#grange park opera

[comedyfan2013]

[greensparty]

TV reviews - Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bassists Human Too? / John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial

This week I got to review two unscripted mini-series that both dropped recently on streamers.

Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bassists Human Too?

As the singer and bassist for Rush, Geddy Lee has amassed quite a cult following. They were a thinking man's rock trio where you literally felt smarter just for listening to them. I went through a serious Rush phase as a teen. I had heard their hits, but began buying their 70s CDs one by one. I even learned some of their songs when I was taking guitar lessons. 2112, their epic rock opera, is my personal fave of their discography. In 1996, I saw the band live at the Meadowlands in NJ. Fantastic live band too. Now, Lee is getting his own limited unscripted series Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bassists Human Too? which premiered on Paramount+ last week.

TV poster

Produced by Banger Films and directed by Sam Dunn (who directed the Rush doc Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage as well as Super Duper Alice Cooper, and ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas, this is sort of like Geddy Lee's version of a travel show, where a host visits a different location each episode, talks to a local (or many), and takes in the local food and culture. The four episodes that have been released are Lee speaking with Les Claypool of Primus and The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Robert Trujillo of Metallica, Melissa Auf der Maur of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana and 3rd Secret. Lee goes to their home, does activities with them and eventually talks and plays music with them. It is very much insider-baseball for musicians.

Lee is an engaging figure and a great host. All of these subjects so far have been bassists who came along after Rush and in some cases there was overlap between their band and Rush, but I think it might be interesting if the next season was bassists who pre-dated Rush. As a huge fan of Novoselic and Auf der Maur, and very familiar with Claypool and Trujillo, I of course was fully engaged in their rapport and conversation. Novoselic showing Lee his grange and flying with him on his plane is something I could watch all day! In some instances, it's Lee discovering things he hasn't done before like surfing with Trujillo. This is a cool show for music geeks, but beyond Paul McCartney the average person can't name too many bassists, so it's nice to see bassists talking shop and then some!

For info on Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bassists Human Too?

4 out of 5 stars

John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial

The December 8, 1980 murder of John Lennon outside his NYC apartment building at the hands of deranged "fan" Mark David Chapman is one of the great tragedies in that he was such a tremendous talent taken from us at age 40 way before his time. I was only about 4 when it happened, so I don't have any "where were you when Lennon was shot" memories (although I was into the Yellow Submarine movie). In later years as I got into The Beatles and Lennon's solo work, I saw many documentaries and specials about that tragedy. Not only was Lennon in a good place and happy with wife Yoko Ono and raising his 5 year-old son Sean, but he had just released a new album Double Fantasy, his first in five years and you got the sense it was the start of a big comeback. I've visited the Lennon memorial Strawberry Fields in Central Park many times. But I digress. The tragic murder is now a 3-part documentary mini-series John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial, which just premiered on Apple TV+.

TV poster

Narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, this is a deep dive into the day of the murder (what Lennon was doing leading up to the assassination, what Chapman was doing), the investigation, the trial and outcome.

Anyone who reads this blog, knows I am a lifelong Beatle and Lennon fanatic. Just recently, I got to review the documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story about May Pang’s relationship with Lennon and I also got to review the re-release of The Beatles’ Red and Blue albums. So I went into this very familiar with the subject. The thing that impressed me most was the depth of interview subjects, i.e. cab drivers that night, police and law enforcement that night, Dakota employees and residents, hospital staff and more. Hearing their recollections and some of the archival footage are quite impressive. But the thing that Lennon fans needs to understand going into this is that this is more of a true crime doc than a music or celebrity doc. I say this because there are very few Lennon musical collaborators other than producer Jack Douglas, and Yoko and Sean are shown in archival footage. There have been some fantastic Lennon docs in the past, notably Imagine: John Lennon (possibly the best Lennon doc there's been), The U.S. vs. John Lennon, and LennoNYC. This one is very much looking into the crime itself, the legal ramifications and the outcome. Do not expect to learn much about Lennon himself here if you're a fan, but you might learn quite a bit about Chapman (not that you necessarily want to know more about that monster). As a documentarian I can appreciate this doc series, but as Lennon fan I wanted a little more about Lennon, his family and the recording he was doing at that time, and it only scratched that surface.

