Martin Simpson: Solo concert at NCEM tomorrow. Picture: Geoff Trinder
FINGERSTYLE guitarist Martin Simpson plays an intimate solo concert at the National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tomorrow night (25/10/2023).
Scunthorpe-born Simpson, 70, combines passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy and majesty in his acoustic and slide guitar playing.
Equally at home performing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions, he is listed in Gibson Guitars’ Top 30 acoustic guitarists of all time and is an ace banjo-picker to boot.
Down the years, Simpson has collaborated with Jackson Browne, Martin Taylor, June Tabor, Richard Hawley, Bonnie Raitt, Danny Thompson, David Hidalgo and Richard Thompson, among others.
He has been a linchpin of The Full English (The Elizabethan Session) and recorded Murmurs, a collaboration with Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr in 2015.
His 2020 album, Home Recordings, was recorded at his home by his regular producer – and now neighbour – Andy Bell and found Simpson playing and singing among his guitar and banjo collection and out on his Peak District-facing porch.
Simpson’s collaboration with Nashville guitarist Thomm Jutz, Nothing But Green Willow, The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry, was released on September 29.
In September 2022, he started his first proper tour since 2019, a run of 20 gigs in 21 days. This autumn, he is on tour once more, brought to York by The Crescent and Black Swan Folk Club for tomorrow’s 7.30pm seated concert at the NCEM. Box office: https://www.seetickets.com/event/martin-simpson/ncem/2718024 or on the door.
Did you know?
MARTIN Simpson has had the most nominations of any performer in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, 32 times in all, 13 as Musician of the Year, winning that accolade twice.
Dexter Enjoying A Well Earned Toke, by Steve Walmsley, from the Punk/Jazz Contrasts & Connections exhibition
YORK creative hub Navigators Art & Performance is exploring iconic genres – the punk era and the jazz age – in its autumn exhibition at Micklegate & Fossgate Socials and Saturday’s live event at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York.
Punk/Jazz: Contrasts and Connections asks: A Love Supreme or No Future? Are punk and jazz at odds or two sides of a coin?
The answer to a question with a nod to American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane’s 1964 album and the Sex Pistols’ nihilistic mantra from 1977 single God Save The Queen comes through a combination of painting, drawing, collage, print, words, sculpture, photography and music.
“Punk and jazz? Each can be controversial, uncompromising, confrontational,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen. “The best of each is groundbreaking, pushing conventions to the limit. Both can hurt. Both can heal.”
The Palm Tree Jazz Club, by Ali Hunter
On show at the Micklegate Social and Fossgate Social bars is new work by a fresh line-up of artists from York and beyond. “We’re featuring a healthy mix of the known and the less familiar, including Ali Hunter, Carrianne Vivianette, George Willmore, Nick Walters, river smith, Sharon McDonagh, Steve Beadle and Steve Walmsley,” says Richard, who is among the exhibitors as ever.
“There’s a special treat too: the welcome return to the York art scene of entrepreneur and local legend Chalky the Yorkie.”
Saturday’s specially curated live performance at The Basement, Punk/Jazz: A Halloween Special, features York bands The Bricks, Teleost and Things Found And Made (Dunmada), the polemical words of activist poet Rose Drew and Saeth Wheeler delivering psychic-themed comedy.
Doors open at 7pm for this 7.30pm event, presented in association with The Random Cabaret and York Alternatives, and the Basement bar will be open throughout.
“Expect experiments, improvisation and noise! Some of the material will not be suitable for young children,” Richard forewarns.
Here, Richard Kitchen discusses punk, jazz and art, contrasts and connections with CharlesHutchPress
Punk Jazz, by Richard Kitchen
How can jazz and punk hurt, Richard?
“When we came up with the theme, many people said, ‘I don’t like jazz but I like punk’ or vice versa. We’re talking generalisations but not stereotypes here, and we’re interested in spiritual or free jazz, rather than more polite versions.
“They’re both polemical in terms of both sound and ideology. Many people feel threatened by them. Then, of course, they take aim at certain targets, political, social and cultural, and challenge them.”
How can jazz and punk heal?
“People can find themselves through music, whether as players or listeners. Both these forms of music offer a world, even a philosophy, that people develop a passionate relationship with.
“We’ve proposed that punk is an attitude, jazz is a state of mind. Freedom, independent creativity, social justice: they represent values systems that go beyond music in search of a better world. We as Navigators Art have followed those values in giving ourselves permission to achieve things that others have said we couldn’t – or even shouldn’t!”
How did dapper activist artist Chalky the Yorkie become involved in the exhibition?
