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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...

Opera: Simon Boccanegra


It was interesting to try and attempt to transplant Genoa from the 1300s to the 1960s in this ENO production of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. It does not quite work, but it still looks so sophisticated and hip you can probably overlook this and feel smug anyway. Unless of course you were the lady next to me who was unwell five minutes before the end of the first half and fell over my man bag running for the exits. But I digress...

There is some beauty in this production as tableaus become images and spectacle abounds. Although if you have been to Genoa and seen the palaces that the Doges - who were elected for life and were among the leading merchant families of the region - it makes it a bit hard to comprehend why everyone was moving about in grey suits and minimalist sets.

The opera itself is fairly convoluted and requires descriptions projected onto curtains between scenes just so you have a vague chance of understanding what is going on. So the modern transplanting of the opera does not make things easier, nor does the less than inspired translation. The last time I saw this opera I recall the setting having more to do with 19th century Italy than the period of the 1300s that Boccanegra lived. It probably makes more sense with Verdi's nationalism and occasionally grand romantic arias that pervade throughout the piece. If there is a central message in this piece, it surely must be something along the lines of "can't we all get along and stop trying to poison each other", which must have resonated well for Verdi's contemporaries...

Despite some reservations, there are some strong performances in the piece including by Brindley Sherratt as Fiesco - the man who lost his daughter to Boccanegra, and Maisie Turpie as Maria, Boccanegra's lost daughter. Family intrigue trumps the mild political intrigue and infighting in this piece and their performances work well here. The rousing chorus and orchestra also rose to the occasion of melodrama. It runs until 7 July at the London Coliseum, and part of the essential Verdi experience... I'm not sure if this opera is essential Verdi, but worthwhile all the same...

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