…..and Starry Night
Door: Suzanne
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Suzanne
16 Mei 2010 | Verenigd Koninkrijk, Londen
Now some of the reasons why we attended The Night of 1000 Voices on the 2nd of May.
1) The concert was at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, home of The Last Night of the Proms, an event I watch on television every year. Love “Rule Britannia!!”
2) The full ticket price went to charity, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. The Night of 1000 Voices, which had its tenth anniversary on May 2nd, is once a year. At the concert, usually two or three West End and/or Broadway stars perform free of charge. Several talented, but usually lesser known (and lesser decorated) actors/singers are also present. The exact line-up changes each year. There is also a huge choir and a renowned orchestra (this time the City of London Philharmonic).
The reasons mentioned above were of course all very noble. But they did not make me (Tonke kindly agreed to come along :D) order the tickets in early December 2009 (before we had made any of the other travel plans). For me the main reason to attend the concert was Philip Quast, one of the three leading actors/singers that night (the others were Kerry Ellis and Adam Pascal). Interestingly, just a year ago I did not even have the slightest idea who Philip Quast was ;). That all changed when I saw the West End version of La Cage aux Folles in July 2009. Quast played Georges, the flamboyant nightclub owner in the musical. Wow! His co-star Roger Allam (Albin/Zaza) was sensational as well, but just not that sensational :).
Saw La Cage again on the 17th of August (my furry friend Lucky had died on August 11th). La Cage ended up giving me quite a bit of comic relief. Philip Quast was actually the first person make me laugh out loud after Lucky’s death. And his rendition of “Song on the Sand,” one of my favorite songs in musical theater.... stunning. A nice plus is that this guy has great stage command (such a magnetic presence on stage). And he can act too, he has already won three Olivier Awards (the British version of the Tony Award). I have not seen many people in musical theater who can act AND sing that well (most of the times the actor’s strength lays either in acting or singing not both). Lol, Philip Quast would probably be the only person I could stomach as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music :P (just so you know: I just adore Christopher Plummer in this role).
Back to The Night of 1000 Voices. We had wonderful seats in the Arena of the Royal Albert Hall, Row 16, clear view of the stage. I had no clue what the program would be, the organizers were very good at keeping that a secret. So I could only guess what Philip Quast would sing. After seeing the actual program, I thought: wow, what a line-up of songs!!! First “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” (Sweeney Todd) and then “Anthem” (Chess). After the interval a Sondheim medley of “A Good Thing Going/Not a Day Goes By” (Merrily We Roll Along). And, last but definitely not least, “Stars,” from Les Misérables!!!
Quast made a cameo appearance in the “Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” very cute and funny. “Anthem” was his first solo. Huge number (and Quast has a huge voice, so a perfect fit), which I really liked. At the end, the entire choir joined in, powerful. After the intermission, Quast introduced his last three songs, announcing that he would be leaving England for a while to play in a musical (Mary Poppins) in his native Australia (I knew about this, so I wasn’t shocked). “A Good Thing Going” and “Not a Day Goes By” were so different from the earlier “Anthem. ” No big voice needed this time, but a more measured, subdued voice. From “Song on the Sand” (my favorite song from La Cage aux Folles), I knew that Philip Quast would likely be delightful in this "smaller" type of song as well. And he was....
I was absolutely overjoyed with the last song: “Stars!!!” In Les Mis, “Stars” is the big number of Inspector Javert, one of the main characters in the musical. Philip Quast debuted on West End in this role. Years later, he is still seen as the textbook Javert. Legendary is Quast’s portrayal of Javert in the 10th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables (also at the Royal Albert Hall). In my humble opinion, this performance –and especially the rendition of “Stars”– was indeed quite good (long live understatement :D)
But now I had the chance to hear/see “Stars” live (I believe that the last time Philip Quast sang “Stars” for a live audience was in 2003). What can I say. A simple wow would not be enough!! Soo powerful, sent shivers down my spine. I was spellbound and so was the rest of the audience, you could literally hear a pin drop. And that last note was ridiculous!! Quast held “STARS.....” for more than thirteen seconds (without pausing for breath). Yikes!! After the last note, the Royal Albert Hall erupted. And so did I!! :D Seeing other people around me get up, I jumped up as well (quite an achievement, since there was not much room between my chair and the chair in front of me). According to Tonke, I cheered and screamed very loudly :D If the next song hadn’t started, the beautiful “Do You Hear the People Sing?” (also from Les Mis), the applause would have gone on even longer.