For info on John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial

3 out of 5 stars

[burntcopper]

Theatre list 2022

Best of Enemies (Young Vic)* Nutcracker (St Petersburg ballet) Street Scene (Kurt Weill) (Teatro Real Madrid) Private Lives (Hall for Cornwall) Verdi's Rigoletto: On the Lake (Bregenz Festival) Carmen (Sydney Harbour) The Dante Project (Royal Ballet) Madame Butterfly (Sydney Harbour) Groan-ups (Hall for Cornwall) Kiss Me Kate (BBC Proms) Aida (Sydney Harbour) Ludovico Einaudi : The Elements Around the World in 80 Days (Rain or Shine) The Collaboration (Young Vic)* Cyrano de Bergerac (Harold Pinter)* Bill Bailey Larks in Transit (ROH) Everybody's Talking About Jamie (Hall for Cornwall) The Play What I Wrote (Birmingham Rep) Rumplestiltskin (Ballet Lorent) Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre henry iv part 1 (rsc 2014) Macbeth (Globe) Bonnie and Clyde (Arts Theatre)* Much Ado About Nothing (globe)* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Hall for Cornwall) (2nd half) Wine Night (Lona Theatre, AMATA) HMS Pinafore (ENO) Oklahoma (Young Vic) Magic Goes Wrong (Hall for Cornwall)* Kate Rusby (Hall for Cornwall) La Bayadere (Royal Balllet) Ladies of Letters (Hall for Cornwall)* Rough Girls (Lyric Belfast) The Recruiting Officer (Rain or Shine) Much Ado (National Theatre)* Much Ado (Blewbury) The Tempest (Globe)* Prisoner C33 Jack Absolute Flies Again (National Theatre)* I, Joan (Globe) The Tempest (Globe) Much Ado About Nothing (globe)* Six (Hall for Cornwall)* Richard iii (rsc) Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Hall for Cornwall)* The Seagull (Harold Pinter) Wuthering Heights (Bristol Old Vic) Nutcracker! (Bourne) White Christmas (Hall for Cornwall) Sleeping Beauty (Bourne) (Theatre Royal Plymouth) Gods of the Game (Grange Park Opera) Treasure Island (Hall for Cornwall) Henry V (Globe)* Hex (National Theatre) A Christmas Carol:  A Ghost Story (Nottingham Playhouse) As You Like It (sohoplace)*

Best 12

Best of Enemies (Young Vic)* The Collaboration (Young Vic)* Cyrano de Bergerac (Harold Pinter)* Bonnie and Clyde (Arts Theatre)* Much Ado About Nothing (globe)* Much Ado (National Theatre)* The Tempest (Globe)* Jack Absolute Flies Again (National Theatre)* Six (Hall for Cornwall)* Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Hall for Cornwall)* Henry V (Globe)* As You Like It (sohoplace)*

Best of Enemies : Hi we're going to examine ego and the birth of modern media and political commentary and identity and ... yes that is Andy Warhol, everyone else at the party is trying to ignore him too.

The Collaboration: Art! Reawakening artistic impulses!  Connection with the world! Tunes!  Paul Bettany!

Cyrano de Bergerac: Words, desire, the power of words, rap battles, being a dick because you can, falling for people, depth of emotion, James McAvoy's thighs (my view for the first ten minutes) and Christian and Cyrano falling for each other as well and MY HEART.

Bonnie and Clyde: We're gonna heist and we're going for fame and tomorrow doesn't exist.

Much Ado (Globe): It's Italy post-war.  We're all horny as hell, everyone is beautiful, the coppers are trying to kill us laughing via shenanigans, will you please get out of my shrubbery, and ladsladslads is it gay to wrestle your mates this much?

Much Ado (NT) : Setting:  Grand Budapest Hotel. Challenge:  ice cream toppings and pec popping. Glam as fuck. *mwah*. (not as good as Globe, Beatrice and Benedick were more weirdos who band together than banter, but achingly glam)

The Tempest (Globe): The Island is the spanish riviera, everyone is Brits who think they're better than the natives, Prospero's in a yellow budgie smuggler and it turns out this is actually a comedy, Lionesses win so they have to re-jig the Three Lions lyrics mid-run in glorious fashion and Prospero is absolutely a fuckhead slavemaster.