“We met Chalky at a show last Christmas, chatted to him about art and music and his own history as an artist in York, and felt we’d like to get him involved in the scene again. He had some work that responds perfectly to the Punk/Jazz theme.”
Unnamed, by George Willmore
Names new to Navigators Art are among the Punk/Jazz artists: how were the exhibitors selected this time?
“We did a general call-out for the first time on social media and Curatorspace. We’ve had quite a constant presence over the past 18 months and it was time to freshen things up, to avoid the same people making the same kind of work each time. We’ve gone back to basics, with a core admin group and a network of wonderful new and emerging artists and performers.”
Are you a punk fan, a jazz fan, or both?
“Personaslly? A fan of both but they’re broad terms, aren’t they? Anything exploratory and exciting gets my vote. Sheer noise? No! Cocktail lounge tinkling? No! Extreme hardcore where there’s no space to let the music breathe? No! But others in the group have their own preferences of course.”
Punk gets things done in a rush with plenty to say; jazz just faffs around, taking forever to not make any point…Discuss! “Two sides of a coin, as we say. But the coin itself is the same. They aren’t exclusive. Sometimes you want to shout and get things out of your system; sometimes you want to muse on things at length.
“Punk or jazz, the musicians are working out how best to express themselves, whether it’s protesting about something for two minutes or exploring their own state of mind for hours! The key factor in both is honesty, being true to yourself. I’d say that’s what attracts an audience too.”
John Coltrane, by Carrianne Vivianette
Punk had no future, nowhere to go. Jazz is always evolving…Discuss.
“Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten/John Lydon realised punk was imploding very early on, becoming formulaic. Once you get into the punk that led to what became a post-punk freedom to experiment, there’s an openness to many other forms of music, including jazz, dub, world music and so on that created a kaleidoscope of marvellous new forms.
“New jazz is emerging now, which similarly draws on other influences, especially electronics. Labelling music as one thing or another is a convenient shorthand but genuinely creative artists rarely think in those terms.”
What is the full line-up for Saturday’s live event?
“The musicians will be The Bricks, an energetic punk band fronted by Gemma from comics shop Travelling Man, in Goodramgate; Teleost, who are more intense and improvisatory; the Neo Borgia Trio who have formed especially for the occasion from a University of York big band; Mike Ambler, with some grunge-influenced solo songs,; and Things Found And Made (Dunmada), whose experimental set is a secret even from us. Then there’s firebrand poet Rose Drew and comedians Isobel Wilson and Saeth Wheeler.”
What is Navigators Art & Performance?
Punk/Jazz: Two sides of a coin or not?
THIS York creative collective brings a DIY ethos and punk belief in building from minimal resources to exhibitions, live events, projects and commissions.
“We’ve created events for StreetLife and York Festival of Ideas, and we’re now running live events at The Basement, City Screen,” says co-founder Richard Kitchen.
“We present original material for an audience to discover something fresh and exciting.
We encourage young artists, emerging talent and those who feel disadvantaged or underrepresented.”
Punk/Jazz: Contrasts and Connections runs at Micklegate Social and Fossgate Social, York, until January, with the closing date yet to be confirmed.Free entry during opening hours.Tickets for Punk/Jazz: A Halloween Special are on sale at https://bit.ly/nav-punkjazz
Y Fronts, by Sharon McDonagh, from the Punk/Jazz: Contrasts & Connections exhibition
Shed Seven: Autumn tour and new album. Picture: Barnaby Fairley
IN this special edition, Two Big Egos In A Small Car podcast duo Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson interview Rick Witter, frontman of Shed Seven.
As the Sheds head out on an autumn tour, Rick discusses the story behind the York band’s new studio album, next January’s A Matter Of Time, early band names for Witter and Paul Banks in their schooldays, fresh band members, and what it takes to be among the great survivors of Britpop.
Velma Celli: Vocal drag entertainment with chutzpah and cheek at Yorktoberfest, York Racecourse
BAVARIAN revelry and riotous Russian politics, Frankenstein in wartime and jazz era Joni, comedy and charity nights entice Charles Hutchinson to do battle with Storm Babet.
Festival of the week: Jamboree Entertainment presents Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, Knavesmire Road, York, today, 1pm to 5pm; Friday, 7pm to 11pm; next Saturday, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm
YORKTOBEFEST returns for a third autumn season of beer, bratwurst, bumper cars and all things Bavarian in a giant marquee. Look out for the Bavarian Strollers, with their thigh-slapping oompah tunes and disco classics, and York’s international drag diva Velma Celli with her stellar singing and saucy humour.
