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Scotsman
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh International Festival reviews: Orpheus and Eurydice
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... OPERA Orpheus and Eurydice ★★★★ Playhouse Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice, by the very nature of its dance sequences, invites additional physical input to its operatic presentation, as numerous Festival productions have illustrated in the past. But circus acrobats? That was the spectacle before us in a staging that brings together Australian circus ensemble Circa with Opera Queensland, Scottish Opera Chorus and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Orpheus and Eurydice | Jess Shurte In Circa director Yaron Lifschitz's provocative vision, we have Eurydice, already dead, descending through the overture on suspended straps. Orpheus awakens in a stark asylum – has he murdered his wife? He's haunted incessantly by manic tumbling creatures, generic projections of him and Eurydice, whose later sculptural tableau as the Furies is memorably fearsome. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This is Circa, whose omnipresence is feverish and portentous. The physical trajectory – punchy choreography from Lifshitz and Bridie Cooper – is ever downwards, the very first collapsing human pyramid issuing a visceral gasp from the Playhouse audience. If, at times, this Orpheus and Eurydice veers towards the visually excessive – hard to focus completely on an aria when the circus is in town – it presents us with so much food for thought. And it presents a challenge well met by both key singers. Countertenor Iestyn Davies, in his first staged performance as Orpheus, plays it safe-ish in physical terms, but is vocally pleasing. Samatha Clarke, doubling here as Amor, presents a magnetic persona. The Scottish Opera Chorus are a sturdy, meaningful organism. As is the SCO, working stylishly throughout under the swift-footed direction of conductor Laurence Cummings. Their modest efficiency is their strength, a purifying voice of reason to the wildness on stage and the brutal electrifying starkness of Alexander Berlage's lighting design. In the end, the truth is laid bare by Orpheus, painting in blood a motto that both chills and thrills. Love and death are fatefully intertwined. KEN WALTON MUSIC Bonsori Kim & Thomas Hoppe ★★★★ Queen's Hall Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad For Bonsori Kim and Thomas Hoppe's contribution to the EIF's Focus on Poland yesterday at the Queen's Hall, it was as if the whole recital had been building up to the final breathtaking climax of Wieniawski's Fantasy on Themes from Faust, taken from the opera by Gounod. Here, Kim, born and brought up in South Korea, showed exactly why she was a prize-winner in the 2016 Wieniawski Violin Competition. The most assured and liberated playing of the morning, it was technically virtuosic at every twist and turn, but stylish and witty too. With her own, personal focus on championing music from Poland, another showstopper, the Polish Caprice by Bacewicz, at only three minutes long was a lesson in how powerful music in miniature form can be. At first, especially in the opening meandering lines of Faure's Violin Sonata No 1, Kim and Hoppe didn't always feel completely matched in approach to tone, the piano's softened edges warmer than the clean, sweet violin sound. But with listening hard, what could seem indistinct, for instance in the fiery Tarantella by Szymanowski, was actually there in detail in both parts, delivered with passion, energy and engagement. CAROL MAIN
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
I've seen dozens of shows at the Fringe... these are the best
On the Fringe, Karine Polwart's Windblown, an exquisite meditation on a dying palm tree in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, has also finished its run at the Queen's Hall, With any luck, Raw Material's meticulously put-together evocation of Polwart's song cycle will return. In the meantime, there is still plenty of life on the Fringe, with the following some of the best on show. She's Behind You Traverse Theatre, various times until August 24 Johnny McKnight has been a pantomime legend over two decades now, both as a writer and the grandest of dames. This solo show by McKnight began as a lecture at the University of Glasgow, and is both a history of the original people's theatre and a deeply personal memoir of McKnight's life-long love affair with panto and the changing mores within it. This fleshed-out production is overseen by director John Tiffany, and makes for an essential primer into what McKnight highlights as a subversive art form that speaks to mass audiences in a way that more highbrow forms rarely take on. Consumed Traverse Theatre, various times until August 24 The Irish Troubles hangs heavy over this remarkable new play by Karis Kelly, which