Jack Absolute Flies Again: WW2 farce! malapropisms delivered so perfectly you nearly kill the audience!  ukeleles!

Six: The ushers will dance and you can't stop us.  And yes everyone's favourites are the Annes.  Sorry not Sorry.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo:  The boys are back, they're en pointe and they're glorious.

Henry V (Globe): Henry goes full psychopath to the point that Jude Law's been left in the dust in scary Hals and I didn't think I'd ever say *that*.  When the usual comedic bits leave a hole in your soul.

As You Like It (sohoplace): Sorry, hearing actors.  Rose Ayling-Ellis has put a cherry on top of why Celia should be played by a deaf actor. (see Globe and Nadia Nadarajah) Entire cast flirting with the pianist should be encouraged.  Also: Alfie Enoch needs to go full ham more often. New best stage direction as provided by the subtitles; *pianist improvises frantically*

'Fuck off, keep fucking off, and fuck off again, you’re boring and tiresome and self-involved and why the fuck should I care about you?’ Award:

Aside from all the classical opera (I keep trying.  I fail.  This is just not a genre I can handle.  Decent tunes on occasion, lots of plodding pageantry and singing at people rather than advancing the plot. Though Gods of the Game was pretty decent by virtue of the fact that it kept employing opera tunes footie fans use but for adverts and the chorus of fans. Toreador as the jingle tune for a burger advert the lead is doing?  NICE.) Wuthering Heights.  Quite brilliant staging, and I thought it would be the Emma Rice-ness turning me off in this but no, it was the Bronte.  I literally just want to yell 'fucking leave, don't come back' at everyone.  The Emma Rice twiddly dance and music numbers were actually pretty good.

[theorymin]

Alden and Barlow impress in a minimalist Kátya Kabanová at Grange Park Opera - Bachtrack

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicmh0dHBzOi8vYmFjaHRyYWNrLmNvbS9lc19FUy9yZXZpZXctamFuYWNlay1rYXR5YS1rYWJhbm92YS1hbGRlbi1iYXJsb3ctcm9tYW5pdy1idWxsb2NrLWdyYW5nZS1wYXJrLW9wZXJhLWp1bmUtMjAyNNIBeGh0dHBzOi8vYmFjaHRyYWNrLmNvbS9lc19FUy9yZXZpZXctamFuYWNlay1rYXR5YS1rYWJhbm92YS1hbGRlbi1iYXJsb3ctcm9tYW5pdy1idWxsb2NrLWdyYW5nZS1wYXJrLW9wZXJhLWp1bmUtMjAyNC9hbXA9MQ?oc=5&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[weaversweek]

"That's rich!"

An excellent choice from RTÉ and the people of Ireland. Brooke Scullion's song will represent them at May's Senior Eurovision Song Contest in Milan. A very contemporary song, it feels like a relative of "Qami qami", the reigning Junior Eurovision champion.

I've a full review of the Eurosong programme, and a reflection on why RTÉ has The Late Late Show and the other side of the sea... doesn't.

Sadly, I also need to give an obituary for Bamber Gascoigne. For a quarter-century, the host of University Challenge, he knew and edited all the questions.

The show is his legacy, but so is West Horsley Place. Not only the home of a new opera house, but also the setting for the BBC comedy Ghosts.

[kirionline-dame-kiri-te-kanawa]

“What a pleasure to welcome Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to The Grange last night for Carmen.”

- Scott Cooper

[theclassicengland-blog]

The Grange, Northington, Hampshire por Alwyn Ladell Via Flickr: The Orangery.

[pureanonofficial]

Oklahoma! at the Grange Park Opera (2018)

[winnix85]

About Lewis Nixon’s mother Doris Ryer Nixon (Mrs Stanhope Nixon)

Source: mostly from old newspapers and digitized documents (I can’t guarantee the accuracy because they are fragmented information. I will just put it out there for someone may find some interesting useful backstories).

