Beckett Centenary

This year marks the centenary of the birth of the author Samuel Beckett, who was born in Dublin in 1906.

My experience of Beckett’s work is very limited. I have not see his most famous play "Waiting for Godot" and the only thing I had seen before was "Krapp’s Last Tape". I saw this in a highly praised production featuring John Hurt as Krapp but I must admit it didn’t do much for me.

Being in London over Easter weekend gave me a chance to sample more of Beckett’s writing at the Centenary Festival at the Barbican. I attended the pit theatre and saw a double bill of two short plays.

The first, "Play", consists of three characters sitting in urns, so that only their heads are visible. As the curtains open, the stage is dimly lit and the three characters are all mumbling at the same time. Then a spotlight moves from face to face as they each speak in a rapid monotone. Once the dialogue is completed, there is a short pause, and then the whole procedure is repeated.

As the fractured conversations emerged it became clear that the three characters are a man, his wife and his mistress. The wife is unhappy about the man having a mistress, the mistress is unhappy because the man will not quite leave his wife for her and it ends up with both women giving him the push and him on his own and missing them both.

At least I think that’s what it was all about, because as well as being rapid and monotonous, the speech was also very quiet, so it was very difficult to catch many of the words. Even hearing it twice.

The second play was "Catastrophe", set in a 1940s film studio as a director and his assistant control the movements and positions of an actor. It is a play about power and control and there were some subtle ideas about those concepts explored in this production: the assistant’s extraordinary walk, a mixture of a ‘power’ walk and the mincing of a dolly-bird secretary; the subtle interplay over lighting the director’s cigar: at first the assistant rushes to him to apply the light to the cigar but, on the final occasion, the assistant requires the director to cross the stage to where she is in order to get his light.
The production originated in Dublin and was directed by Selina Cartmell. I had better declare an interest here - one of her brothers was my pupil and another is a good friend of mine. But I am not just being loyal to friends when I say I enjoyed the evening very much (including a wonderful post-performance party with the cast at Selina's brother’s smart London flat) . The best compliment I can pay the director, cast and author is that it generated enough interest in me that I would now look out for more Beckett to try.

Anyone for Cocktails?

David Embury’s book "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks" is the best book I have ever read about the science and art of cocktail making. It has now acquired cult status: Embury is as significant a figure to the world of cocktails as Elizabeth David is to cookery.
My own copy was a present some years ago but I note that it carries the price tag of £2.95. Trying to find this book on the internet today you will be doing well to find a copy for less than £100.
David Augustus Embury was born in 1886 in Pine Woods, New York. He was not a bar-tender or any sort of professional in the drinks trade but was in fact (surprise, surprise) a lawyer! For many years Embury was a senior tax partner with the respected Manhattan law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt and Mosle. He died in New York in 1960.
What is so special about his book is that it is not just a list of cocktail recipes but he actually explains what a cocktail is and how the creation of a cocktail works. Chapter headings include “To Stir or to Shake”; “And a Twist of Lemon”; “Chilling and Frosting the Glasses”; “When is a Martini Strong”; “Roll Your Own” as well as the more philosophical “Alcohol and Feeble-Mindedness”; “Is Mixing Drinks Fatal” and “Alcohol, the Inevitable Concomitant of progress”.
The liqueur that Embury nominates as ‘the absolute king of all liqueurs … unsurpassed … for sheer excellence of flavour’ is Grand Marnier. So here is my own ‘roll my own’ tribute to the great DAE: not from a recipe of his, but according to his principles.
In a cocktail shaker put in one measure of Grand Marnier. Add two measures of orange juice or lemon juice (the latter will produce quite a ‘sharp’ drink). Then add eight measures of good quality gin (Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray). Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Turn out into a previously chilled cocktail glass. Enjoy – and raise a toast to the memory of David Embury!

Royal Opera's New Season 2006-7

The season opens with a revival of “Faust”. This is an excellent production by David MacVicar. Angela Gheorghiu returns as Marguerite (I thought she was superb in the original run two years ago) with Piotr Beczala as Faust and John Relyea as Mephistofeles.

Concert performances of Halevy’s “La Juive” are an interesting novelty. But the presence of Dennis O’Neill as Eleazar will keep me well clear of them.

