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    • When A Gig Goes Wrong – Pop Music’s Hall of Shame

The Hedonist

La Traviata @ the ENO

April 19, 2018 by Adrian Leave a Comment

A Fabulous Night At The Opera

London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, WC2N 4ES

 020 7845 9300/eno.org

I’ve been going to the London Coliseum since the 1970s when my mother used to buy us season tickets. We used to sit through endless Hans Werner Henze operas which were stronger on Marxist dialectic than melody. As the Hedonist I’m not really keen on ideological purity and remember being relieved when the  stage hands went on strike and ended a performance mid-show…I’m sure Henze would have approved.

eno

© Grant Smith 2004

As an counterpoint to Henzian rigour In my lower league pop star days I did a photo shoot on the Coliseum roof for an album cover; I remember sneaking into the Gods to watch a mature but still resplendent Nureyev rehearse L’Après-Midi d’un Faune. It was unrestrained and sensuous. Much more my kind of thing…

So in that spirit I was delighted to be invited back to an exclusive event at English National Opera to review the new seasonal menu at the London Coliseum restaurant before enjoying a behind-the-scenes tour of ENO, followed by a night at the opera, watching the new production of La traviata. First up was the tour. I love going backstage at theatres – it gives you a completely different perspective on the production. We were told that The London Coliseum opened in 1904 as an Edwardian Playhouse showing the best in Variety Theatre. It was designed by Frank Matcham- who also had the nearby Hippodrome and London Palladium in his portfolio – and as the name implies the design displays Roman influences.

Image by Karla Gowlett

Image by Karla Gowlett

With its 2439 seats The London Coliseum is the largest theatre in the West End. I hadn’t realised that the famous glass dome was originally designed to be raised by a cantilever system to function as a primitive air conditioning system. Sadly this triumph of Edwardian engineering was scrapped when it was realised that punters in the most expensive seats were getting rained on!THE HEDONIST CONDUCTING COLISEUM PITI couldn’t resist playing conductor when we went down into the orchestra pit!LONDON COLISEUM RESTAURANTAfter the tour we were taken to the American Bar Restaurant for drinks and dinner. It’s a handsome Edwardian wood-panelled room offering pre-performance and interval dining. There is a very reasonable Spring Menu at £20 for two courses, £25 for three courses, but prices are very keen given the quality.LONDON COLISEUM RESTAURANT SMOKED SALMONWe kicked things off with a crisp glass of Charles Heidsieck fizz moving on to a bottle each of the tropical unoaked notes of a Tanguero 2017 Chardonnay and a classic 2016 Malbec from Kaiken  for the table. Starters included a pert and rather sexy smoked salmon & Cornish crab parcel (£9) filled with créme fraiche and caviar and with an orange reduction for added va va voom.LONDON COLISEUM RESTAURANT SCALLOPSSeared scallops (£8) were perfectly cooked, caramelised on the outside but still plump and juicy and coming with butternut squash puree, chorizo and parmesan crisp.LONDON COLISEUM RESTAURANT HAKESeared hake fillet (£19)- a very underused fish in the UK – was meaty and full-flavoured and was served with shrimp & mussels, pickled shallots, purple sprouting broccoli – a perfect spring dish.LONDON COLISEUM RESTAURANT BEEFFiona’s fillet of beef (£20) with celeriac puree, cavolo nero, king oyster, red wine and truffle jus was  cooked to order with the beef being meltingly tender – and she LOVED the jus.  Coliseum GdeLaubier68-LThen it was time for the show! The London Coliseum has the widest opera stage in Europe and with a 40 strong backstage team so it really is the destination for grand opera.ENO LA TRAVIATA SET 2La Traviata tells the story of the  love affair between the courtesan (think upper-class hooker…) Violetta, played by clear-voiced Irish soprano Claudia Boyle and a naive romantic, Alfredo Germont, with mellifluous South African singer Lukhanyo Moyake making his UK debut in the role. Alfredo’s father begs the ailing Violetta to leave Alfredo to avoid his family being shamed.ENOThe opening act is visually stunning with ENO Artistic Director Daniel Kramer creating a decadent  party scene interlaced with moments of intimate romance. Verdi’s score is one of the most loved in the operatic repertoire and conductor Leo McFall, making his ENO debut, did a fine job marshalling the award-winning ENO Chorus and Orchestra. And then it was time to return to the restaurant for dessert!LONDON COLISEUM RESTAURANT TARTBanana & pecan cheesecake came with luscious rum macerated golden raisins (£7).LONDON COLISEUM RESTAURANT DESSERT and a deliciously dark rich chocolate mousse was given a bit of crunch by maple rice cake, walnut brittle and sweetness by caramelised plum (£7).

ENO Traviata Lukhanyo Moyake Claudia Boyle Alan Opie (c) Catherine Ashmore-M

The final tragic scene of La traviata is one of the most iconic moments in opera. Performing the role of the father Giorgio Germont is Alan Opie, celebrating 50 years since he first sang with ENO, and the playing out of the drama of reconciliation and loss saw between the three protagonists saw them all come into their own both vocally and dramatically. The subdued staging added to the emotion. 
ENO Traviata Aled Hall Heather Shipp ENO Chorus 3 (c) Catherine Ashmore-M

Grand opera is all about spectacle, emotion and high drama and the ENO’s production has all three in spades. If you have never been to the opera before the ENO’s productions are a great introduction and with a visit to the restaurant you have one of London’s most perfect nights out.