Doris Ryer was born on Oct 1 1894.

Her father Fletcher Ryer was a wealthy pioneer agriculturalist in California. He owned 6,600-acre (27 km2) ranch on Ryer Island, which was named in their honor. Because Doris was his only heiress, this ranch all went to Doris and then to Lewis Nixon III and ultimately to Grace Nixon. It's an agricultural (instead of livestocks) ranch. They grew crops, fruits and vegetables such as wheat, milo, safflower, pears, apples, cherries, grapes, tomatoes and asparagus. They produced such large amount of asparagus that Doris's mother, Mrs Ryer was nicknamed Asparagus Queen back then. This farm is still up and running today, managed by Clarence Hester from 1950s to 1990s (Nix' war buddy, the regimental S3, the one who wrestled with Dick in that photo), after him by his son Thomas Hester.

Doris was educated at Madame Payen's school in Paris from 1906 to 1914 (her entire high school).

Fletcher Ryer died an early death in 1911 (when Doris was about 16). Doris was close to her mother Mrs Blanche Ryer. Mrs Blanche Ryer, though very charming, married very very young. As a pretty, attractive, wealthy widow she determined to ensure that her daughter Doris have a brilliant "bellehood" as a girl. She took Doris to tour around the world. For example, in Sep1913, they traveled to Russia to present Doris at the court of Tsar Nicholas II (Very inconvenient timing, I have to say).

Doris was very sweet and attractive, with pretty black eyes. Her mother has always been most ambitious for her handsome daughter. She aimed to marry Doris to British aristocracy. Doris was presented at Buckingham Palace in 1914, wearing "a white satin princess gown embroidered in pearls and brilliants". Mrs Ryer has had her eye on several members of the British aristocracy for Doris, "but this cruel war, of course, smashed all of her well-laid plans to smithereens." She has to stoop so low to choose from American heirs.

Doris married Stanhope in Jan 1917 in New York at Church of Heavenly Rest. Their wedding was the social event of the year. Guests from coast to coast attended Nixon-Ryer wedding.

The bride's costume was soft white satin, made in combination with pearl embroidered net. She worn a lovely veil, the same that had been worn by her grandmother at her wedding, which was held in place with a band of diamonds. Her only other ornament was a necklace of diamonds with a large pear-shaped diamond pendant, the gift of the bridegroom.

Because the father of bride has died, she was given away by governor of New York Charles S. Whitman. Among those in attendance were the Brazilian ambassador and Argentine ambassador.

After the wedding the new couple went to Bermuda for honeymoon and then they lived at 52 East Fifty-second Street NYC (but later moved to 46 East 65 Street). In 1920 census, the household of the new couple included Stanhope the head of the house, Doris the wife, Lewis the one and half yr old old baby son, and a butler and 3 maids. They also have a suburb house at 167 Grange Ave, New Jersey (a 20-room estate, equiped with oil burning hot water heat, a 4-car garage, servants quarters, a boat house and a stable).

After marrying off her daughter to the Nixons, Mrs Blanche Ryer re-married in 1920 to Clifford Erskine-Bolst, a British conservative party politician. Mr Erskine-Bolst was elected to the British House of Commons in 1923 and again in 1931. To help him win the election, she made generous donations to King George's Hospital in England. She campained hard for him, making speeches and appealing to the constituency in the South Hackney district. 

In 1920s, mama Doris bought a villa at Riviera France from the late Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. She lived there until her death in 1939 (This villa went to Nix. But he didn't like living there, too much hassle to open the house. He prefered to stay at the hotel Cap Estel. In 1950s he leased it to the Kennedys).

Doris and Stanhope seemed to be ok in 1920s. They attended social events together and traveled to England together. After Lew, they had a baby boy in 1922 (who tragically died in 3 months. Doris' mother went to New York to be with her.) Then they had Blanche Nixon in Aug 1924 (also born in NYC). While living in NYC, it seems little Lew was often spending time with his grandfather. Grandpa often took him to play at central park. For example, he took Lew to that model yacht regatta in central park when he was 7, and to skate in central park in Jan 1927 when lew was 8. In 1927, Doris took 2 yr old Blanche to France to visit her mother, but she didn't take Lew (maybe he was too naughty?). Anyway, Doris took Blanche to see grandma almost every year but Lew was only with them on one visit when he was 10 yr old.