Dancing is encouraged, as is the wearing of Lederhosen, Dirndls or any other fancy dress, with nightly competitions and prizes for the best dressed. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest.
Steve Cassidy: Playing hits spanning six decades at St Peter’s School tonight
Fundraiser of the week: York Rotary presents A Song For Everyone, Memorial Hall, St Peter’s School, Clifton, York, tonight; doors 7pm, concert 7.30pm to 10.15pm
YORK singer and guitarist Steve Cassidy and his band are joined by guest vocalist Heather Findlay to perform a “huge range of popular hits covering six decades”. Expect rock, ballads and country music. Proceeds from this fundraising concert will go to St Leonard’s Hospice and York Rotary Charity Fund. Box office: yorkrotary.co.uk/a-song-for-everyone or on the door.
Heather Findlay: Guest vocalist at A Song For Everyone. Picture: Adam Kennedy
Spooks at Spark: Halloween Makers’ Market, Spark:York, Piccadilly, York, today, 12 noon to 4pm
THE Halloween edition of Spark:York’s Makers’ Market features “spooktacularly” handcrafted work by independent makers. Taking part will be Wistoragic Designs, Enthralled Yet, Gem Belle, A Forest of Shadows, Kim’s Clay Jewellery and the Mimi Shop by Amelia. Entry is free.
Hejira: Celebrating the jazz days of Joni Mitchell at the NCEM
Jazz gig of the week: Hejira: Celebrating Joni Mitchell, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tomorrow, 6.30pm
JAZZ seven-piece Hejira honour the works of Canadian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter Joni Mitchell, mostly from the late 1970s, in particular Mingus from her “jazz period” and the live album Shadows And Light, recorded in 1979 with a Jazz All Stars line-up featuring saxophonist Michael Brecker and guitarist Pat Metheny.
Hejira is fronted by Hattie Whitehead, who – in her own way – has assimilated the poise, power and beauty of Joni’s vocals and plays guitar with Joni’s stylistic mannerisms. Joining her will be Pete Oxley, guitar; Ollie Weston, saxophones; Chris Eldred, piano and keyboards; Dave Jones, electric basses; Rick Finlay, drums, and Marc Cecil, percussion. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Go Your Own Way: The Rumours are true, they are playing Fleetwood Mac songs at the Grand Opera House tomorrow
Tribute show of the week: Go Your Own Way – The Fleetwood Mac Legacy, Grand Opera House, tomorrow, 7.30pm
GO Your Own Way celebrates the Fleetwood Mac era of Rumours and that 1977 line-up of Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie, Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood in this new tribute show. Dreams, Don’t Stop Rhiannon, Gold Dust Woman, Everywhere, Little Lies and Big Love all feature. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Jonny Best: Piano accompaniment to Monday’s screenings of The Great Train Robbery and The General. Picture: Chris Payne
Film screening of the week: Northern Silents Film Festival presents The Great Train Robbery (1903) and The General (1926), National Centre for Early Music, York, Monday, 7.30pm
NORTHERN Silents artistic director and pianist Jonny Best brings musical commentary to a pair of silent cinema’s most famous railway chase films.
The 12-minute escapade The Great Train Robbery still packs a punch after 120 years, while Buster Keaton’s greatest achievement, the 80-minute The General, is both a brlliantly staged American Civil War epic and a comedy-thriller packed with visual humour, daring stunts and dramatic tension.
Keaton plays railroad engineer Johnny Gray, whose beloved locomotive, The General, is stolen by Yankees, stirring him to strive to get it back against the odds. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Eleanor McLoughlin as Victoria Frankenstein and Cameron Robertson as The Creature in Tilted Wig’s Frankenstein, on tour at York Theatre Royal
One for the Halloween season: Tilted Wig in Frankenstein, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday; 7.30pm October 24 and 26 to 28; 2pm, October 25 and 26; 2.30pm, October 28
TILTED Wig’s Frankenstein is an electrifying reimagining of Mary Shelley’s Gothic 19th century horror story, now set in 1943. While Europe tears itself apart, two women hide from their past at what feels like the very end of the world. One of them has a terrifying story to tell.
Adapted and directed by Sean Aydon, this new thriller explores the very fabric of what makes us human and the ultimate cost of chasing “perfection” with a cast featuring Eleanor McLoughlin as Doctor Victoria Frankenstein, Basienka Blake as Captain/Richter and Cameron Robertson as The Creature. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Burning Duck Comedy Club welcomes Tom Lawrinson, Erin Tett and Mandy McCarthy to Spark:York
Comedy bill of the week: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Tom Lawrinson & Friends, Spark:York, Piccadilly, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm
AFTER Tom Lawrinson and Eryn Tett starred in Burning Duck’s inaugural Spark Comedy Fringe, promoter Al Greaves has invited them back to spark more laughs.