sees four generations of women convene in Northern Ireland for the ninetieth birthday of family matriarch, Eileen. What initially resembles an episode of Mrs Brown's Boys – or girls – takes a more fantastical turn in a staggering study of how violence and division can linger. Lost Lear Traverse Theatre, various times until August 24 Shakespeare's King Lear is the starting point for Dan Colley's play, set in a care home in which a woman holds court, acting out scenes of the play with the help of those who work there. Even her son is co-opted into the everyday drama in a moving look at how the debilitating effects of dementia can be offset by tapping into memories that create alternative realities in a show that uses puppetry and video to moving effect. Red Like Fruit Traverse Theatre, various times until August 24 A journalist working on a large-scale domestic abuse story finds herself confronting her own past in Hannah Moscovitch's play for Canada's 2B company. Out of this she asks a man to read out her written account of her experience in an attempt to understand them better. This is told quietly in this fascinating and troubling dissection of the long-term effects of sexual abuse in which the woman listens as rapt as the audience. The Beautiful Future is Coming Traverse Theatre, various times until August 24 Flora Wilson Brown's plays moves across time in its meditation on the climate crisis that humanises things through the experiences of three couples, with the women in particular at the helm. From nineteenth century scientific research to biblical floods to the uncertainties of fifty years from now, Wilson Brown's play is shot through with hope. Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) Pleasance Courtyard, 2.15pm until August 24 Jade Franks is a wonder in her new semi autobiographical solo play, in which she charts the journey of a Liverpool call centre worker who ends up going to Cambridge University. The class-based prejudice Jade overcomes there while working as a cleaner makes Franks' play the natural successor to Willy Russell's 1980s tales of working class women, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. The entire Edinburgh run of may be sold out, but if there's any justice Franks' funny and incisive performance should tour the nation. Tom at the Farm Pleasance at EICC, 3.3pm until August 24 Given the scale of Armando Babaioff's Brazilian version of Quebecois writer Michel Marc Bouchard's psychosexual thriller, it should probably be on at Edinburgh International Festival rather than the Fringe. The play sees a man visit his dead boyfriend's family farm, where he becomes embroiled in a mud spattered tug of love and hate with his boyfriend's bullying brother, their mother and a woman who claims to have been his girlfriend. Don't sit too close to the front, or you might get wet. Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak Pleasance Courtyard, 2.15pm until August 24 There is something deeply moving about Victoria Melody's latest work, which sees her relate how she joined a historical re-enactment society after becoming fascinated with the English Civil War. With seventeenth century agricultural activists the Digger becoming a particular focus, Melody ends up leading the charge against developers in her local community. Directed by Mark Thomas, Melody's work is a grassroots drama full of heart. When Billy Met Alasdair Scottish Storytelling Centre, 8.30pm until August 23 Novelist Alan Bissett's new solo play sees Bissett pay homage to Billy Connolly and novelist Alasdair Gray by imagining what might have been said by the two pop cultural giants when they met at the 1981 launch of Gray's mighty novel, Lanark. Bissett's impressions of his subjects as he recounts potted histories of their brilliant careers are well enough, but it's when he steps out of character that things move beyond a fine tuned piece of fan fiction to become a meditation on the perils of the working class artist. Pussy Riot: Riot Days Summerhall, Dissection Room, 10pm until August 23 The Russian art provocateurs returned this week with a new version of their incendiary stage show that draws from key member Maria Alyokhini's memoir of the group's assorted actions and her subsequent imprisonment in a show that has lost none of its sound and fury in a ferocious call to arms. Read more: Philosophy of the World Summerhall, Red Lecture Theatre, 10.45pm until August 25 The starting point for this wild new show by the In Bed with My Brother company is The Shaggs, the 1960s band made up of three sisters who were once described as the best worst band ever, and who became something of a cult. The three women performers take the band's brief lifespan as their cue for a ferocious meditation on power and control in a man's world which, in Summerhall's tiny Red Lecture Theatre, you fear might explode in a show that looks like something Pussy Riot's kid sisters might have dreamt up.