Some other highlights from this great musical night. The choir, hundreds and hundreds of people enthusiastically singing their hearts out (they only had limited time to rehearse the show). “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get Your Gun, a piece sang by almost the entire company and choir, was a wonderful (yet comedic) tribute to musical theater. Then to a couple of the (other) leading stars (sorry cannot stop saying stars :D) that night. Adam Pascal, who I had seen in the movie version of Rent, had a very nice voice. It was impressive to hear him sing “One Song Glory” from Rent. Kerry Ellis showed why she is a sought after leading lady on West End. Good, strong voice (I wish I would be able to sing like that!). I especially liked “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” (Evita). Another song from Evita, “You Must Love Me,” was sang beautifully by Jessie Buckley. This young lady surely has a big musical theater career in front of her!!
“The Time Warp,” from The Rocky Horror Show, was hilarious. There we were dancing in the Royal Albert Hall, led by Robin Cousins (former speed skating champion) and Ainsley Harriott (Ready Steady Cook)! We did not only dance in the legendary Albert Hall. We also sang to the melody of “Jerusalem” :D (a song that is always performed at The Last Night of the Proms as well). The biggest surprise came during “Who Want to Live Forever” (We Will Rock You). Suddenly, a man with big hair and a guitar entered the stage. The crowd cheered: it was Brian May from Queen (his participation was not mentioned in the program)!! May also participated in “We are the Champions.” He surely knows how to play the guitar, very impressive! Unfortunately, the entire show was over way too soon. Wonderful ending though with the entire company (stars and "supporting" cast) singing The Lion King’s “Can’t You Feel the Love Tonight.”
After the concert, Tonke and I took the metro to our hotel (it was too late and too dark to walk back through Kensington Gardens). Very funny was the long line of concert go-ers making their way to the metro station. My goodness, what a night I thought (worth every penny!!) Just before I went to bed, I remembered that I would see Les Misérables the next evening. Forgot about that!! I already felt sorry for the actor who was going to play the role of Inspector Javert. Poor man, trying to live up to Philip Quast!! ;) :P Before I forget, someone made a cell-phone recording of “Stars,” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ymYKYpfSY
The images are funny, but the sound is quite good. Enjoy!
1) The concert was at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, home of The Last Night of the Proms, an event I watch on television every year. Love “Rule Britannia!!”
2) The full ticket price went to charity, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. The Night of 1000 Voices, which had its tenth anniversary on May 2nd, is once a year. At the concert, usually two or three West End and/or Broadway stars perform free of charge. Several talented, but usually lesser known (and lesser decorated) actors/singers are also present. The exact line-up changes each year. There is also a huge choir and a renowned orchestra (this time the City of London Philharmonic).
The reasons mentioned above were of course all very noble. But they did not make me (Tonke kindly agreed to come along :D) order the tickets in early December 2009 (before we had made any of the other travel plans). For me the main reason to attend the concert was Philip Quast, one of the three leading actors/singers that night (the others were Kerry Ellis and Adam Pascal). Interestingly, just a year ago I did not even have the slightest idea who Philip Quast was ;). That all changed when I saw the West End version of La Cage aux Folles in July 2009. Quast played Georges, the flamboyant nightclub owner in the musical. Wow! His co-star Roger Allam (Albin/Zaza) was sensational as well, but just not that sensational :).
Saw La Cage again on the 17th of August (my furry friend Lucky had died on August 11th). La Cage ended up giving me quite a bit of comic relief. Philip Quast was actually the first person make me laugh out loud after Lucky’s death. And his rendition of “Song on the Sand,” one of my favorite songs in musical theater.... stunning. A nice plus is that this guy has great stage command (such a magnetic presence on stage). And he can act too, he has already won three Olivier Awards (the British version of the Tony Award). I have not seen many people in musical theater who can act AND sing that well (most of the times the actor’s strength lays either in acting or singing not both). Lol, Philip Quast would probably be the only person I could stomach as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music :P (just so you know: I just adore Christopher Plummer in this role).
Back to The Night of 1000 Voices. We had wonderful seats in the Arena of the Royal Albert Hall, Row 16, clear view of the stage. I had no clue what the program would be, the organizers were very good at keeping that a secret. So I could only guess what Philip Quast would sing. After seeing the actual program, I thought: wow, what a line-up of songs!!! First “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” (Sweeney Todd) and then “Anthem” (Chess). After the interval a Sondheim medley of “A Good Thing Going/Not a Day Goes By” (Merrily We Roll Along). And, last but definitely not least, “Stars,” from Les Misérables!!!
