The Tempest in Musick

We had high expectations of this celebration of Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. The publicity promised so much but the venue, staging and programme notes (illegible in the gloom) let us down, badly. The pit of the Dome was specially cleared but, alas, was not full of promenaders. The void between the performers and most of the audience was too great. The singers, especially Anna Dennis, Timothy Travers-Brown and Michael George, were splendid but fighting a lost cause. Sadly, this missed opportunity lacked narrative. The band seemed under-rehearsed and uncommitted. “Enthralling exploration of the sound-world of the Restoration theatre” it was not.

Brighton Dome Concert Hall, 16 May 2014

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