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Scotsman
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Benedetti & Sitkovetsky's Tribute to Menuhin
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sitkovetsky Trio ★★★★★ Queen's Hall Even the sudden, ear-shattering roaring from a forgotten turned-on microphone couldn't put the Sitkovetsky Trio players off their stride. They'd just launched into the furious scherzo of Shostakovich's Second Piano Trio when the noise forced them to stop, only to begin the movement again even more vehemently, even savagely. The interruption probably couldn't have come in a more fitting place - and they continued with a deeply tragic slow-movement chaconne, all sobbing phrases against a monumental piano backdrop, and a bitter, grotesque finale that left few doubts as to Shostakovich's vitriolic sarcasm. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was typical of the Trio's intensely felt, forcefully projected performances across their programme of classics and rarities. In the second category, the Sitkovetsky players made a thrillingly strong case for Chaminade's little-known Second Piano Trio, revelling in its almost orchestral-scale textures and churning emotions, even if their more recent commission, To the Pointer Stars by Iranian-born, London-based Mahdis Golzar Kashani, proved a little more elusive, slipping into attractive grooves that seemed to lack a sense of forward movement. They opened, however, with a bounding and big-boned Beethoven 'Ghost' Trio, perhaps overegging the second movement's unsettling otherworldliness, but offering a finale in grand arcs of sound that was both captivating and galvanising. Despite unexpected sonic intrusions, a concert of compelling performances and profound emotional depths. David Kettle Benedetti & Sitkovetsky's Tribute to Menuhin ★★★★ Granted the rarely bestowed Freedom of the City of Edinburgh 60 years ago in recognition of his contribution to Scotland's capital, much of it via the Edinburgh International Festival, legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin would surely have been proud of the tribute paid to him on Monday evening at the Usher Hall. Led by Nicola Benedetti and fellow violinist from her Menuhin School days, Alexander Sitkovetsky, it was an evening of poignancy and affection from the joint directors and players of Wroclaw's National Forum of Music, appearing as part of the EIF's focus on Poland season. Hearing the pair as an infectiously joyous alliance in Bach's Concerto for Two Violins was one of these unique festival moments that leave an indelible mark. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fluent and well matched in tone and style, the second movement's interweaving scoring of the solo lines gleamed with radiant beauty. To start, Elgar's Serenade for String Orchestra, with EIF Rising Stars swelling the ranks, was promising in intent but not quite sufficiently settled across the ensemble. A different matter, however, when they returned for Bartok's Divertimento for String Orchestra, with its folksy and fulsome bite and energy, especially from the lower strings. Carol Main Triptic ★★★★ The Hub Violinist Greg Lawson, pianist and accordionist Phil Alexander and double-bassist Mario Caribé have played together for many years, notably in the much-loved Moishe's Bagel, purveyors of klezmer, tango and much else. Now, as the trio Triptic, they continue to gleefully defy categorisation. Their engagingly melodic and tightly delivered repertoire from their new album, The Jackdaw Sessions, reflected diverse musical influences and sources of inspiration. Alexander's opener hinted at Erik Satie, played over a stately, descending bass, until Lawson's klezmer-sounding violin soared to stratospheric trilling. Another, plaintive, Jewish-sounding air had been unearthed recently in Kiev, while Caribé's Flatlands, with its resonant bass work, was inspired by Lincolnshire scenery. A pensive waltz by Alexander commemorated a much-loved cocker spaniel, while a lusty rumba by Caribe celebrated his venturesome Spanish-Brazilian grandmother, its energetic progression from minor to major reflecting Spanish then Brazilian rumba styles. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There was much humanity about it all, as in Lawson's twinning of the lovely Northumbrian lullaby Bonny at Morn with a spirited, tango-like number which had been passed on to him, amid heartbreaking circumstances, by an Iranian refugee, and not least in Phil Alexander's winsome epilogue, Evening Song, with which they dispatched us on our way.