Doris appeared to be lonely and out of place in the social circle of New York. Here is a social note about her in 1929: "A remarkable girl with her embroidery frame, actually engaged in a simple, normal occupation in a land where the atmosphere is charged with hang-overs, gambling-losses and mistrust. Nobody around here looks twice at a woman with mauve hair like Madame de Roch, or at a man with ear-rings and a bracelet on his ankle. But let a girl take out a half-finished centerpiece and commence embroidering and every lorgnette in the crowd is whipped into place."

At the end of 1920s, Doris seemed to be so unhappy to live on the east coast anymore, and she still regarded CA to be her real home. Stanhope sold their house in New Jersey and bought a new house in Montecito (also a mansion with a large stable and everything). In the 1930 census they were living at 180 Cold Spring Road, montecito, CA (Stanhope, Doris, Lewis (11yr), Blanche(5yr), and a French governess, and 2 servants). Lew attended boarding school at Cate School in Santa Barbara.

In social notes in 1930s, Stanhope and Doris mainly attended social events in CA (Santa Barbara and San Francisco), they also travel to New York to visit Mr and Mrs Lewis Nixon Sr.. The family traveled a lot, not only back and forth between east-west coasts, but also trips abroad. Doris always took Blanche with her, but Lew traveled on his own even when he was as young as 15 yr old. It appears that Doris and Stanhope's relationship has gone sour in 1930s. For example, in this 1934 social note: "The Stanhope Nixons will spend the Christmas holidays with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Nixon. Mr Nixon will return to California on Jan 1, and Mrs Nixon will sail for Europe to spend six months on the Riviera with her mother." (almost as if Doris was running away from Stanhope and hide in France after briefly met him on Xmas day. Meanwhile 15 yr old Lew was at boarding school in CA).

In 1940 census, Doris and Blanche were still living at 180 Cold Spring Road, montecito, CA (with a housekeeper, a cook and a maid). Stanhope was no longer in this household. Maybe they have separated. Lew was also not in this household for he has left for college.

Among the CA high society, Doris was a all-around likable person: "Doris is always bubbling over with enthusiasm, her joy of living and her wit making her a welcome guest at any affair". She was very enthusiastic about opera (and art events in general, such as oriental dance). She attended the openning of Opera Season at San Francisco every year (usually with Blanche, and she will grab Lew when she can catch him). In 1940, she offered a prize for the "Best one act play" to stimulate interest in the Lobero Theater of Santa Barbara. She also went to see excellent plays in New York when it's in season and made some witty comments about the remarkable fashion trends in New York: "The only lavender and old lace that you see today is on the individual--the lavender in the tinted hair, and the lace on the dainty unmentionables."

After the Pearl Harbor Attack, Doris turned from a socialite to a civic leader. In 1942 she became the national vice-president of the American Women's Voluntary Services (AWVS) (and during ww2). The AWVS recruited and trained women to harvest crops, do nurse works, driving trucks and sell war bonds. She encouraged women to show more interest in international affairs. She also founded Guide Dogs for the Blind in 1943 (primarily to help the blinded veterans) and she made generous donations. In addition, she was the state commander of the California Cancer Society.

The AWVS duties kept her so busy, she has to relinquish her box at the opera house. She only had long enough time to have a toasted chicken sandwich for lunch. She put generous amount of English mustard on her sandwich. When her friends cautioned her not to put too much, she said:"If it puts me out, I will be a most excellent subject for the first aid class I am about to attend, and we will all find out how much we know!"

In the summer of 1945, Doris and Stanhope finally divorced (Stanhope even filed counter-suits seeking divorce on the grounds of desertion). They divorced in August, and Stanhope married "the Blond" in September 1945.