Absurdist alternative comedian Tett opens the show; Lawrinson, who made his Edinburgh Fringe debut with Hubba Hubba, is the headline act. In between come two shorter spots (wait and see who those “friends” will be), with guest host MC Mandy McCarthy holding everything together. Box office: burningduckcomedy.com.
Comedian Helen Bauer: Girl’s talk at The Crescent and Hyde Park Book Club
A word or two on women: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Helen Bauer: Grand Supreme Darling Princess, The Crescent, York, Thursday, 7.30pm; Hyde Park Book Club, Headingley, Leeds, Friday, 8pm
HELEN Bauer, Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominee, Late Night Mash star and Trusty Dogs podcaster, heads to York and Leeds with a show about the women in her life, from her mother to her best friend and that one girl who was mean in 2008. Oh, and Disney princesses, obviously. Box office: York, wegottickets.com/event/581816; Leeds, wegottickets.com/event/581817.
One dalmatian, 100 more are on their way to the Grand Opera House in a new musical in November 2024. Picture: Oliver Rosser, Feast Creative
Spotted in the distance: 101 Dalmatians The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, November 5 to 9 2024, not 2023
A NEW musical tour of Dodie Smith’s canine caper 101 Dalmatians will arrive in York next autumn. Written by Douglas Hodge (music and lyrics) and Johnny McKnight (book), from a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris, the show is reimagined from the 2022 production at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London. The cast and creative team are yet to be announced.
When fashionista Cruella de Vil plots to swipe all the Dalmatian puppies in town to create her fabulous new fur coat, trouble lies ahead for Pongo and Perdi and their litter of tail-wagging young pups. Smith’s story will be brought to stage life with puppetry, choreography, humorous songs and, yes, puppies. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
In Focus: Political drama of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Government Inspector
Director Alan Park, back row, right, and his Settlement Players cast for Government Inspector at Theatre@41, Monkgate. Picture: John Saunders
IN his first time in the director’s seat for 15 years, Theatre@41 chair and actor Alan Park directs the Settlement Players in David Harrower’s adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s Russian satirical exposé of hypocrisy and corruption in high places, prompted by a simple case of mistaken identity.
Park’s ensemble cast of eccentrics will undertake a fun, chaotic journey through 1980s’ Soviet Russia. “Communism is collapsing, it’s every man, woman and dog for themselves. What could possibly go wrong?” he asks, as the bureaucrats of a small Russian town are sent into a panic by news of the government inspector’s imminent arrival.
Harrower’s version premiered at the Warwick Arts Centre in May 2011 and transferred to the Young Vic, London, later that year. Now it provides “the perfect platform for Settlement Players’ hugely talented ensemble”, led by Mike Hickman as the town’s Major.
Andrew Roberts plays Khlestakov, accompanied by Paul French as his long-suffering servant, Osip. YSCP regulars combine with newcomers in Park’s company of Alison Taylor as the Major’s wife; Pearl Mollison, the Major’s daughter; Katie Leckey, Dobchinsky; Sonia Di Lorenzo, Bobchinksy; Maggie Smales, the Judge; Matt Pattison, Postmaster; Mark Simmonds, Head of Hospitals; Paul Osborne, School Superintendent; Adam Sowter, Police Superintendent; Florence Poskitt, Mishka, and Alexandra Mather, Dr Gibner.
Jim Paterson will lead a live band, made up of cast members, such as Pattison and Sowter, to help transport next week’s audiences to a 1980s’ provincial Soviet town full of eccentric personalities. Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk
Sharon Nicholson-Skeggs’s Lady Macbeth and Ian Thomson-Smith’s Macbeth in York Opera’s Macbeth. All pictures: Ben Lindley
HARD on the heels of Opera North’s Falstaff, up pops York Opera with the first of Verdi’s three Shakespearean operas, Macbeth.
You do not undertake Macbeth without one absolutely key singer: not the title role, but that of his wife, Lady Macbeth. York Opera has that singer, in spades.
Sharon Nicholson-Skeggs has been sorely missed over the past few years but returns here in triumph, injecting her own special brand of inspiration and lifting the evening out of the ordinary. She alone is worth the price of admission, whatever reservations there may be elsewhere in John Soper’s production.
Beside the two Macbeths, there is another ‘character’ – according to Verdi’s own prescription –that is essential to this piece: the witches. He wanted them to be “coarse and gossipy” on the one hand and “sublime and prophetic” on the other.
