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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,
Nick Kimberley's rating
Reader rating
A bright future: young singers perform in The Rake's Progress
Opera may struggle to attract young audiences, but not young singers. Every year dozens pour out of the universities, colleges and conservatoires, and meaningful opportunities are hard to come by.
That’s where British Youth Opera steps in, offering circumstances as near as possible to professional but without the pressure and the humdrum routine.
And what better way to test young singers than Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress? Not that it’s an easy sing but its trials are as much to do with character as with technical challenges; and because it’s sung in English, real communication matters. William Kerley’s succinct production provides the necessary dramatic support, and while there may be no imminent superstars in the cast, several performances suggest a bright future.
Not everyone quite gets to grips with Stravinsky’s musical prosody, which finds myriad unexpected ways to set Auden and Kallman’s effervescent libretto. In that regard, Nicky Spence’s Tom Rakewell comes across best, as feckless as he is gormless but with a touching lyricism. Tom meets his match in Lilly Papaioannou, sashaying around the stage as if she owns it, bringing natural glamour and a fruity mezzo to the role of Baba the Turk. Meanwhile, the darker the opera gets, the more convincing becomes Derek Welton’s satanic Nick Shadow.
Everyone gets careful support from conductor Peter Robinson; perhaps too careful: sometimes the Southbank Sinfonia could be spikier in the pit. Perhaps that will come; the run, alternating with BYO’s Rossini double-bill, continues until Friday.
Information: 0844 412 4322.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
