'My Fair Lady' at the Coliseum, London

I've never seen the stage version of 'My Fair Lady' and don't recall ever seeing the film all the way through so the production at the Coliseum was the perfect opportunity to put that right. When I booked the tickets I didn't realise it was the Jubilee weekend and the streets would be full of people aimlessly wandering round trying to find wherever they thought they were going. It was a relief to get inside the foyer and be faced with the familiar madness of people trying to find their seats - I'm used to that.

My main reason for wanting to see it was that it was devised by the same production team that delivered the glorious 'South Pacific' at Lincoln Centre (the Vivian Beaumont Theater to be precise) in 2010 that I saw while the snow piled up outside. That production transferred to London a few years later at the Barbican and then went on tour. I saw it several times. Would 'My Fair Lady' be up to the same standard?

The play opens in Covent Garden as the Royal Opera House empties and spills the posh folks into the common streets around the flower and vegetables market outside. That's where we meet flower girl Eliza Doolittle, the Indian army colonel and phonetics 'professor' Henry Higgins. You know the story from there, where Higgin's decides he can pass Eliza off as a lady under his tuition and so begins the tedious attempts to teach Eliza how to speak "proper". And he does... or rather, she does. But where does that get either of them?

The production was great and quite lavish with the main set of Higgins's house on a revolve to show different rooms and characters walking between them. Lots of fancy costumes for the characters and Eliza seemed to have dozens once she became 'posh'. It was also quite nice to know that the opening scene in Covent Garden was only five minutes walk round the corner from the theatre and we could all stumble across Eliza and her cronies at the market. Sadly, there hasn't been a flowers and vegetables market there for over 40 years but the Coliseum has installed a flower shop in the foyer to make up for that oversight.

I really liked Amara Okereke as a feisty Eliza, a great performance and a lovely voice. Harry Hadden-Patten and Malcolm Sinclair were fine as Higgins and Colonel Pickering, as were Maurine Beattie as housekeeper Mrs Pickering and Stephen K Amos as Alfred Doolittle. I also really liked Sharif Afifi as nice but dim Freddy with his lovely singing voice. Sadly Vanessa Redgrave as Mrs Higgins wasn't on for this performance. The performances were good, the costumes and sets were really good but I didn't fully enjoy the book or some of the songs. Higgins is a rather unpleasant mysogenistic character and his songs were all to the same stop/start formula. The character rather soured things for me and good on Eliza for walking away. I hope she got her flower shop.

My ignorance of this musical was demonstrated to me by two songs - who knew 'I Could Have Danced All Night' was from this show as is the lovely 'On The Street Where You Live'? The placing of 'Danced All Night' was a bit odd since at that point Eliza hadn't actually danced yet, the dancing is much later and the moment of her triumph at the ball is spoiled by Higgins and Pickering congratulating themselves on the success of their 'experiment', totally ignoring Eliza. 

Verdict? Yes, 'My Fair Lady' is definitely up to the standards of 'South Pacific', so well done to Bartlett Sher and his team at Lincoln Center in New York. And the actual musical? It's great fun, well performed and the cast have some great voices, but, well, on this outing, Lerner and Loewe ain't no Rodgers and Hammerstein. Go and see it for yourself.

'Satyagraha' at the Coliseum

Philip Glass's 'Satyagraha' is on at the Coliseum with the English National Opera. I saw his 'Akhenaten' there a couple of years ago  and thought it would be interesting to see another of his works. I wasn't quite sure what I was watching a couple of years ago and that experience was repeated last week at this performance.

The production tells a version of the tale of Mahatma Ghandi's early years in South Africa, some of which I'm vaguely familiar with but not to the extent of knowing about the specific incidents we saw on that stage. I'm also, you'll be surprised to hear, I'm sure,  not familiar with Sanskrit so couldn't follow the tale by listening to the words since there were no surtitles. It all came down to the visuals, and some of those were astonishing.

Phelim McDermott's visuals left the stage bare at times and at others incredibly rich with spectacle built upon spectacle. Giant animals made out of baskets appear out of nowhere, gods on stilts battle for supremacy and random pages from a newspaper create a swirling maelstrom that Ghandi both disappears into and is created from. What on earth is this? What am I watching? The answer is that I didn't know while I watched and still don't know. I don't really want to know since I'd much rather revel in the random artistry of the piece.