A bewitching scene from York Opera’s Macbeth
The ladies of the chorus amply satisfy both requirements, indeed if they have a fault, it is their penchant for gossiping ‘off the ball’ when their attention should be elsewhere. But they blend well and their choruses are a vital pivot in the action.
Soper’s permanent set involves three huge pillars separated by wide stairways, with a low moveable platform in front. The colourings are dark, relieved only by the occasional hanging. Eric Lund’s gloomy lighting completes the bleak picture of Macbeth’s castle.
But a trick is missed with the three apparitions, who need spotlighting, with no illumination elsewhere; dry ice alone, and there is plenty in this show, does not make them ghostly enough.
The challenge facing every conductor of opera is to find a balance between accompaniment and direction, either going with the flow or commanding it. Derek Chivers opts almost exclusively for the more passive approach and as a result his tempos tend towards the sluggish, so that Verdi’s intensity slackens off alarmingly.
The returning Sharon Nicholson-Skeggs’s Lady Macbeth: “Her swoops skyward were spine-tingling, her resonance throughout her range thrilling,” writes reviewer Martin Dreyer
There were several occasions on this opening night when singers, either chorus or soloists, got slightly ahead of the beat, but were held back, usually to their disadvantage. Similarly, the orchestra too often lacked its usual spark though it was generally tidy.
In truth, Nicholson-Skeggs got off to an uneven start, with some wayward intonation in Act 1. Come her Act 2 monologue, however, she was firing on all cylinders. Thereafter she never looked back.
Splendidly attired in black and gold at the banquet (costumes by Maggie Soper), she delivered a resolute brindisi, alongside brilliant woodwinds, and the evening took on a new momentum. Her swoops skyward were spine-tingling, her resonance throughout her range thrilling. She is an outstanding talent.
Ian Thomson-Smith’s Macbeth was the proverbial curate’s egg, good in parts. He seemed to have an aversion to facing his audience, except in his final aria, as if he was not quite inhabiting the role. His character’s vacillations have somehow to look more convincing than this. But there was plenty of evidence that he is still a useful baritone.
Ian Thomson-Smith’s Macbeth: “His character’s vacillations have somehow to look more convincing than this,” writes reviewer Martin Dreyer
Lesser roles were well taken. Adrian Cook’s Banquo (also an eerie ghost), Hamish Brown’s Macduff and Leon Waksberg’s Malcolm all made distinctive contributions. So too did Polina Bielova’s anxious Lady-in-waiting, a promising talent.
The choreography was not credited, but reached its peak in Act 3, where the witches were at their most disciplined. Elsewhere there was less cohesion. In general, less is more with choreography, especially where arms are being waved.
This first night showed the seeds of something much better, but was not quite the finished article.
Further performances: tomorrow (20/10/2023), 7pm, and Saturday, 4pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Review by Martin Dreyer, October 18
Ian Thomson-Smith’s Macbeth in one of his encounters with the Witches in John Soper’s production of Verdi’s Macbeth
Taking a tumble: Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster for the now postponed The Worst Witch
PRODUCER Robert Readman has called off Pick Me Up Theatre’s Halloween double bill of The Worst Witch and Young Frankenstein at the Grand Opera House, York, due to unforeseen circumstances.
Hopes are high, however, that he will rearrange the two production runs for early 2024 at a venue yet to be confirmed, but most likely to be the Joseph Rowntree Theatre. Watch this space.
Directed by Rosy Rowley, Emma Reeves and Luke Potter’s The Worst Witch was booked to run from October 27 to 29 with a young cast, followed by Readman’s northern premiere of Mel Brooks’s musical Young Frankenstein from October 31 to November 4.
October 26 and October 30 shows had been jettisoned already, since the initial posters (see above and below) were published.
For ticket refund details, head tohelp.atgtickets.com or contact 03330 096690.
Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster artwork for Young Frankenstein
Stella Prince: Nashville folk/Americana/roots teen talent on her way to York, Filey and Sheffield
NASHVILLE singer-songwriter Stella Prince will play FortyFive Vinyl Café, Micklegate, York, on November 3 and Thirty Café & Eatery, Belle Vue Street, Filey, on November 6 on her 12-date autumn tour.
Still in her teens in and seeking to progress her career in the UK as well as the USA, she has booked these tour dates herself, including a third Yorkshire gig at The Greystones, Sheffield, on November 2.
Born and raised in Woodstock, New York, Stella is now based in Nashville, Tennessee, where she hosts a monthly all-female Americana/folk showcase at The Underdog; the only one of its kind in Nashville.
