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The greatest show and other bromances: Adam Riches and John Kearns ARE Ball and Boe @sohotheatre

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Alfie Boe and Michael Ball seem to be a bit of a joke act anyway. Their endless interpretations of popular songs (also known as covers) and their double-act bromance make them quintessential crossover artists where popular music meets opera and Broadway. And a perilous choice for the discerning listener. It’s not that they aren’t talented musicians and performers in their own right. Still, their musical choices are always safe, predictable and less than their potential. But every country deserves to have a pair of self-described national treasures that can tour the local arenas and give people a good time for the bargain price of £175 a seat.  And so the concept of Adam Riches and John Kearns - two world-famous from the Edinburgh Fringe comedians taking on this bromance seems like a curious choice for a Christmas musical fare. One can only hope that over the fourteen nights, it is playing at the Soho Theatre that the show evolves into something more substantial than a series of po...

Scenes from Albert Hall Tuesday 18:18


The mad dash to the hall to make the 18:30 start of the semi-staged version of the new Glyndebourne production of Cosi Fan Tutte - Prom 6. The concert was great and showed to me that with a decent director this opera actually can have some life to it... The only problem is that Albert Hall is a bit warm when there is a heatwave... It was opera with your neighbour sweating over you... And your neighbour at a proms concert is more likely to be a shocker than a looker...

Best avoid the concerts and listen to them on Radio 3 instead... All concerts are streamed live from the BBC website for a week from their performance.

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