TW: Suicide, overdose, trauma I reviewed a production of La Voix Humaine in February. It’s been a strange wormhole of a year and it feels like a million years ago but also maybe yesterday that I was sitting in Suite Gallery, experiencing this piece for the first time. Writing this review with the last one […]
I’ve found myself in a very lovely, very privileged, and deeply uncomfortable space. I’ve seen three previous Red Scare Theatre Company shows, and I’ve genuinely loved them all. I will have to enlist one of my ‘Ista comrades to review their shows in future, to preclude claims of bias and shameless fangirling. Each of those […]
King George III, despite having been a learned and enthusiastic sponsor of scientific and industrial progress, a faithful husband and father, and in many ways very liberal for his time (except pro-slavery, just saying), is basically famous for having gone mad. That madness has been scrutinized, diagnosed, and mocked roundly in modern literature, film, TV, […]
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 […]
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, […]
A revue of ‘most adventurous composer’ Stephen Sondheim’s works. Originally performed in 1976 the musicals represented in this revue are from the early part of his career. (Some of the musicals mentioned in the show’s promotional material do not feature.) He explores the themes of love, relationships, and marriage. Performed by Julie O’Brien, Matthew Pike, […]
Telemann: Water Music “Hamburger Ebb und Fluth” (TWV 55:C3) Händel: Water Music (HWV 348–350) St. Paul’s Cathedral, Wellington Friday 1 Feb 2019 Listening to the two “Water Music” suites by Telemann and Handel fill the echoing expanse of St. Paul’s, I wondered how it is we find reverberation so attractive. Is it a cultural association […]
My first trip to the new Shed 6 was a few weeks ago to see contemporary music outfit Stroma. They were playing a sampler of modern art music, stretching from Ravel and Schoenberg, through Boulez and Berio, to more recent work by Gillian Whitehead and David Lang. Music writer Alex Ross was our tour guide, […]
Not everyone is digging the orchestra in the concert hall, although let me just say that the NZSO tribute a few weeks ago to Torvill and Dean’s standout Bolero performance in 1984 was bloody powerful. Generally the concert vibe appeals to one kind of crowd and the standing in a shed gig appeals to another. […]