In June 1948, Doris died at home (944 Chestnut Str San Francisco CA). She had a stroke (and she always had hypertention). It seems her death was an unexpected sudden death because one month before she was still traveling around France with her daughter Blanche. Her will dictated to split her legacy equally between Blanche and Lew. She also left generous amount of money to employees such as housekeeper, secretary. For a former maid, she gave her $225 monthly for life.

[bespokeredmayne]

Eddie’s Italian serenade

Thanks to IG @pavelbjiracek for this unexpected Throwback Thursday treat of tenor Eddie Redmayne (third from right) singing with his Eton College Close Harmony ensemble, “The Incognitos,” on Rome’s Spanish Steps. 

We’ve seen a number of photos of Eddie with the choir.

And there’s this account of the celebrated group’s annual Italian sojourn: https://bespokeredmayne.tumblr.com/post/165900472603/a-young-man-of-promise-eddies-eton-years-up

But this was our first glimpse of Eddie’s involvement with The Incognitos. For a school founded in the 15th century, it’s a very recent tradition, described on the group’s Facebook page:

The Incognitos, formally created in 1992 by Aidan Oliver, is the latest incarnation of a long-standing Eton tradition of close harmony singing. Soon after its founding, the group became a staple fixture at the end of dinners held for guests of the school and remained a private source of entertainment for residents at Eton. The original repertoire drew on influences like The King's Singers, and indeed Incogs still perform many arrangements made famous by their Henry VI counterparts. The group is made up of boys from Eton who are particularly adept at singing, normally drawing from final year students, although augmented with two boys from the first year who sing the treble line. Unusually for a school music group, The Incognitos are entirely picked, rehearsed and managed by the boys themselves. A Musical Director is nominated by the previous years' group, who is then responsible for all aspects of the group's life for that year. In the last ten years or so, The Incognitos have broadened their horizons and established a career in performing beyond the dining halls of Eton. Combining the original repertoire with a new influx of popular music arrangements written by a number of the Incogs members, the group began to perform to the student body, to great success, to Royal Guests, and also in public concert performances across the UK. Perhaps their most notable appearance was at Grange Park Opera's 10th Anniversary where they shared the bill with Kit and the Widow, The London Symphony Orchestra, and The King's Singers. More recent notable appearances include a major performance at the Polish Embassy, the Hurlingham Club and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in April 2019.

         As for Eddie’s former choir mate, Pavel B. Jiracek, he went on to study music at Oxford and has made a career as a dramaturg and most recently, director of the opera of Theater Basel in Switzerland. 

Here’s Jiracek performing “Amazing Grace” in the style of “House of the Rising Sun” on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PavelBJiracek

[arcenciel-par-une-larme]

You can ALWAYS count on SJWs to hit rock bottom yet still find new ways to sink further low.

Who started Britain’s culture war? If the commentariat is to be believed, it is all the work of the Tory government, which is pushing confected controversies over political correctness to stir the prejudices of voters and distract from more important issues.

Take the almost week-long row over Last Night of the Proms, sparked by a Sunday Times report suggesting the BBC was planning to drop jingoistic singalong favourites ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ in response to Black Lives Matter. [...]

So it seems Johnson is at once incompetent (on Covid) and playing a blinding game of 4D culture-war chess, enlisting national newspapers to the end of ‘polarising once marginal issues’ and ‘turning them into potent symbols of the nation under threat from despotic minorities’.

Same stuff that they always say about everything they don’t like. Their enemies are bumbling idiots and criminal masterminds at the exact same time.

But you didn’t need to go far to find people in the cultural establishment who thought that ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ were indeed quasi-racist, neo-imperialist anthems, and that the current moment demanded they be reworked, if not junked.

Wasfi Kani, chief executive of Grange Park Opera in Surrey, told the ST that she supported the removal of the songs.

[...]

‘No one’s banned the song, no one’s said nobody can listen to it, it’s not being burned in the Houses of Parliament’, Kehinde Andrews told CNN, only immediately to follow up: ‘Is this a song you want to sing to celebrate our public-service broadcast television? No it’s not, it’s not appropriate.’

Class, who shall volunteer to explain to us the definition of “motte and bailey”?

(Exercise for the reader: observe how their tactics are sometimes indistinguishable from abusive parent behaviour.)