The singers and chorus are dressed variously as Victorian ladies and gentlemen and this gradually changes to dhotis and saris for many of the characters as the story progresses and Ghandi rejects British modes and adopts his traditional Indian dress and traditions. It struck me as rather strange at the time, something quite challenging in it's own way since we rarely see a stage full of people dressed in what we think of as traditional Indian garb.

The music is slow and stately, swirling and repetitious with the same phrases seemingly repeated endlessly. Far from making me nod off it actually kept my attention riveted to the music, possibly simply waiting to spot the moment when it changed, perhaps? That will remain a mystery. I have to say that I don't think I could listen to it without the visuals. This is definitely one of those pieces that relies on the whole, rather than it's parts, in order to work.

Toby Spence sang Ghandi with sopranos Charlotte Beamont and Anna-Clare Monk. Karen Kamensek was the conductor (who also conducted 'Akhnaten' a couple of years ago).

While I quite like simply revealing in the experience and not wanting to try too hard to understand it, something that simply increased my frustration as the production moved forward was the continuous slow pace of every movement. How on earth can someone physically move so slowly across a stage for just under three hours? Even the memory of it makes me feel frustrated and need to move with increasing speed.  I can only give the performers kudos for sustaining it but, c'mon people, have some regard for it might make the audience feel!

I wonder what the next Glass production might bring?

'Song of the Earth/La Sylphide' - the English National Ballet at the London Coliseum

Last week we went to see the English National Ballet dance a double bill of 'Song of the Earth' and 'La Sulphide' at the Coliseum. I hadn't seen either ballet before and knew nothing about them but, in hindsight, it was a rather odd pairing. 'Song of the Earth' is almost pure dance whereas 'La Sulphide is full of storytelling. I enjoyed both but I suspect there are better pairings.

'Song of the Earth' is a single act ballet by Kenneth MacMillan set to music by Mahler. It's full of dance and is very elegant, with simple staging and costumes helping to make the emphasis the movements of the dancers. It's split into a number of different movements with different combinations of dancers and dancing. On the evening that I saw it one of the dancers was blatantly out of sync with the others in the first movement and that was rather jarring. It also affected how I saw the rest of the movements, waiting for that dancer to come on and make similar mistakes but, thankfully, he didn't. I enjoyed the dancing but would like to see it again, done properly, and probably with a different ballet to follow on from it.

'La Sylphide' is a very different portion of haggis, with lots of story-telling and characterisation and it was really in the second act that the dancing took off. It's set in a Scottish manor house (cue kilts for everyone) where the laird is due to get married but falls in love with an ethereal fairy - you know it's her because she's the only one in a frothy frock rather than a kilt. For some reason there's an old witch involved and she wants to ruin the laird's life (not sure why) so she casts a spell to make the laird kill his love. This happens when he's in some fairyland glen surrounded by other fairies coming and going.

In a sense, it's a rather daft plot and there wasn't a single bagpipe in the orchestra, but I really liked it. Despite the gloomy ending it's actually great fun. Bright red and yellow kilts added lots of colour to the gloomy manor house set and the fairies flitted about nicely in the magical glen. It's a sad ending - and I still don't understand the witch's role - but I'm pleased I've seen it. A hour of whimsy after the more serious 'Song of the Earth'.

'Tosca' by the English National Opera at the Coliseum

I'm not a great fan of opera. I've seen a few in recent years and the only one that's come close to making me 'get it' was 'La Traviata' at the Royal Opera House earlier this year. That involved me emotionally as well as having sumptuous sets and fantastic singing. Since then I've realised that I can potentially like opera, I just need to be careful which ones I choose to see until I have the magic revelation and I fall in love. I haven't seen any operas since 'La Traviata' until Friday evening when I went to see 'Tosca' at the Coliseum, home of the English National Opera (that sings everything in English).

A man enters a church furtively to find the key his sister has hidden that will let him hide in a small chapel before an artist enters to continue to paint a fresco on the wall. The subject is the furtive man's sister as a madonna. The artist's lover visits him and gets jealous over the blond hair and blue eyed subject but the artist reassures her that it is her he loves and her flashing dark eyes. They arrange to meet later that night. The artist is Mario Cavaradossi and the singer is Floria Tosca, our central characters.

