Live Performance Review: First Love produced by Gate Theatre Dublin (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2013), Saturday 31.08.2012 19:00 Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

This, as with Eh Joe on Tuesday past, is a performance of a Samuel Beckett work. Also as with Tuesday's, this was a single-hander, this time for the actor Peter Egan. To my mind this was a portrayal of a bitter and isolated old man whose intelligence fuels his cynicism. 

The writing was complex and stuffed with ideas and paradoxes. The end conclusion/denouncement is that people make a choice to either expose themselves to love and loving or they don't. It appears as though the character has realised that he has shunned opportunities for this richness in his life. I had greatly enjoyed this performance, as I had the one on Tuesday and to think I had been very wary of Beckett expecting it to be very dour and humorless. Both performances were in ways simple, though also profound.

Rating: 10/10.    

Live Performance Review: Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2013), Thursday 29.08.2012 20:00 The Usher Hall, Edinburgh 

I had first become familiar with the work of this choir about three or four years ago. I had been particularly taken with some acapella singing towards the end of the Shane Meadow's film 'Dead Man's Shoes' (2004). The music did not feature of the soundtrack album and was not listed in the credits at the end of the film. I landed up staying up all night (on a school night) hunting it down on the internet. This resulted, by the end of the night, in my knowing that the hauntingly beautiful music was recorded by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and it was to arrive within days on CD. When I noted them in the brochure, I had no hesitation in knowing I wanted to see them perform.   

The entire performance was acapella. The choir consisted of 27 singers, 14 female & 13 male, and the conductor. 

This was an incredible performance. Phenomenal, in the literal sense. If I had to choose a section that was better than any other, then I would have to say the 'Rachmaninov All-Night Vigil', which was meant to conclude the performance was particularly of note. We were then treated to a lovely bonus encore piece of 'an old Estonian song'. Remarkable and staggeringly sublime, one of the finest performances I have ever had the pleasure to experience. I cannot praise highly enough. Perfect!

This I cannot rate. It was too great for such categorising.    

Live Performance Review: Ensemble musikFabrik performing A Tribute to Frank Zappa (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2013), Wednesday 28.08.2012 20:00 The Usher Hall, Edinburgh 

This began with a piece that had distinctly clashing elements. The second piece was disquieting and quite urgent. 

I felt the music of the third piece was sparse and somber, though also sadly depressing and dragging. It appeared to go on an age and I was aware of thinking when 'will this piece end, it is awful'. The very essence of tedium. And on it went...        

This was a very interesting performance and the musicians are clearly very able, though I did not enjoy it. It struck me as being akin to being present at a recording of incidental music for an abstract film. I also suspect that the sounds would work very well accompanying some films. 

I was also aware that when closing eyes, the sounds were more tolerable, when watching the performers I could not help but find it to be pompous. This was compounded by having a gentleman sat next to me who in every piece was doing a condescending smug chuckle to himself where he would make a single 'huh' sound without opening his mouth and shrug his shoulders at the same time. I could not see what he was finding humorous, and it did not appear as if others were 'getting it' either. His laugh confirmed he also knew that the masses would not be .getting it'. Clearly a proponent of pomposity. 

Rating: 02/10.  

Live Performance Review: Eh Joe produced by Gate Theatre Dublin (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2013), Tuesday 27.08.2012 21:00 Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

This is a performance of a work by Samuel Beckett. I had got my ticket when I learnt that the actor Michael Gambon was going to be part of the performance. 

If I had paid closer attention to the information in the brochure, I would have noted that the work's director is Atom Egoyan, and that would have sold it to me straight away. He had directed one of my favorite films, 'Exotica' (1994). I had only noted this on the day of the performance and this caused me greater sense of anticipation. 

I had noted that the play was short though did not investigate further prior to the performance. Gambon was the only actor on stage. He played the part of an older man retiring to bed, to then have trouble sleeping due to being disturbed by a (female) voice that appeared to be internal. The focus appeared to be upon the man's troubled reflections on his life with shades of guilt, regret and shame. Gambon's performance was wordless with his unease conveyed purely by his facial and body language/expressions. 

The performance was riveting, engrossing and in my my view faultless. What Gambon was able to convey without speech was quite remarkable. I have not yet been to many theatre productions as is a medium I have felt cautious of, though even to my ignorant brain I could tell this was a production of the highest quality. 

Rating: 10/10.  

