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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...

Brief flames and passion: Nabucco at the Royal Opera

Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille in Nabucco © ROH / Catherine Ashmore 2013
The Royal Opera's new production of Nabucco has received some mixed reviews - particularly with the sandpit staging - but catching the final night where Leo Nucci was playing the title role, it was clear that fine music making and some extraordinary singing will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The production has updated the period to the twentieth century but for the most part this does not get in the way of the story, or more importantly the singing.

My side view of the production (which restricted seeing the rear projections that "comment on the action") probably helped as it looked like it was pretty busy back there at times to the point of distraction. But it was hard to deny the beauty and power of some of the set pieces, including where Liudmyla Monastyrska as Abigaille sings lit only by flames (pictured above, photo credit Catherine Ashmore).


If you can't get tickets (particularly now since Plácido Domingo has taken over the title role the remaining dates seem to be sold out), it is going to be broadcast in cinemas on April 29 as part of the Royal Opera House Cinema series.


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