Category: Music

  • Wagner’s Ring Cycle on CD

    —

    by

    Neal
    in ,

    After seeing Das Reingold last year at Leeds Town Hall with Opera North, I decided it was time I had a full Ring Cycle on CD, and with it being a fairly hefty set, wanted the best version. After a lot of browsing, the set conducted by Sir Georg Solti came out on top. Not…

  • Die Walküre – Opera North

    —

    by

    Neal
    in , ,

    We had been waiting a year with great anticipation since the first of the Ring Cycle operas, Das Rheingold, last year at Leeds Town Hall. The success of last year’s ‘preliminary evening’ to the three main operas, as Richard Mantle the Director General of Opera North put it, was a success in ways they’d not…

  • Giulio Cesare – Opera North, 10th February 2012

    —

    by

    Neal
    in ,

    Giulio Cesare is our first Handel opera we’ve seen, and it won’t be our last. This review could be very short; Handel is brilliant!! The synopsis courtesy of Opera North goes as follows: Egypt, ancient times. Cleopatra uses all her considerable wiles to persuade Caesar to join her in an alliance against her brutish brother…

  • Norma – Opera North – 28th January 2011

    —

    by

    Neal
    in ,

    Our latest opera at the Grand Theatre in Leeds was Bellini’s Norma. This has probably one of the most popular arias in opera (Casta Diva) and was the role Maria Callas sang the most, and who gave us arguably the best recording off the opera. It is Bellini bel canto at it’s height, with wonderful…

  • Blondie at York–22.7.11

    —

    by

    Neal
    in

    Blondie have been touring mostly festivals and outside venues this summer, and this was the first time I’d seen them outside. After a good evening racing the entire, very full, crowd stayed to watch a fantastic performance by Blondie. At 66, Debbie I’m sure is getting better and better and Debbie and Chris in particular…

  • Blondie July 2011!!

    —

    by

    Neal
    in

    This is the session Blondie did on Ken Bruce on Monday 4th July 2011. The set is as follows: Heart of Glass (Parallel Lines 1978) Mother  (Panic of Girls 2011) What I Heard (Panic of Girls 2011) Please Please Me (originally by the Beatles, for the Great British Songbook) Atomic (Eat to the Beat 1979)…

  • Blondie–“Mother”

    —

    by

    Neal
    in

    Hurrah!! First Blondie video in bloomin’ ages has been released today on YouTube! Just to explain the scenario, Mother was a nightclub (can’t quite remember where!) and it not a reference to anybody’s parent!! Here goes:

  • Fidelio–Opera North–Leeds Grand–16th April 2011

    —

    by

    Neal
    in ,

    Well, I’ve been waiting nearly 20 years for this! When studying my A Level music we delved deeply into Ludwig Van Beethoven’s symphonies, and thus started a great appreciation of his music and I’ve listened to much of his work since then. However, his only opera, Fidelio, was something I’ve always wanted to experience live…

  • Blondie “We Three Kings”

    —

    by

    Neal
    in

    A terrific Christmas offering from Blondie (from 2009):  

  • Free Blondie Record

    —

    by

    Neal
    in

    ‘Mother’ from the forthcoming album Panic of Girls