Founded in May 2023 with the aim of creating a space for women in music to perform and meet other performers, specifically in the Americana and folk field, each bill features four or five women, Stella included, singing up to three songs each and introducing themselves. The events are sponsored by the legendary organisation changetheconvo.net
Stella is the only child of creative parents – a painter/photographer and a writer – and was immersed in music from an early age, thanks to her parents’ extensive, all-genre CD collection and her frequent attendance at concerts, where she first encountered Levon Helm, Amy Helm, Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul And Mary fame), Tracy Bonham and Natalie Merchant.
Growing up, Stella was influenced by pop and oldies music too. She began taking voice lessons at the age of four, piano lessons at six, guitar lessons at nine, and wrote her first song aged ten. From 12 to 14, she hosted her own 1930s–1940s’ oldies radio show.
She graduated from high school at 15 (during the early months of the pandemic in 2020) and earned her two-year associates degree – with a focus on music – at 16.
The pandemic pushed her into deciding to focus on a career in music. In 2021, she began to release songs and play live, travelling to Nashville and Los Angeles. Four singles emerged that year: The Rain Might Fall, Scared, Before You Leave and Alone For The Holidays
2022 was groundbreaking, marked by Stella’s first international run in the UK and an 18-city tour of the American Southwest. Her first single to be aired on the radio, Crying On A Saturday Night, charted on the Americana Singles Chart; her July follow up, Eighteen, debuted on the Folk Alliance International Charts and the Alternative Country Charts.
Closing Doors, produced by Professor Louie (who did likewise for three albums by The Band), was released in November 2022, debuting at number 15 on the North American College & Community Radio Chart. The accompanying video has received more than 118,000 views on YouTube since its launch in May 2023.
The artwork for Stella Prince’s latest single, Two Faced
In February, Stella was awarded a First Timers Scholarship at Folk Alliance. She has been performing around Nashville since her move there and has a busy autumn diary ahead.
For her latest single, Two Faced, out now, she had the pleasure of working with Steve Fishell, Nashville pedal steel guitarist, Grammy-winning record producer and educator, whose stellar credits include Dolly Parton, John Prine, Mavis Staples and Emmylou Harris. “No-one sings like Stella Prince,” he says. “I was transported the first time I heard her and I bet you will be too.”
Accentuated by Fishell’s pedal steel, the song opens with the harrowing lines: “You got her right where you wanted… Lonely enough so she’d take the bait… Blinded by words that were only an empty promise… Desperation paves way for mistakes.”
The chorus asserts: “There’s all kinds of empty… but the hardest one to take… is lies that seem tempting… Loneliness is two faced.”
Stella says:“My big goal is for someone to play my song and think, ‘That’s exactly how I feeI’. I want my songs to resonate with everyone, every generation, every issue: loneliness, fear, all of that.”
Self-produced, Two Faced was recorded at the legendary Sound Stage Studios on Music Row in Nashville, where the likes of Johnny Cash, George Strait, Miranda Lambert and Buddy Guy have held recording sessions.
“It was an amazing experience: my first time ever recording with a full band”, says Stella. “Actually, this song specifically is the first ever song I recorded with more than just me. It was wild and incredible.”
Joining her at SoundStage, along with Fishell, were Nashville players Ben Garrett (keys, guitar), PJ Schreiner (drums), Mike Dunton (electric guitar) and Father Phillip (bass).
Should you be wondering, Stella names her era-spanning influences as Judy Garland, Karen Carpenter, Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift.
Andri Björn Róbertsson as Nebulous, Xavier Hetherington as Scrofulous and Matthew Brook as Sceptic with Chorus of Opera Northmembersin Masque Of Might.All pictures: James Glossop
APART from Dido & Aeneas, Henry Purcell’s main contribution to drama lies in what Roger North was pleased to call “semi-operas”, no doubt with a slight sneer in his voice.
But there is plenty of drama, too, in his choral music, notably his odes for Queen Mary’s various birthdays and for St Cecilia’s Day and even – appropriately for Leeds – in The Yorkshire Feast Song of 1690.
These and more, including sacred music, provided the treasure-trove from which David Pountney cobbled together 44 musical extracts for Masque Of Might, a crazy extravaganza whose world premiere run he directs here.
Anna Dennis’s Witch in Opera North’s world premiere of Masque Of Might
There is no spoken text of any kind, merely what Pountney himself calls “creating a narrative by the law of zany juxtaposition”. In truth, Purcell’s semi-operas are not compellingly coherent either, rather the opposite. So this exercise has its justification. But it can only be understood as masque: searching for a narrative thread here is distracting, and ultimately self-defeating.
