RUTH LEON'S THEATREWISE
Good morning and welcome to Theatrewise.
Welcome to Wonderland, otherwise known as the UK during an election campaign. While the polls tell us that the election is a foregone conclusion, there is fun to be had in wondering which MP or high official will be caught up in the latest Tory scandal. Lots of them, apparently, thought they’d make a bit on the side by betting on the date of the election. Can’t blame them, really, as they’ll all be out of a job on July 5th.
A sober analysis of the economic promises made by each of the seven, count them, seven, political parties vying for my vote on July 4th clarifies that not one manifesto promise, not one, can be kept. If elected, all these clowns, from far left to far right, will knowingly break every promise they’ve made pre-election. So, tell me, why should I vote for any of them? I am reminded of a line from the musical Cabaret when Sally Bowles says, “It’s only politics and what has that got to do with us?”
Truth, it seems, is only present in art. That doesn’t suggest that cynicism doesn’t creep in when there is money to be made or that all artists are saints. But at least those who make art in all its wondrous forms have purer intentions than those who make politics and we are rarely presented with artworks that are demonstrably bare-faced lies. We may not like what they produce but we can trust even bad artists to tell us the truth as they see it.
There are no bad artists in this week’s Ruth Leon’s Theatrewise. I have chosen online events to cheer you through this nasty political season and deliver you to July 4th with your brain and sense of humour undamaged.
To say that Titian was not a bad artist is like saying that Beethoven was not a bad composer. Both are featured in this week’s Newsletter.
Two of my favourite art historians talk about an Old Master painting that has had a more adventurous life than its painter. And there’s a glorious performance by the Australian Chamber Orchestra of a Beethoven sonata which has also had a fascinating journey to its current place at the very apex of music.
Obviously, Alice had to be in there somewhere, given the political climate, and I’ve chosen the Royal Ballet’s delightful Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland danced by some very good artists.
And this week’s Newsletter links also includes Bonnie & Clyde, a full-length staged musical written by a bunch of Tony and Olivier Award-winners, not a bad artist in the lot.
To top off my assertion that artists are more important and truthful than politicians, even if they’re dead, here’s proof in the form of the late Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme defining jazz not in words but in music. Truth in its purest form.
Nearly all of you have given thumbs up to this new format for Ruth Leon’s Theatrewise so thank you for that and please continue to comment on this newsletter’s content and format.
More next week by which date the election fervour will be at fever pitch and we’ll need to rely even more on art, online and in person.
THE ARTS ONLINE THIS WEEK - JUNE 24-30
Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical
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Bonnie & Clyde The Musical is the story of two small-town kids from the middle of nowhere who became the biggest folk heroes in all America. They craved adventure - and each other. Fearless, shameless, and alluring, this story of love, adventure and crime captured the attention of an entire nation.
Here is the fully staged production of the hit musical starring Jeremy Jordan, currently starring in The Great Gatsby on Broadway as Clyde Barrow, the part he originated in the musical's 2011 Broadway production. Opposite him is Frances Mayli McCann, who originated the role of Bonnie Parker in the West End.
The cast also includes George Maguire as Buck, Natalie McQueen as Blanche, Trevor Dion Nicholas as Preacher, Liam Tamne as Ted, Casey Al-Shaqsy as Stella, Simon Anthony as Cop/Bud/Archie/Deputy Johnson, Gillian Bevan as Cummie Barrow/Eleanor, Eloise Davies as Trish, Adrian Grove as Henry Barrow, Debbie Kurup as Governor Miriam Ferguson, Matthew Malthouse as Bob Alcorn, Jeremy Secomb as Judge/Sheriff Schmid, Russell Wilcox as Captain Frank Hamer, and Julie Yammanee as Emma Parker.
Directed by Nick Winston, Bonnie and Clyde The Musical features music by multi-Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award nominee Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Tony and Oscar winner Don Black and a book by Ivan Menchell. Both Frank Wildhorn, and Don Black were Tony-nominated for this score.
Bonnie & Clyde The Musical: Filmed Live, was recorded in January 2022 during two concert performances at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It will be streaming on demand from today, 24 June 2024.
Beethoven and Bridgetower – Australian Chamber Orchestra
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(Marquee.TV is currently offering 12 months for the price of 10)
In 1803, the world’s greatest composer met a young violinist of African heritage. His name was George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower. Beethoven, inspired to compose his most ambitious violin sonata, dedicated it to him. The ink was barely dry on the manuscript when they premiered the new work together. Bridgetower’s playing elicited an outburst of joy from Beethoven, “Once more, my dear fellow!”
