Review: Autumn Greats – Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra & Jack Liebeck

How I came to be writing this review is quite a story in itself, in that one day I happened to start talking on Twitter to a guy who shared my interests in TV talent shows such as Strictly Come Dancing. I liked his honest and often hilarious comments about performances and we became Twitter pals. The man was none other than Alex Laing, Artistic Director of Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra (DECO).When I saw that the Orchestra were performing a concert of Autumn Greats at Lichfield Cathedral, which included works by some of my favourite composers and featuring as their special guest the Classical Brit award winning violinist Jack Liebeck, I just had to go!

Lichfield Cathedral

Despite living in nearby Burton on Trent for many years, I don’t think I have ever visited Lichfield Cathedral until now. It is a magnificent imposing building, very gothic in style and so intricately decorated with carvings of saints and apostles as well as other adornments – the detail in the stonework is quite remarkable. It is a stunning and beautiful piece of architecture that also has the most amazing acoustics inside and was a highly suitable venue for the evening’s performance as it really enhanced the sound of the orchestra.

Darwin Ensemble Chamber Orchestra with Artistic Director Alex Laing

The Orchestra started the evening by playing Mozart’s Overture to Cosi fan tutte; a piece I am familiar with having seen the opera performed previously by Opera North. Despite being a fan of Mozart’s music, this opera isn’t one of my favourites as the storyline seems overly melodramatic. The music nevertheless is quite spectacular and in this performance, DECO brought out all the characteristics of the piece; the oboe solo, the frenzy of the strings as they build to a crescendo and are joined by the entire orchestra in quite a triumphant flourish. The sound quality was superb no doubt enhanced by the acoustics of the building which made it all very enjoyable.

Classical Brit Award Winner Jack Liebeck

The Orchestra were then joined by Classical Brit Award winner Jack Liebeck. I had seen Jack win his Classical Brit for Young British Classical Performer in 2010 at the Royal Albert Hall and had met him and his wife briefly afterwards. This was the first time that I had heard him perform live though and was eager to see just how good he was. He was accompanied by the orchestra in playing the sublime Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor. This is a well-known piece that always features high in the Classic Fm Hall of Fame and is considered to be an essential piece to master by all concert violinists. That’s not to say that piece is easy but it is a great opportunity to showcase the violinist’s technique and talent. The first movement opens with an almost immediate entry of the solo violin which is then repeated by the orchestra building up to some quite elaborate and intricate passages. At times Jack’s bow just seemed to fly across the strings in quite a frenzied manner and yet the sound produced seemed so effortless.

Jack Liebeck in rehearsal with DECO

I often think that the sign of a great piece of music is when you get so totally absorbed by it that everything else around you is lost and you get transported into the piece itself. Sitting in the Cathedral listening to this was just like that for me, the music was so exquisite and so wonderfully performed that you were totally transfixed by it.

The second movement is linked by one note from the bassoon and is so serene it has a great calming effect and is sublimely beautiful and almost sorrowful in places but this only adds to the beauty of the piece. In 1906, the year before his death, celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim told the guests at his 75th birthday party:
“The Germans have four violin concertos. The greatest, most uncompromising is Beethoven's. The one by Brahms vies with it in seriousness. The richest, the most seductive, was written by Max Bruch. But the most inward, the heart's jewel, is Mendelssohn's.” Listening to this piece being performed on Saturday, it was easy to see why this was considered the heart’s jewel.

The third movement starts in a similar vein to that of the second but soon builds up to a lively and quite vibrant finale which seemed so fast in places that it looked like Jack was playing twice as many notes than everyone else. It was a spectacular piece which Jack and the orchestra brought to life and had the audience in rapturous applause at the end. Truly spectacular!

After such an energetic performance, it was time for a break but the second half of the concert proved to be just as enjoyable in that it was Beethoven’s Symphony No 7.Whether consciously done or not I don’t know, but it linked well to the previous piece by Mendelssohn given the association between the two composers. In 1821, Beethoven had heard Mendelssohn play and had made quite a prophetic entry in one of his conversation books “Mendelssohn - 12 years old- promises much."

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love Beethoven and having grown up listening to his music have always enjoyed his symphonies particularly the 5th and 7th.I can still picture the 33” LP we had of his 7th symphony and when being asked as a child what I liked about Beethoven said that it was because you could play it loud! Listening to this performance tonight, transported me back to my childhood and the stories I would imagine in my mind whilst setting it to this music. For me, the piece is so expressive and full of emotions and I think the orchestra did a brilliant job in portraying this in their performance. I could go on in much more detail about this, detailing each movement but I would probably go on for longer than the concert itself!! Suffice it to say, each of the four movements was performed superbly and was incredibly emotive and poignant. Again the acoustics played an important part in the overall sound of the piece, but the orchestra did an outstanding job in bringing the music to life.