Fittingly for Opera North’s Green Season, Masque Of Might is described as an eco-entertainment. Its storyline, such as it is, subsists around dictatorship and ecology and their impact on one another. At its centre is a dictator, handily named Diktat, whose birth into a giant pram is celebrated by Tousel Blond and Strumpet Ginger, two countertenor sycophants (cue ‘Sound The Trumpet’ and ‘Come Ye Sons Of Art, Away’), and frowned on by the watching gods, Nebulous and Elena.
The latter becomes Diktat’s prime antagonist throughout. Several climate change activists are thrown into prison by an angry Diktat (‘Hear My Prayer, O Lord’), after he is warned of the earth’s declining health. One is murdered and Elena laments (‘The Plaint’ from The Fairy Queen).
Callum Thorpe as Diktat with the Masque of Might dancers at Leeds Grand Theatre
Act 2 sees Diktat at first displaying his machismo by killing a boar, but gradually the tide turns, as those who have praised Diktat now acknowledge the empty flattery that surrounds him. A series of nightmares forces Diktat to face up to nature’s cries (‘’Tis nature’s voice”) – melting glaciers, forest fires, a trembling earth – and to visit a fortune-teller for a vision of the future (Saul and the Witch of Endor).
Warned that he will forfeit his kingdom, his power crumbles and he is destroyed. Light returns and the earth’s recovery begins (‘Welcome, Welcome Glorious Morn’).
Mere narrative alongside a handful of the better-known Purcellian extracts omits episodes that see-saw between the faintly ludicrous and the deadly serious. These include slapstick clowns struggling with ironing boards; a huge sci-fi insect; a Putin look-alike puppet dangled by a Seer; a vision of Stalin as adviser in a caravan (imported from the same season’s Falstaff); death by electric chair and a chainsaw-wielding chorus.
Anna Dennis as Elena and Andri Björn Róbertsson as Nebulous in Opera North’s Masque Of Might
While Leslie Travers’s sets emphasise the value of the everyday, David Haneke’s video designs take us from circling planets to catastrophic natural events brought about by climate change and Marie-Jeanne Lecca’s kaleidoscopic costumes change moods and eras at will.
Callum Thorpe’s forthright bass exudes authority and gravitas as Diktat, a commanding presence and an admirable hate-figure. Anna Dennis’s chic soprano lends style to the otherwise under-written role of Elena and doubles usefully as the Witch. James Laing and James Hall pair well as the sycophants, although neither has quite the strength in their lower range so often demanded by Purcell from his countertenors.
Xavier Hetherington’s ringing tenor makes the most of his four roles, notably as Seer and Saul. Both Matthew Brook and Andri Björn Róbertsson offer strong baritone contributions in a variety of cameos.
Going green in Opera North’s Green Season: Chorus members in Masque Of Might
The chorus sings confidently and holds its own well in Denni Sayers’s lively choreography alongside several professional dancers, finishing as pompom-wielding cheerleaders. Harry Bicket’s expertise in earlier musics everywhere shines through his eager orchestra, whose momentum is untiring.
Although Huw Daniel is cited as editor of the musical numbers, David Pountney deserves the laurels for mounting this extraordinary show, which at the very least introduces us to parts of Purcell that others never reach. He sticks quite closely to the original texts but is not averse to making subtle alterations that fit his scenario, in a period literary style that essentially disguises their newness.
There is, for my money, not enough character-building outside that of Diktat and there is over-emphasis on baritone and countertenor voices. But as a highly imaginative revitalisation of masque, it deserves immense praise.
Further performances in Leeds until October 27, then on tour until November 16. Box office:
Review by Martin Dreyer, October 14
Jonny Aubrey-Bentley, left, Rose Ellen Lewis, Ruby Portus and Ben Yorke-Griffiths as the Masque of Might dancersin Opera North’s world premiere
David Greed: Former Orchestra of Opera North leader and York Guildhall Orchestra guest soloist for Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Picture: Opera North
THERE was a distinct start-of-term feeling about this fixture, in which Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Elgar’s First Symphony were preceded by a Dvorak concert overture.
It was refreshing to see several new, youthful faces in the orchestra, which was conducted by its musical director Simon Wright. But the advent of new blood, however welcome, inevitably carries an element of adjustment as compensation is made for retirees and incomers find their feet.
This may help to explain the tentative air about Dvorak’s In Nature’s Realm, where the strings initially lacked focus. But the composer’s orchestration increasingly gained in colour and the work finished confidently.