Those who think that everything written by Mozart is wonderful will, I am sure, want to go to “La Finta Giardiniera” (written when he was 18). For myself, I could think of a lot more deserving cases for a full scale new production.

Antonio Pappano makes his first appearance of the season conducting a revival of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”. I thought this was a brilliant production of an extraordinary opera when it was new and would certainly go back to it. Many of the original cast return, including John Tomlinson as Boris, Katerina’s father-in-law, whom she murders with poisoned mushrooms. EvaMarie Westbroek makes her ROH debut as Katerina.

The revival of the long-established Copley production of “La Boheme” might be worth catching for Marcelo Alvarez as Rodolfo, as might “The Queen of Spades” for Katerina Dalayman’s debut in the role of Liza. I have never heard Vladimir Galouzine (Herman), but recent reports have not been encouraging.

Bizet’s “Carmen” is not one of my favourite operas but the ROH are obviously seeing it as a big event of the season with a new production, Pappano conducting and fifteen performance by two casts. Anna Caterina Antonacci (Carmen A) is described ‘one of today’s greatest sopranos’ on the cover of this month’s “Gramophone”. Jonas Kaufmann (Don Jose A) is interesting casting. Not sure it will be quite his part but he will certainly look good, as should Ildebrando d’Arcangelo as Escamillo.

What should be the star event of the season comes in January with a new production of “La Filled du Regiment” with Natalie Dessay as Marie and Juan Diego Florez as Tonio. The only possible downside to this is that Bruno Campanella is to conduct but I am sure those top Cs from JDF will make me even forget that.

A revival of Elijah Moshinsky’s rather hit-and-miss “Trovatore” (has anything been done about that ridiculously camp sword play during the soldiers’ chorus?) looks interesting for Alvarez as Manrico and Stephanie Blythe as Azucena. For those who may worry that Alvarez is too light for the role should remember that Manrico is largely a lyrical role that happens to have one big heroic aria and that, as well as singers such as Del Monaco and Corelli, singers like Bjoerling and Bergonzi also had great success in it.

Lovers of Handel opera will be delighted to see a revival of “Orlando” with Bejun Mehta in the title role and Charles Mackerras conducting.

Anyone who missed the original run of Thomas Ades’s “The Tempest” in 2004 should take the chance to see it in 2007. This is a ‘proper’ opera written by a major musical talent. It also shows off some star performances by Simon Keenlyside, Ian Bostridge, and, most remarkably of all, Cyndia Sieden as Ariel: her part makes the Queen of the night seem modest in tessitura.

Spring brings an evening of light entertainment with a double bill of Ravel’s “L’Heure Espagnole” and “Gianni Schicchi”. New productions by Richard Jones who can be brilliant or awful – these works might just suit his unusual talent. Pappano conducts and Bryn Terfel sings Gianni Schicchi for the first time.

Sondra Radvanovsky and Mark Elder might just tempt me to Verdi’s “Stiffelio”, but Jose Cura will scare me away. And it is a rather dull opera.

I will definitely be tempted to give “Pelleas et Melisande” another try. The last time I saw it I spent the first half hour thinking ‘I could listen to this all night’ and then the next three hours realizing that was exactly what I was going to have to do. The presence of Simon Keenlyside as Pelleas and Simon Rattle conducting might just win me over for the whole evening.

The combination of Karita Mattila and Pappano in the new production of “Fidelio” will be attractive to many. The production is by Juergen Flimm. The only production of his I have seen was his “Otello” in Berlin five years ago: it was rubbish.

Concert performances of “Thais” at the end of June look very enticing. I love Massenet’s music and a cast led by Renee Fleming, Thomas Hampson and Joseph Calleja looks hard to miss.

The first revival of the ROH’s new production of “Tosca” brings Violeta Urmana, Salvatore Licitra and Mark Delavan. If they are all on good form it could be a very good night.

The season ends with what looks like fairly routine revivals of “Rigoletto” (Agache, Gipali and Ciofi) and “Cosi fan Tutte”. The latter notable for Thomas Allen’s Alfonso and being conducted by Colin Davis.

Full information about the whole season can be found on the ROH website at:-
http://info.royaloperahouse.org/News/Index.cfm?ccs=971