Quast made a cameo appearance in the “Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” very cute and funny. “Anthem” was his first solo. Huge number (and Quast has a huge voice, so a perfect fit), which I really liked. At the end, the entire choir joined in, powerful. After the intermission, Quast introduced his last three songs, announcing that he would be leaving England for a while to play in a musical (Mary Poppins) in his native Australia (I knew about this, so I wasn’t shocked). “A Good Thing Going” and “Not a Day Goes By” were so different from the earlier “Anthem. ” No big voice needed this time, but a more measured, subdued voice. From “Song on the Sand” (my favorite song from La Cage aux Folles), I knew that Philip Quast would likely be delightful in this "smaller" type of song as well. And he was....
I was absolutely overjoyed with the last song: “Stars!!!” In Les Mis, “Stars” is the big number of Inspector Javert, one of the main characters in the musical. Philip Quast debuted on West End in this role. Years later, he is still seen as the textbook Javert. Legendary is Quast’s portrayal of Javert in the 10th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables (also at the Royal Albert Hall). In my humble opinion, this performance –and especially the rendition of “Stars”– was indeed quite good (long live understatement :D)
But now I had the chance to hear/see “Stars” live (I believe that the last time Philip Quast sang “Stars” for a live audience was in 2003). What can I say. A simple wow would not be enough!! Soo powerful, sent shivers down my spine. I was spellbound and so was the rest of the audience, you could literally hear a pin drop. And that last note was ridiculous!! Quast held “STARS.....” for more than thirteen seconds (without pausing for breath). Yikes!! After the last note, the Royal Albert Hall erupted. And so did I!! :D Seeing other people around me get up, I jumped up as well (quite an achievement, since there was not much room between my chair and the chair in front of me). According to Tonke, I cheered and screamed very loudly :D If the next song hadn’t started, the beautiful “Do You Hear the People Sing?” (also from Les Mis), the applause would have gone on even longer.
Some other highlights from this great musical night. The choir, hundreds and hundreds of people enthusiastically singing their hearts out (they only had limited time to rehearse the show). “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get Your Gun, a piece sang by almost the entire company and choir, was a wonderful (yet comedic) tribute to musical theater. Then to a couple of the (other) leading stars (sorry cannot stop saying stars :D) that night. Adam Pascal, who I had seen in the movie version of Rent, had a very nice voice. It was impressive to hear him sing “One Song Glory” from Rent. Kerry Ellis showed why she is a sought after leading lady on West End. Good, strong voice (I wish I would be able to sing like that!). I especially liked “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” (Evita). Another song from Evita, “You Must Love Me,” was sang beautifully by Jessie Buckley. This young lady surely has a big musical theater career in front of her!!
“The Time Warp,” from The Rocky Horror Show, was hilarious. There we were dancing in the Royal Albert Hall, led by Robin Cousins (former speed skating champion) and Ainsley Harriott (Ready Steady Cook)! We did not only dance in the legendary Albert Hall. We also sang to the melody of “Jerusalem” :D (a song that is always performed at The Last Night of the Proms as well). The biggest surprise came during “Who Want to Live Forever” (We Will Rock You). Suddenly, a man with big hair and a guitar entered the stage. The crowd cheered: it was Brian May from Queen (his participation was not mentioned in the program)!! May also participated in “We are the Champions.” He surely knows how to play the guitar, very impressive! Unfortunately, the entire show was over way too soon. Wonderful ending though with the entire company (stars and "supporting" cast) singing The Lion King’s “Can’t You Feel the Love Tonight.”
After the concert, Tonke and I took the metro to our hotel (it was too late and too dark to walk back through Kensington Gardens). Very funny was the long line of concert go-ers making their way to the metro station. My goodness, what a night I thought (worth every penny!!) Just before I went to bed, I remembered that I would see Les Misérables the next evening. Forgot about that!! I already felt sorry for the actor who was going to play the role of Inspector Javert. Poor man, trying to live up to Philip Quast!! ;) :P Before I forget, someone made a cell-phone recording of “Stars,” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ymYKYpfSY
The images are funny, but the sound is quite good. Enjoy!
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
