Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
After my overdose of The Magic Flute, it is folk music which seems to have filled the void. I pointed out that the artists on last week’s gig were individual performers, being support and main act, here we had two artists who were a duo, but also appeared singly as their own warm-up. Kerching! Aidan…
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For once I went to a concert at the spectacular Howard Assembly Room knowing what I was going to get, rather than opening myself up to a form of music with which I was not familiar. I have always enjoyed the music of Django Reinhardt and his long-time musical partner, Stéphane Grappelli, co-founders of the…
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Well, that’s that then. I have completed the Grand Slam of The Magic Flute. I have seen the September 2024 production, the February 2025 one, which was the same but with a few cast changes, the free, 40-minute pop-up version performed in Holbeck Working Men’s Club in June, 2021, The 30-minute rendering in County Arcade,…
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Now here’s something I have never done before – seen the same production twice. For those of you who are paying attention, you will notice that I have copied my original review and posted it next to this. I thought it would save you scrolling to last September, when The Magic Flute began its run.…
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It was great to be back at Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, to give it its Sunday name. The place looked better for its fettling, as we say in this part of the world, having had a nip and tuck rather than the full Cher. Just as well really, as this opera provides more…
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When I see the two names, Manchester Collective and Howard Assembly Room, I know that I am in for a night of music, played to an unbelievably high standard, in wonderful surroundings. It will also be a challenge – but in a good way. The great thing about Manchester Collective is that they take your…
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After an extremely quiet January, the new month has started with an absolute treat. Three hours of Wagner, sung in German with English translation on display screens, might not sound like a way to tempt you away from your fireside on a cold Saturday evening, but, believe me, it was worth it. The evening began…
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What a way to return from a lengthy break. After the dearth of new shows since Christmas I was looking forward to getting back in the saddle and this production, which appeared to be more like a musical than a full-blown opera, seemed just the thing. It was written in 1948 by Kurt Weill and…
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What the Dickens would Christmas be without A Christmas Carol in some form or another. This year we were treated to a wonderful performance of the classic by Northern Ballet, Directed and Devised by Christopher Gable CBE and Choreographed by Massimo Moricone to Music by Carl Davis. A formidable trio indeed. For those of you…
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There is something about brass bands at Christmas which just seems right. Whether it is because it is the time when the Salvation Army regale shoppers with their renditions of carols, I don’t know, but it certainly adds a festive cherry to the fruit cake. Now where’s the Wensleydale? Naturally, the programme comprised a selection…
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Tyke It To The Limit 