The concert lasted almost two hours but seemed to fly by so quickly, which was obviously a sign that it had gone well. Having now discovered this incredibly talented set of musicians for myself, I can assure you it won’t be the last time of seeing them perform.

For more information on their upcoming concerts: www.darwinensemble.co.uk/deco


Follow them on twitter: www.twitter.com/darwinensemble


Or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Darwin-Ensemble-Chamber-Orchestra/135743199796317

Review - A Night with the Phantom

“With one look, I can break your heart, with one look I play every part...when I speak it’s with my soul, I can play any role”.
These words were sung by the character Norma Desmond in the musical Sunset Boulevard and whilst it was not one of the songs performed in the concert, it certainly epitomised the characteristics of the performer.


Ramin Karimloo, famous for his roles in Phantom of the Opera and its sequel Love Never Dies and as revolutionary Enjolras in the 25th Anniversary concert of Les Miserables was for one night being himself and singing from a whole host of musicals in an evening entitled A Night with the Phantom.

I have been fortunate enough to see Ramin perform in Love Never Dies and at the 25th anniversary concerts of both Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera and always enjoy his performances. There is no doubt that he takes on the character of each of these roles brilliantly but I was eager to see how he would be minus the stage lights, make up and costumes – I was not disappointed.

Ramin performed at the Bridgewater Hall with the Manchester Concert Orchestra conducted by David Shrubsole and with special guests Olivia Jade Archbold and Celia Graham who played Christine in both Phantom musicals. For over two and a half hours they delighted the audience with songs from Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and many more well known and much loved musicals. It was also an opportunity to hear tracks from Ramin’s own album which is due for release in January 2012. If the tracks are representative of the album as a whole, we can be assured of a real treat.

What I enjoyed about the concert was not only the variety of musicals sung, but also the different musical styles performed. Ramin showed the versatility in his voice by performing Jazz numbers as well as up tempo numbers and powerful yet heart wrenching ballads. The expression in his voice and his mannerisms emphasised the beauty of the lyrics of each song and even if you weren’t familiar with the musical itself, you could feel the emotion of the piece. He has an incredibly powerful voice that can also be soft and calming and quite mellifluous. An example of this for me was the exquisite “If Ever I Would Leave You” from Camelot which was so poignant and beautiful it gave me goose bumps. I also enjoyed his performance of “Bring Him Home” which again was full of feeling and emotion and in many ways reminded me of Colm Wilkinson’s rendition - a great compliment. It was also lovely to hear him sing “Do Your Hear the People Sing” in its native language of French – not only that, but he got the audience to join in with the chorus which was very enjoyable.

One of the hi-lights was hearing Ramin perform songs from his new album and I particularly enjoyed the song “Constant Angel”, the lyrics to which will resonate in the hearts of all those that hear it and will be one of those songs that everyone will be able to relate to and bring their own meaning to.  The show ended (far too quickly in my mind) with some of the most gorgeous songs from Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies and I was glad to see this included Til I Hear You Sing Once More. This to me is one of the most beautifully stirring and yet heart wrenching song, so full of passion and longing and Ramin manages so effortlessly to convey each of these emotions, he was a joy to watch from start to finish.

After the performance I went to stage door to try and say a quick hello and can honestly say I have never seen such a reception as the one that awaited him as he left, there must literally have been hundreds there! Ramin came outside to rapturous applause and cheers and then stood patiently talking to the fans, signing autographs and posing for photographs. Ramin is a genuinely lovely guy, extremely polite and was truly touched by all the positive comments people made. Having heard some of the tracks appearing on his album, I can hardly wait for the release and eagerly wait til I hear him sing once more.

Ramin is making one more concert appearance for A Night with the Phantom at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton on Friday 4th November - to book tickets go to
http://www.mayflower.org.uk/event.asp?show=RAMIN11

Ramin will be taking over the role of Jean Valjean in the west end production of Les Miserables at the end of November. For more information and to book tickets contact Queens Theatre, London.
Ramin’s debut album due for release in January 2012 is available for pre-order through amazon.co.uk.

For more information on Ramin see his official website www.raminkarimloo.net or his twitter page www.twitter.com/raminkarimloo

Opera Review - Ruddigore

Following on from my behind the scenes look at Opera North’s production of Ruddigore, I attended the opening night of the show to see for myself how well all their hard work had paid off – I was not disappointed! Ruddigore was brilliantly funny from start to finish and several times I found myself laughing out loud along with most of the audience.

