Originally posted by Flay
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It was the Sinfonia of London, which had been created specifically for film work, and with which Bruce Montgmery (aka Edmund Crispin) had worked many times. It's Mongomery you see in close-up in the full film conducting Messiah. He also wrote the storyline and script, and composed the original score. The scene where the string quartet loses its nerve and, one by one, disappears was apparently a true one, told to Montgomery by Eric Coates. -
I echo Barbirrolians' comments wholeheartedly in every respect. The programme asked people to remain their seats but Tony Hall made clear that people could leave if they wished. The fact that unusually he came out and spoke, rather than the Kasper Holten, was revealing. Unprompted, the lady I spoke to at the box office said that the musicians had been grumbling about it and that it had been 'badly mishandled'. They had obviously been at the sharp end of management decisions. I would say that more than 200 people left, and there was a big hole in the middle of the stalls.
I did stay for the repeat, feeling that I had no desire for even more interval time (madly they have two intervals anyway, including one between acts three and four), and because despite my anger about this from an artistic, dramatic and customer relations point of view I wanted to see how it came off. Much to my surprise, the answer was it did not fall apart. Mr Horwood was using a score, the tempi were mostly on the deliberate side (even compared to Bychkov!), he engaged in some fairly boilerplate conductor gesturing but he had clearly been well drilled, knew the piece, and they had found a way of making sure the big moments held together, give or take. The young singers did well, but apart from a promising turn from Musetta (Madeleine Pierard), who looked the part rather more than Nuccia Focile in the main cast, nothing remarkable to note.
As a result, the evening was seriously protracted and it did spoil the flow, and one only gradually got back into it. The audience was a typical Saturday night one: 'provincials', date nights etc in greater than normal numbers. John Copley, who was there, must be gratified that 38 years on, the opening to act 3 in the snow was still greeted by very audible oohs and aahs. No one actually applauded the scenery though!Comment
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It's a slippery slope when the opera gets taken over by people from the provinces on cheap (or not so cheap !) datesOriginally posted by Prommer View Post
they will be wanting the vote next
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Hence the quote marks but it beats 'people who don't live in London' for economy!Comment
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Very illuminating remarks from the box office as the party line was that very few people had complained .
I am not surprised it did not fall apart the orchestra would no doubt have had contingency plans to follow the leader if it did . They did not appear to be paying much attention to any of them on the TV on Friday .
I was interested to read that so many left . In a way the fact it was such a Terrific performance made this interruption seem even more of a crass imposition than it had in advance.Comment
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This sounds familiar somehow. I'm sure I've heard something like it elsewhere ... give me a moment; I'm sure it'll come back to me ....Originally posted by Barbirollians View Post[FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]Comment
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Seems like there are two things going on in this thread: i) opinions of Maestro at the Opera as a programme; ii) opinions of the BBC "takeover" of an ROH performance. They are obviously related, but (equally obviously) not the same thing.
On the latter, I agree entirely with the majority - high-handed behaviour and terrible communication (by a combination of BBC and ROH) apparently led to very poor treatment of last night's ROH audience. As an out-of-towner with late night trains to consider, I would have been furious if I had bought a ticket innocently and then had this change foisted on me.
Less clear on the former, though. I watched the first programme with family (elder kids both play in orchestras) and we all enjoyed it with (different) reservations. To me, there's an inevitable element of cringeworthiness with all programmes like this (but that's what many, including the BBC and my kids, think makes for good telly
). But I didn't think the programme was that bad - and as someone pointed out earlier, in amongst the celebrity-focused banality there were quite a few interesting and perceptive points made. It was certainly better than either the original (much more celebglitzy - is that a word?) Maestro or the more recent (and utterly dreadful) Popstar to Opera Star. We will probably keep watching.
I suppose my main problem with this kind of programme is that the BBC appears to view it as a valid alternative to just broadcasting "straight" TV programmes of or about classical music (outside the Proms season), with the consequence that we now get less of these.
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Depressing to read elsewhere that the contestants did not return to their seats for Acts 3 & 4 but I am not sure whether that is correct as I saw Josie Lawrence at the entrance to the Grand Tier at the start of Act 3 and she appeared to be going in .Comment
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And, Rolmill, very bizarrely, playing directly into the hands of the Sky lobby.
Sky Arts regularly broadcast whole operas / symphony concerts / recitals etc, and oddly, they have faute de mieux and without all that much effort found themselves inhabiting the cultural high ground since the BBC on TV have largely vacated it. Even more puzzling given that the BBC has its own in-house orchestras etc, instead the BBC have gone down the X-Factor route on terrestrial TV and tried to X-Factor classical music eg very much in the public eye at the mo is the Young Musician of the Year format, and now this.
I genuinely do not see the BBC strategy here. Surely they are not naive enough to think that mere ratings confer quality of output, do they?Comment
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I was in the stalls not far away from the contestants (who were in the the front row of the Stalls Circle Left overlooking the pit), and they did not return to their seats after Act II Mark 2. Gone for the after-party one has to suspect...Originally posted by Barbirollians View Post
Rolmill, I agree with you. Like you, I am complaining against the ROH caving into the BBC on this point, rather than against the Maestro programme. That is why (despite all my whingeing) I stayed to watch. My beef is against the milk-and-water ROH management when given their orders by the TV folk. Grow a backbone! The company's willingness to participate in this is proof of their commitment to the wider cause of opera - they don't need to push it this far.Comment
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Craig Revell Horwood is to be the next guest on Private Passions, apparently. Is there an element of choreography here, are we being softened up for something? He'll have his own show on R3 quite soon.Comment
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That's interesting and it could well be that he'll have a Saturday Classics slot, because the BBC will have to capitalise on his winning the programme otherwise, why go to the expense of mounting it when you don't get a return on your investment and, also, now I think of it, RT did a big spread about him last week.Originally posted by Richard Tarleton View PostComment
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Yes, I get the impression the Beeb no longer trusts unadulterated classical music to hold the viewer/listener's attention - Maestro and BBC YM of the Y both betray this, as do some elements of the (now not so) new approach to Breakfast.Originally posted by DracoM View Post
That said, I think they have drawn back from some previous low points: I seem to recall that YM of the Y four years ago was even worse that its current presentation; and as I said, I find this version of Maestro (so far) more palatable than its predecessor.
There's still hope.
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