It's all about the classical music composers and their works from the last 400 years and much more about music. Hier erfahren Sie alles über die klassischen Komponisten und ihre Meisterwerke der letzten vierhundert Jahre und vieles mehr über Klassische Musik.
Michael Ball returns as Javert in Les Misérables 35 years on
Credit: Paul Phear
By Maddy Shaw Roberts
2K
Michael Ball impressed West End crowds last night when he returned to the show that catapulted him into musical theatre stardom 35 years ago.
Ball and Boe – the legendary musical duo of Michael Ball and Alfie Boe – have returned to Les Misérables for a limited 16-week run which opened last night (21 August) at the Gielgud Theatre, London.
Michael Ball returns in the darker role of Javert, after originally starring as Marius Pontmercy opposite Patti LuPone as Fantine, in the 1985 world premiere of Les Misérables at the Barbican.
Composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, who made an appearance on stage after the show, mused whether Michael could still reach Marius’ high notes.
Les Misérables: The Staged Concert. Picture: Michael Le Poer Trench
Meanwhile, Boe reprises his role as Jean Valjean, after the rapturous reception he received when he performed ‘Bring Him Home’ at the Les Mis 25th anniversary concert at the O2 Arena in 2010.
Carrie Hope Fletcher (who previously played Veronica Sawyer in Heathers the Musical) stars as Fantine, having previously played Éponine in the 2014 stage version of Les Mis.
Matt Lucas reprises his role as Thénardier, from the musical’s 2011 season.
Now the West End’s longest running musical, Les Misérableswill play for a limited 16-week run from 10 August to 30 November.
A new version of the show opens at the Sondheim Theatre (formerly Queen’s) in December, following a refurbishment project.
Michael Ball reveals he is returning to Les Miserables
Known to Japanese locals as ‘Melody Roads’, these harmonious highways play music to drivers as they travel around the country. But it’s not just for entertainment...
If you ever find yourself taking a scenic trip around Japan, keep an eye (and ear) out for these music-playing roads.
Yep, quite literally, the roads will ring out loud and clear with the sound of popular Japanese songs.
Designed by locals and known as ‘Melody Roads’, they work by using special grooves that have been cut into the road’s surface, which respond to friction from car tires. The depth and spacing of the grooves control volume and sound (see them in action in the video above).
But of course, there’s more to this novel idea than you would first think.
The melody will only play at the perfect tempo if people are driving at the set speed limit, encouraging them to travel safely and at a steady pace.
Japan’s musical road entertains drivers
Credit: Instagram / kennigrace.tan
The music is also intended to alert tired drivers, stopping them from falling asleep at the wheel and decreasing the number of car accidents in the area.
Plus, since there are grooves in the road, any rain water can drain much faster, which prevents hydroplaning.
There are several hit songs for you to enjoy – from ‘Shiretoko Ryojo’, found on a regional road in Shibetsu, and ‘Country Road (Studio Ghibli’s Whispers of the Heart)’ on Kaneyama’s National Route 252, to ‘Fuji no Yama’ on the Ashinoko Skyline.
And it seems tourists are already impressed with the concept, sharing their videos on social media:
Melody road in Japan. When traveling at the specified speed limit, road noise becomes a melody. 千と千尋の曲が流れてくるメロディロード https://youtu.be/TrptmOJyHac@YouTubeさんから
In Japan you can find melody roads. There are grooves, which are cut at specific intervals in the surface. When you drive over those small markings, you can emit a rumbling tone throughout a vehicle. The melody road uses the spaces between to create different notes.
...‘sleeps with his violin’ and ‘creates melodies’
Janet Jackson's son loves the violin. Picture: Getty
By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM
Janet Jackson reckons her two-year-old son could follow in the family footsteps and become a musical prodigy, as he has started sleeping with his violin.
Janet Jackson, international pop icon and the youngest child of the Jackson family, has revealed her son could be following in his family’s musical footsteps.
Speaking to Australia’s Stellar magazine, Janet said that Eissa, who is just two years old, loves playing the violin and practises it almost every day.
“He kept taking his drum stick and running it across his guitar,” she revealed. “I thought, ‘Why is he playing it like a cello?’
