by Neal | 17 Jun 2012 | Music, Slider
After seeing Das Reingold last year at Leeds Town Hall with Opera North, I decided it was time I had a full Ring Cycle on CD, and with it being a fairly hefty set, wanted the best version. After a lot of browsing, the set conducted by Sir Georg Solti came out on top....
by Neal | 17 Jun 2012 | Music, Slider, Theatre
We had been waiting a year with great anticipation since the first of the Ring Cycle operas, Das Rheingold, last year at Leeds Town Hall. The success of last year’s ‘preliminary evening’ to the three main operas, as Richard Mantle the Director...
by Neal | 11 Feb 2012 | Music, Theatre
Giulio Cesare is our first Handel opera we’ve seen, and it won’t be our last. This review could be very short; Handel is brilliant!!The synopsis courtesy of Opera North goes as follows:Egypt, ancient times. Cleopatra uses all her considerable wiles to...
by Neal | 29 Jan 2012 | Music, Theatre
Our latest opera at the Grand Theatre in Leeds was Bellini’s Norma. This has probably one of the most popular arias in opera (Casta Diva) and was the role Maria Callas sang the most, and who gave us arguably the best recording off the opera. It is Bellini bel...
by Neal | 23 Jul 2011 | Music
Blondie have been touring mostly festivals and outside venues this summer, and this was the first time I’d seen them outside. After a good evening racing the entire, very full, crowd stayed to watch a fantastic performance by Blondie. At 66, Debbie I’m sure is getting...
by Neal | 7 Jul 2011 | Music
This is the session Blondie did on Ken Bruce on Monday 4th July 2011. The set is as follows: Heart of Glass (Parallel Lines 1978) Mother (Panic of Girls 2011) What I Heard (Panic of Girls 2011) Please Please Me (originally by the Beatles, for the Great British...