Live Performance Review: L.A. Dance Project (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2013), Monday 26.08.2012 19:30 The Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh 

This was interested in as soon as I noted that the company was founded by Benjamin Millepied, the choreographer and a star of the Darren Aronofsky film Black Swan (2010). I also am quite often lead to consider dance performances by the pictures used to promote them and the main image for this company in the Edinburgh International Festival's Brochure I felt to be quite stunning.

There were three pieces.

The first 'Quintett', I thought used great light and shade (as did the second piece). The music was pleasant. The dancers movements I could not fault except for one very short section where I felt the movements did not appear quite as sharp as they could. Though this is quibbling as the vast amount of the time the dancers movements appeared sympathetic to one another as well as appearing very fluid and displaying a high degree of synchronicity. This piece to my eyes appeared to be about romantic love, courtship and jealousy.

The second 'Winterbranch' began to silence for the first section and then was set to discordant sounds (not noise, as some have said). The sound for this piece, to me, was strongly reminiscent of the soundscape that accompanies the film Eraserhead (1977). Eraserhead is a film I am very fond of and find to be unintentionally very funny. Though I suspect that my familiarity with the likes of that film means that I am likely to be accepting of the sounds, where others clearly were not (there was ignorant booing at the end of the piece). I had no issue with it.

There were industrial elements, such as a device that went across the stage and the performers being presented to appear very small on the stage, which to me was suggestive of 'cogs'. It collectively was suggestive of industrial dystopia, which again chimes with the film.

The performance its self caused me to think of another David Lynch film, Mullholland Drive (2001).

There was a darkness in tone to this piece that appealed. I feel it is a very brave performance, and brave is not a word I am usually okay with using in regard to a performance, as is a term I feel to have become used too liberally. The very monotone minimal and stark lighting, resulting in large areas of the stage being minimally visible I can imagine riling some, though I though this all added to the overall 'vibe' of the piece. I would not go so far as to say it was as enjoyable as the first or third performances, though I did feel it was very good and I liked it.

The third 'Moving Parts', was set to a loop of this lovely older spoken male voice, accompanied by sympathetic music. The lighting was very straightforward and not really part of what was going on except to ensure the performers were well illuminated. This piece was choreographed by Millepied himself, and was an enchanting display of hypnotic fluidity. All elements appeared well considered and complementary. As a whole the piece appeared to me to be an expression of the experience of being consumed by love. By how the piece ends I got the impression of the love being everlasting. Quite beautiful. (The photo in the brochure is a shot of on of the performers involved in presenting this piece.)

Collectively I found the three pieces to be highly impressive and enjoyable, with a nice change in tone in the middle to shake things up. I have no hesitation in the praise I give.

Rating: 10/10.                   

Live Performance Review: Scottish Chamber Orchestra performing Beethoven Prometheus (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2013), Sunday 25.08.2012 19:30 The Usher Hall, Edinburgh 

Beethoven's Creatures of Prometheus was preceded before the break by Hayden's Symphony No. 104 'London'. Both pieces sounded to be very well performed and I greatly enjoyed.

I was surprised to see a lot of empty seats to start with and even for for the Beethoven. I also did not understand why the audiences lights were dimmed in the first half though not the second. I also had a sense of there being something lacking even though the music sounded great, and I'm not sure what that may have been.

Rating: 08/10.   

Live Performance Review: Oper Frankfurt performing Dido and Aeneas & Bluebeard's Castle (Edinburgh International Festival (E.I.F.) 2013), Saturday 24.08.2012 19:15, The Festival Theatre, Edinburgh 

Firstly to explain my attendance. I am familiar with a version of Dido's Lament as performed by Jeff Buckley, and find the piece moving enough that I was wishing to go and see the whole thing performed live. Bluebeard's Castle was a bonus.

Now to cover in reverse order to how they were performed.

Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle I found musically very interesting and the singing was fine. The staging was overly minimal, and the story I found to be suggesting of polygamy and misogynistic. I was at least able to follow the story this time as the 'supertitles' appeared to be handled well.

Purcell's Dido and Aeneas I was extremely impressed by, and am now about to gush. The costumes were gorgeous, the staging simple though smart and the use of lighting was great. The orchestra sounded grand and the singing was fantastic. The build up towards and the ending (including Dido's Lament) I found to be very moving resulting in deep breathing and watery eyes. Overall I found this to be a scrumptiously ravishing performance. If only I could be assured that all opera would affect in this way.

If it were just Dido and Aeneas by itself, I would have said that it was so good that it was beyond giving a rating to (and would have been the fourth performance of this caliber). As it is...

Rating: 10/10.