Sunday 18 October 2015

Concert: Regina Nathan

My mother loves Regina Nathan, so it was great to discover that she was appearing at Glór on one of my weekends back - and I booked. Naturally, the plan was to eat in the Abbey Tavern beforehand - there are few places that my mother favours to eat in, and it's not far from Ennis.

I was a little worried about timing, with so much to do in our evening. I had to do the Lotto before dinner, I had to get petrol on our way into Ennis, she wanted to go to Mass, I had to get parking in three different places - the Abbey Tavern, the cathedral, Glór. And she won't walk far. Mercifully, it all worked out.

Someone pulled out of a spot right by the door as we arrived at the Abbey Tavern, and we were, as usual, served fast and done within the hour. I felt like steak, for a change, and had the most delicious sirloin. Making a dash for it afterwards - she was relieved when I reminded her that they keep the pub clock 15 minutes fast - we headed straight for Ennis, since I'd already done the Lotto. Petrol stop on the way - nice and cheap - and we got a space across from the cathedral. Not close enough for her liking, but never mind. It's a while since we've been there, and I see they still have the stammering priest, and his stammer still hasn't improved. Fair play to him for persisting though, especially considering these services are broadcast live on radio!

We made a slightly early exit, and I revised my geography of Ennis as we headed for Glór - yes, the fastest way is left at the lights! As for parking at Glór - no problem, there was hardly anyone there when we arrived, and we got a nice, close space. I do think a lot of the audience must have been at Mass with us - there was something of an influx before too long.

We took a seat in the cafe, and I ordered a couple of slices of cake, tea for her, wine for me. What wasn't ready straight away was brought down to us - not terrific fare, mind. The wine was rather insipid, and the cake, as usual, a bit dry - standard for here, but better than some places, and still tasty, and we ate it. No complaints about the tea.

When the announcement came that the doors were open, there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm - from anyone - about going in. We meandered in eventually - booking wasn't heavy for this, despite good advertising, and we'd got good seats. Mind you, seats here generally are good, with the best legroom of anywhere I can think of!

The concert started pretty well on time - just the singer herself, with an accompanist playing a grand piano. And a music stand, for when the singer forgot her words. A glass of water stood on the floor beside it - you'd think they could've found a table of some kind. There was a rather uncomfortable-looking stool, on which she perched herself on occasion, and a sparkly feather boa sat on the end of the piano, ready to be used as a prop.

The accompanist came on first and took a seat at the piano. And played for a bit before the singer came on. Slowly. Must have had something to do with the distinctly uncomfortable-looking shoes she was wearing - very high, very sparkly, and very heavy-looking, all ornamentation, with ribbons at the back. She also wore a long black shift-dress, unfortunately highlighting what was not a svelte figure.

Anyway, she was soon into it. My mother kept complaining about the sound - there were no mics, and the singer is very softly spoken. Quite a soft singer as well, except when the song called for some drama and she bellowed out.. quite a contrast! We were well informed as to the programme - programmes were handed out for free. Indeed, they were thrust upon us - we were often asked whether we had one or wanted one, and they were to be found in large quantities on tables scattered through the venue.

It was a mixture of popular show-tunes and well known arias. One song from La Boheme in each half, which was nice for me - it's my favourite opera. "I Dreamt I Dwelt" - I love that song. With some difficulty, she clambered to sit on the steps leading down from the stage for one number. And so, the first half was over.

The second half was designed to be a bit lighter, and it was a relief to see her in a shorter dress - black, again - and more manageable shoes. She started with "Send In the Clowns". A couple of sings later, there was some kind of glitch at the start of Perhaps Love, and we saw her get a bit tetchy and make the accompanist start over. Whether it was something she did, or the pianist did, I cannot say. I did think to myself at this point that her voice isn't really suited to popular musicals - too operatic. Oddly, she read a poem at one point - well, it was enjoyable. The feather boa finally made its appearance, and she touched up her lipstick, for goodness' sake, for L' Accordioniste (sic), where she portrayed a prostitute. As an encore, she made us all join in with Thank You for the Music - hard to match her pitch though (she's a soprano).

All in all, pleasant enough. She got a standing ovation, but to be fair, there were several people she knew in the audience. She mentioned she hadn't done a concert in a while, and I think it showed. Still, my mother enjoyed it, and it got her out of the house for the evening.

Back to London tonight, and tomorrow, I'm back - at last - with the Meetup Let's Do London - for less! group, to see the Barber of Seville at the Coliseum. Upper Circle - it's always nice not to have to climb all the way to the balcony, in this extremely high theatre. For Tuesday, I got a cheap ticket for a play called Moments, in the Drayton Arms - honestly, chosen because it was the closest option. And on Wednesday, I'm back with Let's Do London - for less! again, for Carmen, at the Opera House.

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