Executive producer for the BBC’s Songs of Praise memorably compared singing ‘Rule Britannia’ at the Proms to Nazis shouting about gas chambers.

Nobody is crying wolf they said, the slippery slope ain’t real they said, you’re all just reactionary crybabies they said.

If anyone is ‘polarising once marginal issues’, it is a bourgeois left that seems oddly obsessed with cultural, historical remnants of our racist, imperialist past rather than the present; that claims to care about the more substantive issues but spends an inordinate amount of time raging against inanimate objects.

In the post-BLM battle over statues, sitcoms and now songs, those the left accuse of being right-wing culture warriors are often just reacting, often quite defensively, to the left’s own increasingly unhinged campaign of cultural cleansing and censorship. [...]

So, who started this culture war? Maybe it’s the people who have been charging around demanding that statues be toppled, speech be censored and now songs not be sung in the name of equality – rather than the people who, in the face of all this guff, dare to say ‘hang on a minute’.

And I shall repeat, with increasing certainty: Leftists have conquered literally everything, yet every day they keep demanding more and more.

[inadownfarm]

Are looking for the best holiday homes in South Downs, Hampshire? Ina Down Farm Holiday Homes provides luxurious self-catering holiday cottages near South Downs National Park. Most elegant, affordable and dog-friendly cottages in Alton that will make your holiday experiences very fantastic. We provide stunning homes with fully furnished and equipped with your comfort and convenience in mind and all have wi-fi and cable for highspeed internet access. Enjoy the spectacular view of nature from our beautifully designed cottages for all age groups from children to old aged people as well as your pets. See the beautiful parts of the South Downs National Park and lots of attractive places in Hampshire by staying at luxury garden furniture accommodation. You can take advantage of Walking around natural places of the national park, Cycling tracks & Horse Riding facilities nearby. There are lots of adventures and sports events you would like to explore such as Golf, Surfing, Sailing, Gliding at Lasham, Racing at Goodwood, Chichester Festival Theatre, Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival, Opera at the Grange, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Polo at Cowdray Park and many more.

[madforfashiondude]

Sir Bryn Terfel Returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in Recital with Pianist Natalia Katyukova

Sir Bryn Terfel Returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in Recital with Pianist Natalia Katyukova

Performance Marks Terfel’s First Recital at Carnegie Hall in Ten Years

On Sunday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m., beloved Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage for a recital featuring works by Ireland, Quilter, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, selections from Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travelas well as additional selections to be announced from the stage. He is…

[centrestagereviews]

Actor of the Week: Ethan Davis

Actor of the Week: Ethan Davis from @thedriftersgirl ⭐️

Ethan trained at International College of Musical Theatre. His credits whilst training include: Eddie Souther (Sister Act – Stockwell Playhouse), Tony (Stretched – Mark Goldthorp) and Good and Evil (Stuart Glover). His theatre credits include: Swing and Cover Smokey Robinson (Motown the Musical UK and Ireland tour 2018-2020) and Duane (Hairspray – Grange Park opera). His workshops include:…

[chasenews]

Sky Arts scores Gods of the Game: A Football Opera, coming to stage and screens in 2022

Sky Arts scores Gods of the Game: A Football Opera, coming to stage and screens in 2022

Sky Arts has commissioned a brand new opera about corruption in football which will coincide with the long-awaited 2022 World Cup. Sung in English across 90 minutes (with no injury time), this celebration and condemnation of the world’s most popular sport will play to in-person audiences at Grange Park Opera, Surrey in October, airing on Sky Arts, NOW and Freeview shortly afterwards. The opera…

[theukone-news]

Полоний! Полоний! В Великобритании поставили оперу об отравлении Литвиненко

"Полоний! Полоний!", – звучит со сцены. Историю об отравлении бывшего офицера ФСБ поставила труппа Grange Park Opera в графстве Суррей под Лондоном. Спектакли будут идти всего 3 дня – с 15 по 17 июля. Билеты уже раскуплены. Премьере "Жизнь и смерть Александра Литвиненко" в России аплодируют СМИ понятно какого толка. ... Читать далее