Obviously, I can't make any kind of claim to actually be able to
review an
opera: I know nothing about them and have only ever seen a handful - there's far too
much theatre to keep up with without adding opera and ballet to the mix regularly.
But the Lyric Hammersmith are hosting a couple of touring productions from the Royal
Opera, and Mark Simpson's
Pleasure stars Lesley Garrett as a toilet attendant
in a Northern gay club; and if that sort of thing isn't enough to at least make you
curious you're probably in the wrong place. Simpson is apparently the only person
ever to have won both BBC Young Musician of the Year
and BBC Young Composer
of the Year, and his music here mixes somewhat discordant strings with occasional
hints of synthesizer, reminiscent of Peter Davison-era
Doctor Who when the
entire score was done on a Casio keyboard.