David Greed retired last summer after a mighty 44 years as leader of the Orchestra of Opera North, but thankfully has resisted reaching for the carpet slippers, continuing to freelance widely. As soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, he made an immediate impression with the sweetness of his upper range.
There was a rallentando into the second theme and an even bigger one before the cadenza, where he really let the music breathe rather than dazzle with mere virtuosity. The slow movement was an intimate affair at first, which made for a bigger contrast when the agitated central section arrived. When the opening returned, Greed was back to sharing quiet confidences with his audience, allowing us to wallow in Mendelssohn’s luscious melody.
David Greed: “Let the music breathe rather than dazzle with mere virtuosity”. Picture: Opera North
The bridge passage into the final rondo was beautifully elongated, keeping us tantalised with expectation. When the Allegro at last arrived it had all the flair and brilliance that the score implies, with Wright maintaining a strongly rhythmic backing to the soloist’s rapid figurations.
The coda was even more dazzling. But Greed was always at the service of the music rather than imposing his personality upon it showily, a refreshing and ultimately satisfying approach.
Elgar’s Symphony No 1 in A flat carries his favourite marking of nobilmente over its motto theme, but apart from the brass here, it was less than noble at first. But there was plenty of vivacity in the Allegro when it came and a nicely contrasting hush with the recall of its opening. What really impressed was the neatly controlled inner detail. Brass provided fire whenever needed.
The scherzo was exciting right from the start, with real precision from the strings and no let-up on the journey into the march-like second theme. Much tender phrasing infused the slow movement, particularly in the outer strings; there was an achingly elegiac feel to its closing pages.
Wright handled the transition into the last movement’s Allegro beautifully, where the main statement was superbly bold. The motto theme emerged more strongly than ever, symbolising the orchestra’s gradual resurgence throughout the evening. Things are shaping up nicely, not only for this season but well beyond.
“A chance to take on a role like this feels like heaven,” says Sue Cleaver as she looks forward to playing Mother Superior in Sister Act The Musical in her return to the stage after more than three decades
CORONATION Street star Sue Cleaver will swap the cobbles for the convent, the Rovers Return for rosary beads, when she plays the Mother Superior in Sister Act The Musical on tour.
The British and Irish itinerary will take in the Grand Opera House, York, from May 6 to 11 next spring.
‘‘I’m thrilled to be stepping into the habit and joining the incredible company of Sister Act on tour,” says Sue, 60. “It’s been over 30 years since I’ve been on stage, but theatre has always been my first love. A chance to take on a role like this feels like heaven.”
She is best known forplaying Eileen Grimshaw for 23 years in Corrie, her soap opera role bringing her the Favourite Female Soap Star gong at the TV Now Awards and Best Soap Actress in the TV Quick and TV Choice Awards, along with being nominated twice for Most Popular Actress at the National Television Awards.
Sue Cleaver: Coronation Street stalwart, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here contestant, Loose Women guest panellist and soon-to-be Mother Superior in Sister Act The Musical
Her further television credits include City Central, Dinnerladies, This is Personal: The Hunt For The Yorkshire Ripper, Peak Practice, Casualty, Band Of Gold and A Touch Of Frost. In 2022, she appeared in the 22nd series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, finishing ninth.
Sue will join the Sister Act company in Brighton before playing Manchester, Cork, Belfast, Glasgow,York and Birmingham.
In the cast too will be Landi Oshinowoas Deloris Van Cartier, Alfie Parker as Eddie Souther and Ian Gareth-Jones as Curtis Jackson, alongside Isabel Canning, Julie Stark,Phillip Arran, Wendy-Lee Purdy, Callum Martin, Esme Laudat, Amber Kennedy, Joseph Connor, Ceris Hine, Eloise Runnette and Sheri Lineham. Further casting for the tour will be be announced.
Based on Emile Ardolino’s 1992 American comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act is a testament to the universal power of friendship, sisterhood and music, built around the story of Deloris Van Cartier, a disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder.
“I’m thrilled to be stepping into the habit and joining the incredible company of Sister Act on tour,” says Sue
Under protective custody, she is hidden in the one place she will not be found: a convent! Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Cleaver’s Mother Superior, Oshinowo’s Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.
Sister Act The Musical isdirected by Bill Buckhurst and choreographed Alistair David, with set and costume design by Morgan Large, lighting design by Tim Mitchell, sound design by Tom Marshall and musical supervision by Stephen Brooker.
Produced by Jamie Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg, the show features original music by Tony and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted), lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane.
Tickets for the York nun run are on sale at atgtickets.com/york.
