![]() ![]() Are they doing something wrong, do you think?Ĭervantes and his faithful manservant have been sent to prison awaiting the displeasure of the Spanish Inquisition. And now, the much-awaited Man of La Mancha has opened to a swathe of two-star reviews almost across the board. Even last year, their (in my view) outstanding Chess attracted huge criticism for the staging and the performances. Fast forward to 2007, for their Kismet, one of my favourite musicals but a disaster of a production for numerous reasons. Then, in 1987, I took the young Mrs C (Miss Duncansby as she was) to see the ENO’s Carmen, starring Sally Burgess, which purists hated because of the updating. In 1975 the Dowager Mrs Chrisparkle took me to see their production of La Bohème – my first exposure to live opera. This was only my fifth visit to the London Coliseum, and each production I’ve seen there has sparked a little controversy. Today, it’s Broadway’s 29th longest running show, but that’s still a pretty good achievement. One can only imagine how that original production must have captured the imagination of the 1960s New York audience. All I knew about the show was that it was based on Don Quixote (which I’ve never read) there was a film starring Peter O’Toole (which I’ve never seen) and that, for many years after it closed on Broadway, it boasted the fourth longest run of any Broadway show (after Fiddler on the Roof, Hello Dolly and My Fair Lady) with a fantastic 2,328 performances. So, when I saw that Michael Grade and the ENO were bringing it to the Coliseum, I knew I had no choice but to book. How has it taken all these years for me to see it?! The answer, obviously, is that this is its first professional production in the UK since the original London show at the Piccadilly Theatre in 1968. It sounded very grand and I made my mind up that I must see it at some time when I was grown up. I remember reading about Man of La Mancha when I was a teenager. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |