Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
Regular readers will know how much I enjoy Opera North’s lunchtime concerts at Dewsbury Town Hall – the next one is The Romantic Violin on Wednesday, 15th May – well, here we had a bonus edition at Howard Assembly Room in Leeds. The starting time was a little earlier, being 11.00am and instead of sandwiches,…
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As a Yorkshireman I do like a bargain, and here we have a buy one, get one free from Opera North. Cavalleria rusticana is only a short opera, lasting just over an hour, so it is usually twinned with another concise work, normally Pagliacci, but tonight it was given a change of partner and performed…
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I think that I have found my favourite opera so far, and this is it! OK, the work itself is the usual bonkers story which is so daft as to make you wonder what exactly Mozart was on when he wrote it, but the music, staging, singing and acting were so amazing that I could…
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No, the small case ‘r’ in the title is not a mistake, Italian operas, I have recently found out, do not use upper case in titles except for the first letter in the sentence. You’re welcome. Regardless of the grammar, this is the third and final work in Opera North’s Green Season devoted to making…
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Well, The Green Season has hit with a vengeance. Not only are all of the components of the production, such as costumes, scenery, sets and props being reused or made from recycled or second-hand elements, but this opera is concerned with the fate of the planet and the devastation it is facing. Being opera it…
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It’s that time of year again when the Opera North Winter Season begins. The various environmental groups will be pleased to read that it has been renamed The Green Season as all of the productions conform to the Theatre Green Book standards which sets out new benchmarks for sustainability. What might upset them though is…
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After a break in proceedings during the summer, the amazing Howard Assembly Room, or, as I like to call it, home, is back with its usual mix of all kinds of music and special events. The season kicks off on Friday, 8th September with Resonance Showcase which will give an opportunity for performers supported through…
Read MoreBreaking News!!! Opera North is not just about opera, with sopranos shattering wine glasses when they hit a High C, although I have a conspiracy theory that the bars in opera houses put their booze in plastic containers just in case, they stage lots of other types of concerts as well. A lot of them…
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The back end of the year is a busy time for this iconic Leeds institution. There are no less than 53 visitors to its (steeply forward sloping) stage between now and the New Year. I must apologise to artists I don’t mention for only being able to pick what I consider to be highlights. You…
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Now that we are getting a spell of good weather it is obviously time to look forward to dark nights and cold days. I must say that I think autumn is my favourite time of year, when days are days and nights are nights, but most of all the theatres are in full swing with…
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Tyke It To The Limit 