“He went into his room and got a figurine of a violin and brought it to me. Then he grabbed his drumstick and guitar and kept going.”
Janet Jackson gave an interview with Stellar magazine about motherhood. Picture: Stellar
Jackson, who made her debut at Glastonbury festival in June, is a single mother and gave birth to Eissa, her first child, in 2017.
She continued: “So I came home with a toy violin, showed him one time how to hold it and that was it. Then I bought him a real violin and he got so excited.”
“He sleeps with it. He eats breakfast, lunch and dinner with it,” Janet laughed. “I show him little kids playing violin on the iPad, then he was finding them himself, all these child prodigies. He creates melodies.”
Plácido Domingo concerts cancelled as sexual harassment investigation opens.Picture: Getty
By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM
0
In the light of sexual harassment allegations made against Plácido Domingo, major classical concert venues in the US have cancelled upcoming engagements with the 78-year-old Spanish tenor.
Plácido Domingo has been accused of sexually harassing nine women over three decades, in a report published by Associated Press.
Eight singers and one dancer told the publication that the 78-year-old maestro made unwanted sexual advances on them in the 1980s, ‘90s and early 2000s. According to the AP report, many said that when they refused the advances, they stopped getting hired for productions in which Domingo was involved.
The Los Angeles Opera, of which Domingo is general director, has announced an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment made against the Spanish tenor.
L.A. Opera will “engage outside counsel” to investigate the accusations, the opera company said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “We believe all employees and artists should be treated respectfully and feel safe and secure within their work environment.”
Yesterday, the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Opera announced they would cancel upcoming performances featuring the opera singer.
New York’s Met Opera said it would await results of L.A. Opera’s investigation “before making any final decisions about Mr. Domingo’s future at the Met”. Domingo is scheduled to appear at the Met next month in a production of Verdi’s opera Macbeth.
His concert with San Francisco Opera, on 6 October, had been scheduled to mark Domingo’s 50th anniversary of performing with the company, and was promoted as a ‘special one performance-only event’ with ‘one of the most influential singing actors in the history of opera’.
The opera house said that although no sexual behaviour is alleged to have taken place at the San Francisco Opera, the company is “committed to its strong anti-sexual harassment policy and requires all company members to adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct.”
The Philadelphia Orchestra also withdrew its invitation for Domingo to appear at its opening night concert next month, saying: “We are committed to providing a safe, supportive, respectful, and appropriate environment for the orchestra and staff, for collaborating artists and composers, and for our audiences and communities.”
Plácido Domingo, 78-year-old Spanish tenor, accused of sexual harassment. Picture: Getty
Domingo, a Grammy Award-winning opera singer and conductor, is one of the most respected and powerful figures in opera. Also famous for being one of The Three Tenors, he still performs sell-out shows worldwide.
The alleged harassment took place over three decades, and while Domingo was married. According to AP, one accuser said Domingo stuck his hand down her skirt, while three others said he forcibly kissed them.
Many of the women, including a mezzo soprano who sang in the L.A. Opera chorus in 1988, told AP that when they turned down his sexual advances, they were punished in their careers.
L.A. Opera’s statement notes that Domingo has been “a dynamic creative force in the life of L.A. Opera and the artistic culture of Los Angeles for more than three decades. Nevertheless, we are committed to doing everything we can to foster a professional and collaborative environment where all our employees and artists feel equally comfortable, valued and respected.”
Domingo has called the allegations “deeply troubling and, as presented inaccurate,” adding, “I believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual.”
The tenor also noted: “Still, it is painful to hear that I may have upset anyone or made them feel uncomfortable.”
Domingo is scheduled to appear at the Salzburg Festival in Austria on 31 August – his next scheduled performance. Festival president Helga Rabl-Stadler said he will appear as planned.
“I have known Plácido Domingo for more than 25 years,” she said in a statement.
“In addition to his artistic competence, I was impressed from the very beginning by his appreciative treatment of all festival employees.
“I would find it factually wrong and morally irresponsible to make irreversible judgments at this point,” she said.
tomo
Japan
Bonten in Japan
