THE REST OF JANUARY AT THE ACADEMY
· Thursday 18 January at 6.30 p.m. Happy Valley – Series 3:1
· Friday 19 January at 6.30 p.m. Marco Spada – ballet
· Thursday 25 January at 6.30 p.m. Happy Valley 3:2
· Friday 26 January at 6.30 p.m. Concert: Haydn and Bruckner
THURSDAYS 18, 25 JANUARY & 1 FEBRUARY AT 6.30 P.M. HAPPY VALLEY – SERIES 3
Carriages: 8.45 p.m. [9.00 p.m. 1 February]
Viewers in Britain had to wait seven years for the final series of Happy Valley but here it is in Bulawayo only four months after Series 2!
Still battling the seemingly never-ending problem of drugs in the valley and those who supply them, Catherine Cawood is on the cusp of retirement when she discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir which sparks a chain of events that unwittingly lead her straight back to Tommy Lee Royce. Her grandson Ryan is now sixteen and still living with Catherine, but he has ideas of his own about what kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father…
· There’s a grandeur to Sally Wainwright’s conception matched by Lancashire’s role-of-a-lifetime performance which puts Happy Valley way up there in the pantheon of British TV drama achievements. [Empire Magazine]
· The warp and weft of lives, of life, is as expertly woven as ever and you couldn’t wish for a better group of actors to bring it to you. [The Guardian]
· Lancashire’s marvellous performance aside, its excitements are so much richer and deeper than those of its nearest rivals – it is a family/small town saga as much as it is a police procedural — and I adore its sense of place. [New Statesman]
· Catherine Cawood is still one of television’s finest creations, played so brilliantly by Sarah Lancashire that we should just hand her the Bafta now and have done with it. And Sally Wainwright remains the best writer in Britain. [The Telegraph]
· The series is billed as a crime drama, though Wainwright’s masterstroke lies in focusing not on the minutiae of crime but its human impact. The cast are all beyond reproach though ultimately this is Lancashire’s show. [Financial Times]
· Viewers nervous that Wainwright and Co might fail to recapture the Yorkshire magic need not have worried. This final spin over the moors is a worthy way to round out one of British television’s greatest sagas. [The Independent]
· It is a treat to have the whole Happy Valley charabanc back after a seven-year absence and in all its dark glory. [The Times]
· What’s surprising is how compulsively watchable it is, given the amount of torment, misery, death and suffering that Wainwright has crammed into it. [The Arts Desk]
· The clock is ticking towards high noon and by ’eck, it feels like it. The best drama on the box by far. [The Herald – Scotland]
Admission: US$2.50 / $6.00 the series [free to Film Members]
FRIDAY 19 JANUARY AT 6.30 P.M. MARCO SPADA – BALLET
Carriages: 8.50 p.m.
This rarely presented swashbuckling ballet, now sees its rebirth on the stage of the famed Bolshoi Theatre. Re-created specifically for the Bolshoi by French choreographer Pierre Lacotte, Marco Spada or The Bandit’s Daughter is a grandiose and unique ballet both on a technical and dramatic level: complex choreography; five lead roles created for five principals; several changes in scenery; the participation of virtually the entire corps de ballet; and even the presence of animals on stage… With its scenes of pantomime, devilish intrigue, kidnapping heroines, rebellion, lovers’ misunderstandings and rejected suitors, Marco Spada is a fresh and joyful ballet to discover.
· Marco Spada requires no less than five principal dancers but David Hallberg, Evgenia Obraztsova, Olga Smirnova, Semyon Chudin and Igor Tsvirko are in a class of their own – Obraztsova is one of the most admired Russian ballerinas of the last decade. And of course it takes a company like the Bolshoi to impersonate brigands, peasants, nymphs, dragoons, lords and ladies with equal conviction and make dramatic sense of them all. [Classical Net]
· The Bolshoi is a very fine company, and Marco Spada showcases their sophistication and proficiency. Choreographed by Pierre Lacotte (who also designed the sumptuous sets and costumes), the stage swarms with well-trained, fresh-faced dancers. Performers hit their marks, point their toes, and embellish the scenarios with aplomb. More importantly, they do so with joy. [Dance Enthusiast]
· The class of Mr. Hallberg’s dancing was often evident; he remains brilliant. From his Bolshoi experience, he has gained a combination of flair, timing and showmanship and he has learned the trick of ending a bravura number as if grinning with glee… The enchantment proved to be Ms. Obraztsova – never losing sweetness or innocence even amid her showier numbers, often teasing her music to the last millisecond. [New York Times]
· This is a magnificent production of Auber’s ballet recreating the opulence of the late 19th century ballet world in Europe, the Bolshoi at its best! Hallberg and Obraztsova are wonderful dancers and this ballet is beautiful! A MUST HAVE! [Amazon]
· This release is a superb achievement … Alexei Bogorad and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra play the score as if they had been familiar with it for years … a real treat. [MusicWeb International]
Admission: US$2.50 [free to Red Carpet Members]
THURSDAY 25 JANUARY AT 6.30 P.M. HAPPY VALLEY – SERIES 3 : 2
Carriages: 8.45 p.m.
· Say it isn’t so, we’re already more than halfway through this season of Happy Valley. We’ve been waiting seven years for a new series and all we get is a measly six hours? It doesn’t seem fair. But by this point, we’ll take what we can get. Luckily enough, Sally Wainwright has made those six hours thoroughly entertaining – and the drama certainly kicks into high gear with episode four… [Independent]
FRIDAY 26 JANUARY AT 6.30 P.M. ORCHESTRAL CONCERT
Carriages: 8.30 p.m.
Anton Bruckner was born 200 years ago on 24 September 1824 and, as one of the great symphonists, is worthy of celebration throughout the year. The Eighth Symphony is perhaps his grandest and is performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan in the monastery church of St.Florian where Bruckner was organist in his early years and where he now lies buried in the crypt – beneath the organ.
The programme will begin with Haydn’s Symphony No.94, the ‘Surprise’ with the Vienna Philharmonic this time conducted by Leonard Bernstein.
· There is grace, wit and charm aplenty, with the Vienna Philharmonic on top form and Bernstein clearly enjoying every moment…This feels like chamber music being made among friends. [BBC Music Magazine]
· Haydn is eternal; and to hear his music played like this with such palpable love is always a treat. [Gramophone]
· Karajan was one of the greatest interpreters of Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony and he particularly revered the work; this is a very fine performance indeed. [Classics Today]
· The performance itself is of a kind that cannot be experienced anywhere today. Perfectly controlled and beautifully nuanced, Karajan maintains the famous ‘line’ through the massive structure of the symphony while wringing astonishing power and intensity from the work of a composer – and from an orchestra – known for both. [Amazon]
· It reveals the symphony as a work of epic grandeur, a vast, slow-moving, richly coloured pageant of awe-inspiring beauty. [Gramophone]
· Massive, glowing and infused with cosmic power. [MusicWeb International]
ST.FLORIAN
Admission: US$2.50 [free to Red Carpet Members]
FEBRUARY [PROVISIONAL]
· Thursday 1 February Happy Valley 3:3 last
· Friday 2 February Puccini: La Bohème [Puccini died 1924]
· Thursday 8 February Blazing Saddles [released 7 February 1974]
· Friday 9 February Valentine Concert
· Thursday 15 February The Return of the Musketeers
· Friday 16 February The Dante Project – ballet
· Thursday 22 February The Commitments
· Friday 23 February All That Jazz
· Thursday 29 February Broadchurch – 1 of 3