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
EIF music reviews: Piotr Anderszewski
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Piotr Anderszewski ★★★★★ Queen's Hall It's the extraordinary detail in Piotr Anderszewski's piano playing that makes every moment one to treasure. In this mesmerising Queen's Hall programme, he invested that microscopic insight in two composer sets: a hefty first half that mined the riches of Brahms' later opuses (Op 117 to 119); and a snappier second half that delivered the miniaturist experimentalism of Bartok. The outcome was an unquestionable revelation. Familiar as the many Brahms Intermezzos were, Anderszewski had something fresh, something unflaggingly personal to say, whether that was to transport us to a world of hazy dreams, melting lyricism or playful effervescence. What mattered to him was the essence of each piece, each precious note calibrated to maximum emotional effect, amplified by their presentation as an uninterrupted sequence. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Strange to think that Bartok's 14 Bagatelles were written just over a decade later, given their terse modernism. Played with such probing acuity, they offered a striking complement to the Brahms. Anderszewski's playing was as compelling for its forensic delivery, as for its tenderness, textural virtuosity and sublime expressiveness. What could possibly follow that? Recognising he couldn't escape without an encore, the Polish pianist obliged with Chopin. Perfect. Ken Walton Lepoldinun Orchestra ★★★★★ In Alexander Sitkovetsky´s Leopoldinum Orchestra, string players of such discipline, quiet virtuosity and beauty all appear to breathe together. There is no swagger, no weaving body language, no flying hair, just an energy and emulsion which on Sunday evening had the audience lean forward, beckoned into something marvellous. From their homeland, two works. Bacewicw´s orderly, academic Concerto for String Orchestra; Bacewicw, groundbreaking and courageous, was a violinist who studied with the stern mentor Carl Flesch - his mantras haunt performers to this day - thus her music is written with a keen understanding of texture. With Wojciech Kilar´s Orawa we set off on a clattering train trip ending with a grand arrival and a shout of hurrah. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A heartbroken Strauss wrote his Metamorphosen after Munich´s Hofheatre was devastated in 1943. His father had held the principal horn chair for 49 years. This performance offered all the restraint, quiet grief and respect of extreme emotion, the sense of expression teetering on breakdown. Its early theme, with four notes as though tapped by a frail finger before a faltering downward line grows, repeats until howling slowly into silence. We were stunned. Clever, instinctive Schedrin´s arrangement of Bizet´s Carmen´s big tunes adds clinks and scrapes to a brilliant score. If opera set us on the high wire, the Strauss had shown us the end of the world.
Scotsman
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Three Edinburgh concerts for Scotland's music school
Pupils from St Mary's Music School will perform trio of city concerts Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Pupils from Scotland's leading music school are set to perform in a trio of concerts this summer across Edinburgh. St Mary's Music School will lead three events in the city, showcasing the hard work and talent of dozens of children from the school. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The first event takes place tomorrow (Tuesday) from 7pm at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral on Palmerston Place. A pupil from St Mary's Music School performs The Annual Directors' Recital Prize Finalists' Concert is one of the highlights of the school's calendar, and is now in its 25th year. Senior pupils will perform for an expert music panel at the west end venue. On June 18, pupils from the school's vocal programme will present Vocal Scenes. The event at Stockbridge Parish Church will feature the work of composers including Mozart, Handel and Sondheim. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And on June 23, the St Mary's Music School Summer Concert will take place at the Queen's Hall. Pupils from St Mary's Music School will perform three concerts this summer The event is the culmination of the academic year, with students performing a range of powerful and complex arrangements. The concert will also feature a performance by pianist Ben-David Zasman, the winner of this year's prestigious Lord Clyde Concerto Competition. Dr Kenneth Taylor, headteacher of St Mary's Music School, said: 'This trio of events is the perfect opportunity for people in and around Edinburgh to see the very best talent that is being trained and developed on their doorstep. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'For the young musicians at St Mary's Music School, it also provides an opportunity for them to showcase everything they've worked hard for throughout the session. 'These concerts should underline the quality and commitment of our pupils and teachers. 'They each promise to provide a wonderful evening of music.'