When A Gig Goes Wrong – Pop Music’s Hall of Shame

September 7, 2016 by Adrian Leave a Comment

When a gig goes wrong: pop music’s hall of shame

Adrian York, University of Westminster

Israeli fans of Australian popstar Sia have reportedly filed a £1.6m lawsuit against her promoter because they felt short-changed by her recent live show. Unhappy punters paid £70 for a 65-minute performance in Tel Aviv that some felt was “too short” and “lacklustre”, while poorly-synched video and a “lack of banter” left some in her audience calling for their money back.

Sia had allegedly been pressurised to cancel her performance by the pro-Palestinian BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement – so did this affect her performance or the way it was received? A review of her recent Coachella Festival appearance in music industry magazine Billboard makes it clear that the Californian concert was similar to the Jerusalem gig with the atmosphere being more of an arty contemporary dance event than a rock gig.

The promoter, Tandi Productions, commented that there had been “hundreds of comments from satisfied fans”, but the episode highlights the problems that can happen when an audience’s expectations aren’t matched by an act’s creative vision. However, the history of music is littered with examples of truly disastrous performances – here is my “Hall of Shame”.

Battling the bottle

Abuse of alcohol and drugs have been to blame for many shows going wrong. Fans of Amy Winehouse will have seen in director Asif Kapadia’s film Amy, the tragic decline in her performances. But booze-fuelled gig fails aren’t a new phenomenon. In the late 1950s, iconic country music performer Hank Williams was renowned for his alcohol-related performance issues.

One of the greats (when sober): Hank Williams.

The composer of such standards as Your Cheatin’ Heart, Hey Good Lookin’ and Jambalaya was well-known for not showing up at gigs – but his lowest point was in Dallas where the promoter took money from audience members who paid to go backstage to see the artist lying unconscious on the floor.

Williams, who suffered from Spina Bifida, is alleged to have used alcohol to ease the pain from the disease – but Keith Moon, the drummer from British rock band The Who, had no such excuse. On November 20, 1973, at San Francisco’s Cow Palace, “Moon the Loon” passed out on stage. He was high on animal tranquilisers and had to be carried off stage to be replaced by an audience member who played the rest of the set.

Keith Moon: an artist when upright.
Jean Luc via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Scott Stapp, meanwhile, the singer of rock band Creed, was so intoxicated for their performance at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on December 29, 2002, that he spent much of the show rolling around on the floor unable to remember any lyrics. He then passed out.

The band sent an apology email to their fans praising them for being part of the “unusual world of rock and roll history”. The subsequent legal case brought by several audience members was thrown out by the judge who agreed with the band that they had fulfilled their contractual duty to appear.

Anger management

On September 9, 1985, the Jesus And Mary Chain were booked to play at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. The riot that ensued after their drunken 15-minute set of “indeterminate white noise hampered by a faulty PA” led to a stage invasion. Their gear was trashed and the police were called.

Sometimes, tensions within bands lead to violence on stage with The Who, The Kinks and Oasis all being renowned for their on-stage scuffles.

Of course, violent behaviour doesn’t just happen at rock gigs. The premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet music The Rite of Spring on May 29, 1913, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris is a case in point. Fights broke out between fans of the modernist composer and those who objected to his “puerile barbarity”. Vegetables were thrown at the orchestra who soldiered on to the bitter end.

Another classic case of an audience being hostile to an artist’s intentions happened on May 17, 1966, at the now-infamous Bob Dylan concert at the Manchester Free Trade Hall. To be fair, this has since become one of pop’s seminal moments – the troubadour of folk appeared backed by The Band playing – shock, horror! – electric guitars.

Many members of the audience walked out in protest but disgruntled Dylan fan Keith Butler called Dylan “Judas” with Dylan replying “You’re a liar” – and a new rock legend was born.

Talent deficit

Nothing beats sheer incompetence for creating a shoddy live show but – with so many artists miming or using autotune to correct their pitch – a lot has to go wrong for a modern pop artist to really demonstrate their shortcomings.

Will the real artists please stand up?
acme401, CC BY

Milli Vanilli, an R&B vocal duo who won the best new artist Grammy in 1990, went one better by not singing on their records and miming during their live shows link. At an infamous performance for MTV in 1989 their backing track kept skipping, leading to the group running off stage in shame. When the real singers behind the duo’s successes became known they were stripped of their Grammy and disappeared into the footnotes of pop history.

So what is it reasonable to expect from a gig in terms of band for your buck? From a purely legal perspective, it seems that if the artist turns up and makes it onto the stage upright, then you have had your money’s worth. And you’d be surprised how often this still happens. However, it’s probably a good idea to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the performers you invest your money and time in rather than being surprised when they let you down.

The Conversation

Adrian York, Senior lecturer in Commercial Music Performance, University of Westminster

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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