Shortly after this joyous premiere the two had a nasty altercation. We don’t know the cause of the argument but it was apparently not musical. Rumour has it that it was a row about a woman although her name is lost to history.
In revenge, Beethoven, never known for his sweet temper, withdrew his original dedication and gave the sonata instread to the the violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, who clearly didn't appreciate the gift. He never played it, denouncing it as “outragiously unintelligible”. He had no way of knowing that the Violin Sonata in A major Op.47 would make him famous down the centuries, this great sonata known forever after, undeservedly, as The Kreutzer.
The Australian Chamber Orchestra, led by Richard Tognetti, brings this wonderful “Bridgetower” Sonata to life with a touch of theatrical drama in this intimate concert film directed by Matisse Ruby.
Filmed at The Concourse in Chatswood, NSW, Richard Tognetti, and the ACO restore Bridgetower's rightful place in history with this powerful performance. The concert begins with a poem by Rita Dove, narrated by actress Angela Nica Sullen, adding a heartfelt touch to the experience. This concert film is a fresh look at a classical masterpiece.
Titian’s Rest on the Flight Into Egypt
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Here’s another of those deicious short art history videos that I love so much. Dr James Fox, art historian and broadcaster and Letitzia Treves, who seems to have moved from the National Gallery to the auction house Christies where she is now Global Head of Research and Expertise in Old Master Pictures, discuss Titian’s Rest on the Flight into Egypt.
This painting was coveted by aristocrats, emperors and archdukes, stolen not once but twice, and once left at a bus stop.
Painted when Titian was in his late teens, this masterpiece is first documented in the collection of a Venetian spice merchant in the early 17th century. It has since hung in London, Brussels, Vienna, Paris and Longleat House in Wiltshire — from where it was stolen and later recovered by an art detective.
It has been prized for its vividly coloured scene of familial affection within the natural world. Like its subjects, Rest on the Flight into Egypt has been on a long and eventful journey — a journey that’s far from over.
It’s now for sale this summer at Christie’s, just in case you have a spare £15-25 million in your pocket.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Royal Ballet
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(Subscription includes unlimited access to the Royal Opera House library of more than 80 ballets and operas)
At a garden party on a sunny afternoon, Alice is surprised to see her parents’ friend Lewis Carroll transform into a white rabbit. When she follows him down a rabbit hole, events become curiouser and curiouser.
As Alice journeys through Wonderland, she encounters countless strange creatures. She’s swept off her feet by the charming Knave of Hearts, who’s on the run for stealing the tarts. Confusion piles upon confusion. Then Alice wakes with a start. Was it all a daydream?
Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland burst onto the stage in 2011 in an explosion of colour, stage magic and inventive, sophisticated choreography. Joby Talbot’s score combines contemporary soundworlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century. Bob Crowley’s wildly imaginative, eye-popping designs draw on everything from puppetry to projections to make Wonderland wonderfully real.
Alice (an enchanting Lauren Cuthbertson) encounters a cast of extraordinary and instantly recognizable characters, from the highly strung Queen of Hearts (Laura Morera) – who performs a hilarious send-up of The Sleeping Beauty’s famous Rose Adage – to a playing card corps de ballet, a sinuous caterpillar and a tap-dancing Mad Hatter (versatile Stephen McRae). But the ballet does not avoid the darker undercurrents of Lewis Carroll’s story: a nightmarish kitchen, an eerily disembodied Cheshire Cat and the unhinged tea party are all here in vivid detail.
The delicious result shows The Royal Ballet at its best, bringing together world-class dance with enchanting family entertainment.
What Is Jazz? Ella Fitgerald and Mel Torme
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Thanks to my friend Adele who found this priceless clip online, here is 3 minutes and 3 seconds of pure jazz gold.
I don’t need to explain who these two peerless artists, now sadly no longer with us, are but perhaps, for those less familiar with jazz, a word about the technique they’re using. It is called Scat or Scatting. Originating in vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice solely as an instrument rather than a speaking medium.
All the great jazz singers can scat but Ella Fitzgerald was the supreme practitioner and, as you can see from this clip, Mel Torme was her equal. Scatting requires complete mastery of the underlying melody and rhythm in order to be able to improvise successfully over the top.
Nobody does it like Ella. Unless, of course, it’s Mel.
‘Til next week, all good wishes,
Ruth