Ruddigore, or The Witch’s Curse tells the story of Baron Murgatroyd whose family having been cursed by a witch must perform one evil deed per day or suffer a most terrible and painful death. Sir Despard Murgatroyd who has been living with this awful curse for ten years is therefore delighted to discover that his elder brother Ruthven, long believed dead is actually alive and therefore the rightful inheritor to the curse. However, this discovery is not well received by Ruthven who has for the past ten years been living under the assumed identity of Robin Oakapple and who is in love with the very lovely but very prim Miss Rose Maybud. Ruthven’s (Robin) troubles worsen when his ancestors come back from the dead to warn him that he will suffer a most painful death if he does not carry out the terms of the curse.

Photo by Robert Workman for Opera North

Whilst this is one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s lesser known operas, it is none the less equally as brilliant as The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance or HMS Pinafore. It is full of the quick and witty lyrics, the paradoxes, melodrama and humour that you would expect from their work and will have you laughing throughout the entire evening. Anyone who has never seen an opera before should start by seeing something like this as it is light and easy to follow, sung in English and invariably ends on a happy note. This particular production by Opera North not only ticks all the boxes mentioned above but goes beyond that with its clever staging.

As the curtain goes up, the audience watches the story unfold in the style of a silent movie; black and white photographs and captions are accompanied by the orchestra and set the scene for the show. This in turn then reveals the opening scenes and a stage decorated in brown and beige colours very reminiscent of a sepia photograph. This theme continues throughout the entire show and is contrasted only by the bridesmaids’ white dresses and sailors’ uniforms (all styled circa 1920s) which really highlighted the sepia effect and added to the overall visual enjoyment.

Photo by Robert Workman for Opera North

Another stunning visual effect is in the second act when the ghosts of the Murgatroyd family come to life through their portraits. I believe an illusionist was responsible for this particular special effect and it was certainly very cleverly done.

Photo by Robert Workman for Opera North

As previously mentioned, the music and lyrics were sharp and quick witted, full of humour and at one point even re-arranged to make more topical for today’s time – something which wasn’t missed by the audience and they showed their appreciation and amusement with huge applause and laughter. At times the lines were sung so fast that it was a veritable tongue twister of words and yet the performers managed not only to sing the lines of the songs but also add the humour through their expressions. I think it was perhaps the mannerisms and expressions of the performers that really brought the piece to life. Whilst the entire cast were already familiar with the opera, having performed in the same exact same roles last year, it seemed as though they were going all out to emphasise the melodrama and humour of the piece and sometimes just a look or an action would be enough to dissolve the audience into fits of laughter. The energy they put into their performance only added to the overall enjoyment of the piece and it was clear to see that the performers were enjoying themselves as much as the audience.


Having had a behind the scenes look at the show and having enjoyed the performance so much, I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone. It is everything you would want a show to be, light, witty, full of great songs and music with some stunning visual effects and fantastic performances from all involved. There really didn’t seem to be one weak cast member amongst them and the fact that they had all worked together before really showed in their performance. It was a delight from start to finish and left you smiling as you went home.

Opera North will be performing Ruddigore in Leeds on selected dates until 27th Oct before taking the show on tour to Nottingham, Newcastle & Salford Quays and ending with a run at The Barbican in London. For more information on the show and to book tickets (priced £8 - £75) see http://www.operanorth.co.uk/events/ruddigore/

To read my post as guest blogger for The Culture Vulture – Behind the Scenes with Opera North http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/behindscenes/behind-the-scenes-with-opera-north/

Behind The Scenes with Opera North

This week I was delighted to be asked to be a guest blogger for The Culture Vulture, a Leeds based site run by Emma Bearman which highlights many events in and around Leeds and Yorkshire.


My assignment was to attend a working rehearsal for Opera North’s forthcoming production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Ruddigore and get a behind the scenes look at what goes into putting on a production.

With the help of Opera North’s PR Assistant, Julia Lumley and Company Manager, Jane Bonner, I not only got to see some of the rehearsal but also quiz them about the work they do and the process of getting a show from the planning stages through to the curtain call.

It was a fascinating evening and one which not only taught me a lot but also gave me a deeper appreciation for the work that goes on behind the scenes into getting a production onto the stage.

To read more about my evening with Opera North, please go to http://theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/behindscenes/behind-the-scenes-with-opera-north/

Please feel free to leave a comment afterwards and check out the Culture Vulture website whilst there.

My review of Ruddigore will follow shortly.