a reunion dinner party; two old friends […]
Verdi’s Rigoletto is a classic, and deservedly so. The story was based on a Victor Hugo play, adapted somewhat to avoid censorship. Hugo, by all accounts, was not at all happy that his play was being plagiarised (and by an Italian!) until he attended and was amazed by a performance. Musically it was rather revolutionary, […]
“This is the true story of two travelling carnies who develop an obsession with the occult, exposing and explaining the paranormal.” Lizzie Tollemache and David Ladderman listen to their audience. It makes sense as performers who’ve worked with circus, cabaret, and variety around the world… so much of those skills rely on the audience investing […]
If I’m honest, I walked into The Aliens last night with a certain amount of cynicism. I wasn’t expecting what I got – a thoughtful, gentle exploration of friendship and self in a homogenous world. Annie Baker writes slow subtle plays about people, and their personal journeys, and that could be stupifying in the hands […]
The Barber of Seville is a very silly opera. Last night’s opening performance at the Opera House took that silliness to extremes, mostly to good effect. While very silly, there’s no doubt that it’s also very good. Orchestra Wellington delivered Rossini’s classic under the graceful guidance of Wyn Davies, and the addition of a Fortepiano […]