14 April 2014. Faust at the ROH

This seems  a somewhat gloomy - literally - production which only brightens up for the devil's cabaret and a hell of a party in the final act. The singing seemed uniformly excellent as was the acting. However, it is a long evening, recounting a dotty tale with Faust falling in instant love with Marguerite and she portrayed as the girl of complete virtue who nevertheless rapidly conceives his child.

10 April 2014. Messiaen and Scriabin with LSO at the Barbican

The Messiaen L'ascension seemed to go very well with Scriabin's Prometheus. Both are at what most would find an acceptable end of the avant garde spectrum. The Scriabin featured the pianist Denis Matsuev as well as the London Symphony Chorus. The second half was Scriabin's Symphony No 2. All under the masterful Valery Gergiev.

9 April 2014. Lest we Forget at Barbican

The English National Ballet performed four pieces, three overtly related to World War I, together with Firebird which seemed included for no obvious reason. I thought the pieces were, by and large, moving, though in an obvious way - soldiers leaving and rejoining their mutition-worker women in No Man's Land; soldiers being mowed down in the trenches in Second Breath. 

Clement Crisp seemed to hate it and wrote an unsupportive review in the FT. Most other critics seemed more positive. 

I thought Akram Kahan's piece - Dust - was exceptional as was Laurretta Summerscales realisation of the part of Firebird.

8 April 2014. A View from the Bridge at the Young Vic

This powerful production at the Young Vic features a minimalist stage area, like a giant shower tray, with no props apart from a chair used for a trial of strength between the two opposing forces. Eddie, an old-style Italian docker has a somewhat blurred boundary in his relationship with the late-teen niece, Catherine, who lives with him and his long-suffering and neglected wife. Two illegal immigrants arrive and stay with Eddie, one of whom starts an affair with Catherine. Eddie takes exception to him and rationalises his antipathy by declaring that all he wants is marriage and a green card. Eddie also sees him as effeminate and one is left wondering whether Eddie himself becomes aware of an attraction that he would consciously find impossible.
Matters progress on a predictable tragic path with Eddie eventually denouncing the two illegals, which results in the expected bllodbath - in this case literally as they battle it out with the stage turning red.
The play is apparently autobiographical in that Miller was working through his awareneess of his father's adoration of his sister. Clearly it is interesting in articulating the tussle that can go on in the father-daughter relationship, especially issues of letting go. However, it seems to be a play lacking twists - it follows the path that was obvious at the outset.