When she leaves the furtive man emerges and it turns out he's a former consul of Rome and has just escaped from prison with the help of his sister. The artist is a supporter and swears to help him escape Rome. They hear police at the door of the church and make good their escape and that's when we meet Baron Scarpia, the chief of police (who I renamed Shitface for his evil nature). Baron Shitface wants to arrest and hang both the former consul and Caravadossi as traitors and he sets his agents to follow Tosca to find them.

Find them he does, through cruel torture of Caravadossi while poor Tosca has to listen to his cries. To save her lover she tells Shitface where the consul is hiding but he wants more. He's already told us that he wants Tosca - not to woo her gently as a lover, but to conquer her, to take her as he pleases and use her for his own enjoyment. To save her love she reluctantly agrees and demands a guarantee of free passage out of the city state of Rome. As Shitface starts to ravish her she stabs him in the heart and proclaims that a woman has killed the monster that all of Rome fears.

The scene moves to Castel Sant'Angelo, the prison where Cavaradossi is to be executed, and she assures him that the police will feign shooting him and he must lie still until she says he can move, then they will escape from Rome. But, of course, Shitface was lying and they shoot him anyway. As brave Tosca mourns her beloved the police appear having discovered Shitface's body and move to arrest her. No, they won't have her, and she throws herself off the battlements of the castle to follow her beloved in death.

This is a magnificent opera of love and passion and Tosca emerges victorious in defeating her enemy and depriving his minions of revenge. Puccini's music is marvellous and the story is told so simply and effectively translated into English by Edmund Tracey. Grand, swelling music one moment, quieting the next as the story progresses. It's such a simple story told so effectively and movingly.

My Tosca was Keri Alkema and Cavaradossi was Gwyn Hughes Jones. Shitface was Craig Colclough and he was righteously booed during the bows at the end. Serves you right! They all played their parts to perfection - especially the dangerous and menacing Shitface - believing the acting and rejoicing in the singing. I guessed that Shitface would lie about saving Cavaradossi but I didn't guess the tragic ending of Tosca throwing herself from the battlement. Such a brave and triumphant hero!

Thank you ENO and Keri for opening my eyes to another opera and introducing me to another hero. Thank you to Catherine Malfitano, director of the original production, and to Donna Stirrup, the revival director. Such a well crafted production with simple sets and lighting that helped focus attention on the story and the protagonists. I loved it!

'Le Corsaire' at The Coliseum

Pirates and ballet? What's not to like? So, when I saw that the English National Ballet was putting on 'Le Corsaire' at The Coliseum I had to get tickets. It's based on a poem by Lord Byron that I haven't read (but I will) so it's obviously going to be romantic and virile. I am very remiss in my reading of Byron (and the other romantic poets to be honest) so I need to put that right. Soon.

The performance opens in the slave market of old Constantinople with it's shimmering minarets and traders from all over the globe. We see slave girls and courtesans, pirates and slavers, traders and palace guards all strolling round, having minor dance-offs and giving the girls ample chances to show their moves in the hopes of being bought by the Pasha or a wealthy patron. Conrad, our pirate captain is seeking his beloved Medora and needs to save her from the slave markets. He finds her and rescues her as she is being sold. He whisks her off to his pirate cave and stronghold but has to face down rebellion in the ranks and spirit Medora away through shipwreck and disaster but true love conquers all. Obv.

This was a very spectacular and colourful production with some excellent dancing. My gradual learning about ballet also tells me that this is an 'old' ballet in which the women lead and the men are largely there to carry the women around and perform astonishing acrobatic - which they do. How on earth can they jump so high and not be in the Olympics? Except the paunchy Pasha, of course, who waddled round the stage in sparkly robes.

A cast of thousands (sort of), great costumes, scenery and lighting, very exotic and romantic and a great spectacle. As is usual, there are a few principals who take turns dancing the leads and men were Laurretta Summerscales as Medora and Brooklyn Mack who did great jumps and leaps. C'mon guy, get your application form in for Rio 2016 and you'll win Olympic Gold easily!

