• New Year Predictions 2015

    Here are my New Year Predictions for 2015

     

    1. Those who voted YES in the Scottish Referendum will continue to behave as though they won. This may be unhelpful.
    2. Those who voted NO in the Scottish Referendum will continue to behave as thought he referendum never happened. This may be unhelpful.
    3. There will, I fear, be a Tory Prime Minister at the end of 2015.
    4. The Liberal Democrats will retain 10 – 14 seats in the House of Commons.
    5. Nick Clegg will lose his seat and be Lord Clegg by the end of the year.
    6. The Labour Party will not be led by a Milliband by the end of the year.
    7. The Church of Scotland will begin a new procedure under the barrier act to determine whether to accept ministers in same-sex partnerships who are married (ie not merely in Civil Partnerships).
    8. There will be legal victories for those seeking to extend Civil Partnerships to straight couples.
    9. Elizabeth Warren will become a household name.
    10. (Some) straight liberals will lead the charge (such as it is) for (something less than) LGBT equality, (sometimes). Believe it or not, I’m excited by this and it is an improvement. [Remember that in 2011 I predicted that “No straight liberal in the church will feel the need to sacrifice anything at all for the gay friends they purport to support.” Things are changing a bit].
    11. Advances in e-learning in churches.

6 responses to “Dialogue des Carmélites”

  1. Moyra Avatar
    Moyra

    Mmmmm now you’re giving me ideas!

  2. Rev Ruth Avatar

    Oooh, I have that on CD and haven’t listened to it for ages. Love that chopping sound!

  3. kelvin Avatar

    I was told that some kind of scaffold had been rigged up offstage complete with block and tackle to provide the definitive thud as nun by nun, they fell to the floor.

    The stage was littered with dead nuns by the end.

  4. david Avatar

    It is a real shocker at the end. Liked Poulenc’s music, and the singing was good (Monday performance).

  5. Jonathan Ensor Avatar
    Jonathan Ensor

    Attended the performance on Thursday. Particularly liked the voices of Mere Marie(Elysia Leech) and the Father Confessor(L’Aumonier), James Geer.

    Tim Dean led the performance admirably and there was hardly any poor casting although obviously with a student performance some were better suited to their roles than others.

    James Geer is to be singing the Male Chorus in Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia” at Aldeburgh-a favourite opera of mine with the Pagan story offset and contrasted with the choruses commenting from a Christian perpective.

    It was good to see(at a distance) Donald Maxwell and Linda Ormiston in the foyer before the performance, both professional singers of some distinction. I remember them both from Good Shepherd Chorus performances at St Mary’s years ago.(Donald Maxwell sang the baritone part in a performance of Elgar’s “The Light of Life” and Linda Ormiston, who studied maths at Glasgow Uni and singing with the late Winifred Busfield who taught me, sang the alto part in Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody under Christopher Seaman.

    The staging of Dialogue des Carmelites was very effective and succeeded in conveying most of the pathos of the final scene without gross exhibitionism, which would have made it unbearable to watch.

  6. John Woodhouse Avatar

    It’s a great work – saw it at ENO.

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