Morning:
13°c
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Nick Kimberley's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Bill Bankes-Jones.
Cast: Tete A Tete Opera, Tim Murray (cond), Chroma, Amy Carson (Amy Robsart), Andrew Rees (Robert Dudley, Earl Of Leicester), Robert Gildon (Cecil), Roderick Earle (Walsingham), Damian Thantrey (Toby), Phyllis Cannan (Catherine), Tim Meacock (des)
Description: Bill Bankes-Jones directs Iain Pears and Philip Cashian's Elizabethan murder mystery. Conducted by Tim Murray, with Amy Carson as Amy Robsart and Andrew Rees as her unfaithful husband, Robert Dudley, Earl Of Leicester.
Trains: Tube: Hammersmith 
Phone: 0208237 1111
Website: www.riversidestudios.co.uk
The Cumnor Affair: an Elizabethan murder mystery
It’s opera’s oldest riddle: what comes first, words or music? The answer is usually “Music, of course” but opera without a story and the words to tell it is meagre stuff indeed.
The reign of Elizabeth I has provided opera with stories aplenty. The latest piece to mine this rich narrative vein is Philip Cashian’s The Cumnor Affair, described as “an Elizabethan murder mystery”. The Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth’s favourite courtier, is inconveniently married to Amy Robsart. When she dies in dubious circumstances, Leicester has to choose between fidelity to his wife’ s memory and devotion to his queen. Sundry plotters render the choice impossible.
Iain Pears’s libretto tells the story conversationally but not too plainly, and Cashian’s music responds with no little vigour. Much of the character is within the tiny orchestra (in this instance, Chroma, half-visible throughout), with wind instruments carrying the mystery, percussion the menace. If the voices aren’t always as colourful, perhaps Cashian’s writing for them is just too even, too plainly syllabic.
Still, there are moments when passions fly, especially when Amy Carson reveals the wronged woman’s broken heart. Her voice, although slightly pinched at the top, carries a wealth of feeling. Elizabeth herself (Sibylla Melenberg) is an eerie presence, saying nothing but observing everything from within a gilt frame above the stage. Smaller roles are well taken, and if Bill Bankes-Jones’s production for Tête á Tête doesn’t quite make a virtue out of its low budget, it delivers the action clearly enough.
Until Sunday (020 8237 1111).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
