★★★★

“a strong and heart-warming performance by all”

There is nothing that heralds Christmas more than a joyous classical choral music concert, and A Choral Christmas, in the beautiful Smith Square Hall, was just that. Performed by the youthful emerging musicians of both Sinfonia Smith Square and National Youth Voices, energetically conducted by Nicholas Chalmers.

The programme was full of traditional and contemporary carols and music with festive themes; with welcome opportunities for the audience to join in, including the opening carol Unto Us Is Born A Son.

The programme started perhaps with too many slow carols including Judith Weir’s ethereal The Guardian Angels and the wistful melody of John Ireland’s The Holy Boy. But then came Matthew Martin’s joyful Novo Profusi Gaudio. The colourful and exuberant music with its memorable motifs and rhythmic phrases saw all on stage relax into an evening of festive joy.

Baritone, Dominic Sedgwick, joined the concert singing the solo in Gerald Finzi’s In Terra Pax, serenely telling the Nativity story, making it a very attractive piece to close the first half of the programme.

The evening was top heavy with John Rutter, but no one was complaining – least of all me! The second act opened with Rutter’s sprightly Shepherd’s Pipe Carol – the carol became a modern classic whilst he was still an undergraduate at Cambridge.

Ralph Vaughan Williams quintessentially English folk Fantasia on Christmas Carols conjures up a merry vision of a rustic village covered in a blanket of snow. With other hidden Christmas carols in the orchestral setting and warmth in the voices, it was a strong and heart-warming performance by all, especially from the sinfonia’s string sections and Sedgwick’s strong baritone.

The pace slowed again with the bleakness of winter and a troubled world in Errollyn Wallen’s Peace on Earth. The slowly spinning ostinato on solo harp over which the voices sing is a difficult carol to convey, especially when the harpist, beautifully played by Chris Clarke, is so far away from the choir.

Then it’s non-stop John Rutter to the end, with his The Twelve Days of Christmas – and the audience standing to sing “five gold rings” and quickly sitting down as the next verse begins, to ready themselves to repeat the line and action again! Fast on its heels comes O Holy Night, followed by the audience, choir and sinfonia joyously singing Joy to the World.

One housekeeping note: maybe don’t allow a baby/toddler into a classical concert, especially if it is being recorded for a wider audience to enjoy. Luckily, said sprog had either fallen asleep or been taken home, by the start of the second act. And my only other gripe was a staging note: if you have a young soprano soloist, keep her on stage in her spotlight for the whole song. Do not let her walk off back to the choir halfway through the song and be lost. Let her have her moment centre stage, and enjoy the immediate applause for her, at the end of the carol.

A Choral Christmas was recorded tonight for broadcast on Classic FM on 22 December – so everyone can enjoy pure Christmas in a concert, which this is.

TUTU at the Peacock Theatre

★★★

“all six dancers look mighty fine in mini tutus and costumes, and all have beautiful classical technique – and legs”

Tutu is dance-theatre from the French dance company Chicos Mambo, performed by a company of six male dancers who don’t take themselves too seriously.

The evening opens with what is certainly a female silhouette (Corinne Barbara), wearing a white tutu as she spins. The curtains open and the six male dancers of the company, wearing huge pink tulle trouser tutus, dance and lollop and fall to a classical ballet soundtrack.

There were some stand out dances, as the scenes moved from classical to contemporary, aerial to ballroom with a nod to Strictly and Dirty Dancing, to street dance and a Russian female gymnastics team with hoops and ribbons, all performed by the six lovely dancers, with individual physiques and characters.

The title Tutu is a nod to ballet’s most classical costume and all six dancers (Marc Behra, David Guasgua, Julien Mercier, Kamil Pawel Jasinski, Vincent Simon and Vincenzo Veneruso) look mighty fine in mini tutus and costumes, and all have beautiful classical technique – and legs!

What does not land so well is some of the very French comedy within the piece – with some difficult moments to watch involving a leak prop and tutu like vegetable headdresses on the dancers.

Tutu is choreographed by the French company’s Artistic Director Philippe Lafeuille. Tutu was created ten years ago, but this is its first residency in London, and it does feel somewhat dated. Chicos Mambo was created in 1994, when it would have been a genre defining dance company, with its clever subversion of gender norms in dance. But today, if male dancers are to take on the female dance steps en pointe in female costume, then they need to dance it better than the competition! It worked and was fun when the male company looked in pain dancing en pointe but to pastiche and try to take it to the next level, is just not possible, unless they can surpass the classical female ballet dancer, which they can’t, however hard they work. The aerial ballet solo, literally never got off the ground, firmly placing the dancer en pointe at the end of his not so beautifully arched feet. You wanted him to fly – but maybe that was the message a male dancer can’t fly en pointe….

Some of the more exciting scenes were those that didn’t necessarily include slapstick moments, like the Nappy ballet with the company all in nappy tutus being babies taking their first steps and moves in a beautifully funny choreographed piece – which sadly fell flat as the babies did, when it ran out of ideas. A lovely Dance of the Cygnets’, with the quartet dressed in duck costumes with beaks, again with very funny and clever choreography! A stunning Swan Lake solo, purely of the sinewed muscular back and arms of a dancer, as the back frame and quivering arms worked their magic, with strong lighting by Dominique Mabileau, assisted by Guillaume Tesson.

The highlight of the evening, for me, was the stunning solo from the bearded dancer, dressed in mini tutu and a rugby helmet. This was classical dance interspersed with the physically macho and vociferous grunts, as he flipped into the New Zealand All Blacks Māori haka war dance. It was unique and caught your breath as he switched between the two, becoming confused and fused into one. This would have been fabulous to have developed this concept with the full company….

The Artistic Director Philippe Lafeuille came out to take a bow at the curtain call and stayed on stage getting the audience up and dancing and singing. And with his beautiful French accent he told us that when life is not so good be happy and be TUTU-fied. It was a shame that this fun and lovely moment with him had not been the warm up act.

A CHORAL CHRISTMAS

Sinfonia Smith Square

★★★★

“a strong and heart-warming performance by all”

A CHORAL CHRISTMAS

Sinfonia Smith Square

Reviewed on 12th December 2024

by Debbie Rich

More of Debbie’s reviews:

A CHORAL CHRISTMAS

A CHORAL CHRISTMAS

TUTU at the Peacock Theatre

★★★

“all six dancers look mighty fine in mini tutus and costumes, and all have beautiful classical technique – and legs”

TUTU at the Peacock Theatre

Reviewed on 1st October 2024

by Debbie Rich

Photography by Michel Cavalca

Previously reviewed at Sadler’s Wells venues:

TUTU

TUTU