Morning:
14°c
Some fares could fall by more than a third when Oyster is extended to every national rail station in London, it has emerged
More...
New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Barry Millington's rating
Reader rating
Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty is one of his most popular ballets and most admired scores. But how many know that in full, it lasts three hours?
Last night we had the first complete performance at the Proms, which meant the equivalent of his Fifth Symphony four times over.
Fortunately, the LSO was on duty under Valery Gergiev and from the first electrifying bars it was evident that this was going to offer a very different experience from that of a perfunctory run-through by a mediocre pit orchestra.
The score has some of Tchaikovsky's most sumptuous music and as the velvet textures of the famous Pas d'Action unfolded, with heart-swelling string melody on a cushion of brass and wind, it was difficult to imagine such music played with more passion or technical accomplishment.
But Tchaikovsky is capable of more subtle things, too, such as the Panorama with its sotto voce strings, gentle horn/wind backdrop and rippling harp, or the spellbinding sleep music with the hypnotic high C of the violins sustained for exactly 100 bars: the number of years before the princess was finally woken by the prince's kiss - quite a smacker, to judge by the crash of the tam-tam.
All this was done ravishingly, as was the evocation of the world of the Rococo in the Act 2 Scene et Danses, often cut in performance.
Not content with telling the story of the princess, Tchaikovsky brings in other favourites including Tom Thumb, Puss in Boots, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood.
This is all in the third act, after the princess has been awakened, and it is perhaps justified to begin to feel fairytale fatigue by then. Nevertheless, as a one-off, a great Prom occasion.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