It was a delightful production only let down by the absence of pirate grog and grog-flavoured ice-cream at the half times.

'The Barber of Seville' at The Coliseum

On Friday we went to see the English National Opera's production of 'The Barber Of Seville' by Rossini at the Coliseum. This was my first 'proper' full length opera - I saw the new 'Peter Pan' opera by the Welsh National Opera which I found terribly disappointing and trite so I was hoping for better things from a 'proper' opera, something that's stood the test of 200 years. I didn't really know what to expect and know the story of the opera but, luckily, it was sung in English so that helped.

'The Barber' is a comic opera and it did have some laugh out loud moments. It's the tale of Count Almaviva and his love for young Rosina, the ward of Dr Bartolo who is minded to marry her himself. It begins with the Count in disguise in ordinary clothing rather than his more courtly flamboyance outside the window of Bartolo's house with a group of musicians to serenade his love when she opens the curtains in the morning. It all goes wrong when Bartolo spoils the fun but the Count meets Figaro, the famous barber, in the street and tells him his tale of woes. Figaro instantly comes up with some ideas that will get the Count inside to meet Rosina - for a fee, of course.

And that's where the story takes off and the comic scenes get more and more daft, with Almaviva first acting like a drunk soldier to get into the house, pretending to be billeted there and later as a music tutor. The schemes all go wrong of course but at least the lovers meet. In the final scene we see Almaviva as the Count in all his finery and all goes well for the lovers, but not for grumpy old Bartolo. And the barber is handsomely rewarded - he is the best barber in Seville after all, as he keeps reminding us.

I didn't really know what to expect but I enjoyed it - and it helped that it was in English (but I still read the surtitles above the stage - those operatic voices y'know). This was a revival of Jonathan Miller's production from the '90s and was fast-oaced and kept the action going with no pauses. The set was lovely - Bartolo's drawing room - but surprisingly small on that big stage, with the set taking up slightly more than half of the available space. There were some great voices and my only criticism is that the players aren't quite, ahem, as young as they're meant to be playing. But there I go with the ageism…

I'm pleased that Almaviva and Rosina got together and probably had a lovely life together but you just know that that Figaro, the barber, gets into more scrapes along the way - he's that sort.

So there we have it, a comic opera under my belt. Now I need something more serious and have already booked tickets to 'La Traviata' at the Royal Opera House next year. Watch this space!

'Sweeney Todd' at The Coliseum

Do you like meat pies and a nice, close shave, the closest shave in London? If you do then you're a bit late to see the latest production of 'Sweeney Todd' at the Coliseum, the home of the English National Opera. The production closed last week but I was lucky enough to catch it before it ended. This was 'Sweeney Todd' with Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel.

The Coliseum is terribly ornate and old school but, when I walked into the auditorium, my spirits fell slightly when I saw a line of microphone stands at the front of the stage with the orchestra behind. O, I thought, it's a concert version. Not what I was expecting but it should still be good (I hoped).  After all, it was Emma Thompson's first time on the London stage since the '90s and Emma is always worth watching.

And then on came the cast carrying their songbooks, Emma and Bryn in the centre with the rest of the cast along the front of the stage. Bryn started singing and then after a minute or so stood at his microphone, picked up his songbook and dropped it on the stage. Emma tipped hers into the orchestra pit and the others started throwing their songbooks around. The other leading ladies went up to Emma and pulled the sleeves of her frock off and all of them began ripping clothes, moving around the stage, upturning the grand piano to make it a small platform and generally causing mayhem. This was more like it!

Bryn has a big operatic voice and menacing presence that needs a similar voice to challenge it so Emma didn't even try. Instead, she went for comedy and acting to hold her place against Bryn and she more than succeeded with her comedy East End accent and taking over the stage. I loved how she used the orchestra at the back of the stage, taking the conductor's baton at one point to help give Sweeney a hair cut, swiped the double bassist's stool to give Sweeney his first barber's chair and walked to the violin section when talking about pie made of fiddlers. Emma was great fun and easily ruled the stage. She seemed to be having a ball!

I'm very pleased to have seen this production - and seen Emma on stage at last. It certainly wasn't what I expected but that would've been boring, to just put on a standard version with a couple of big names. No, this was different and deservedly so and a production I'll remember for a long time.