Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
After the success of last year’s The Big Opera Adventure, comes The Big Opera Mystery. Once again all the stops had been pulled out and we (me and the other kids) were treated to an hour of crime busting, to detect who the villain was in a spate of thefts. It was obvious from the…
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Now, here’s another first – and second. This is the first time I have ever been to an event and my notebook remained unused, the main reason was because it was the second time I have seen this production of La bohème and I thought that I would sit and watch it in the same…
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I say, I say, I say. What’s the difference between an opera and an oratorio? I don’t know; what is the difference between an opera and an oratorio? A boat load of money! Back in the early 1700s when Handel was nobbut a lad, operas were the telling of stories through music with extravagant settings…
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I do love a good launch presentation, and I have been to a few just lately, what with the Transform and African Arts Festivals, I have met some really interesting people and got the inside track on what was to come. The downside is that the interesting people had to put up with me, but,…
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I am beginning to think that the creatives behind the various arts organisations in Leeds know something I don’t. This is the fourth production I have been to in the last three months which highlights their youth sections. Have they got access to information suggesting that they had better invite me to see the actors…
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This past six weeks or so have been a case of feast or famine insofar as the world of theatre is concerned. August was definitely a famine – and drought – with only one engagement in the whole month; September, however, brings the feast – and the rain! When it comes to feasts there can…
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It was interesting to get back to Farsley as, between 1978 and 1982, I lived just around the corner from Sunny Bank Mill when it was still, well, a mill. Like the rest of the area it has now been gentrified – everywhere seems to go upmarket when I leave – and is home to…
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The problem with jokes, unlike music, is that they are great to hear once, but the more they are repeated the more irritating they become. Having this concert on May the Fourth did nothing to change my mind on that, but it did allow me to indulge in a totally unscientific and subjective experiment. I…
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If you doubt the power of music then let me tell you that the medium has done something that even God has failed to do – get me to go to church on a Sunday! I have become quite the fan of Leeds Baroque Choir and Orchestra since being introduced to them by a friend…
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To mark Bradford’s tenure as UK City of Culture, Opera North decided to spread the love and stage the first two performances of the 2025 Tour of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at St Georges Hall, handily situated across the road from the Interchange. I say ‘staged’ advisedly, as that is the term used to describe the…
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Tyke It To The Limit 