Stars, Dots, and Blind Spots
20 – 26 December 2025
Saturday 20 December
To London and Leicester by train. At Curve Leicester, a misguided production of The Sound of Music made an astonishing number of questionable choices, starting with treasonous orchestrations that relied heavily on synthesisers and deviated from the spirit — and at times even the harmonies — of Robert Russell Bennett’s glorious original charts. There was a marked lack of subtlety, characterised by all-around overacting, overamplification… and confounding choices like portraying Elsa as a raving lunatic, raising questions as to why Georg would even consider marrying her. I left Leicester with a heart made all the heavier by the many wonderful memories of the shows Paul Kerryson used to helm at the Leicester Haymarket.
Back to London by train. Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin’s warm-hearted, good-humoured Elf the Musical (2010) tends to make seasonal appearances on either side of the Atlantic. This production at London’s Aldwych Theatre turned out every bit as enjoyable as the show’s previous incarnations and it left the entire audience with stars in their eyes after Santa’s sleigh flew across the proscenium arch and into the auditorium, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-style. Unfortunately, it now seems that parents are allowed to talk to their kids during a theatrical performance — the evening felt less like theatre than a session of TV watching at the community centre.
Sunday 21 December
To Amsterdam by train. The sleigh bells at the beginning of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 conjure a kind of Christmassy feel — something John Kander must have recognised because he quoted that opening motif in his score for the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman in the “Russian Movie” scene, when Aurora says “Summon my troika!” It was therefore appropriate that the Concertgebouworkest should have chosen that symphony (with Christiane Karg) for a concert taking place a few days before Christmas. Alas, the performance felt a little bit like routine. Was it because of the last-minute replacement of Andris Nelsons by Jukka-Pekka Saraste? Or maybe the orchestra had chosen to devote most of the rehearsal time to the other piece on the programme, Jörg Widmann’s Towards Paradise (Labyrinth VI), a sort of concerto for trumpet and orchestra, reminiscent of his own Alto Concerto, which required the soloist to perambulate among the orchestra while playing a devilishly difficult part — a task of which Håkan Hardenberger acquitted himself with unflinching enthusiasm.
Back to Paris by train.
Monday 22 December
Paris – At the Palais-Garnier, Le Nozze de Figaro was given an interesting though ultimately unconvincing contemporary treatment by director Netia Jones. There was a lot of striking, thoroughly designed imagery relying on sophisticated projections, but an oft-repeated mistake of creating blind spots for audience members seated on the sides nearly drove me crazy. A theatre set with walls perpendicular to the proscenium creates many opportunities to make characters disappear from the sight lines of many audience members. A solid cast and strong musical execution saved the day.
Tuesday 23 December
Paris – Went back to see the stage adaptation of Jacques Demy and Michel Legrand’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort at the Lido do Paris, from the unusual perspective of the balcony. This time, contrary to the first time, the actor playing Maxence was on and, no offence to his understudy, the character felt “wholer.” The overall experience remained joyous and exuberant, with superb visuals and an exciting, swinging orchestra… as well as illuminating comments from a person sitting nearby who usually worked backstage but had taken the evening off to introduce a friend or relative to the show.
Wednesday 24 December
Paris – At the Comédie-Française’s Salle Richelieu, I saw a reprise of Denis Podalydès’s 2017 staging of Les Fourberies de Scapin, arguably Molière’s greatest comedy. Noam Morgensztern’s irresistible portrayal of the title character worked on many levels, with delectable, deep-rooted irony under layers and layers of comedic fairy dust. He seemed to catalyse strong performances from the rest of the company, even from a couple of actors of whom I’m not usually a big fan.
Thursday 25 December
To Basel by train. At the Fondation Beyeler, an impeccably calibrated retrospective of Yayoi Kusama’s long but still-ongoing career made strong statements about the driving forces of the Japanese artist’s inspiration. Train delays meant I had a lot less time than I would have wished, yet the chronological presentation established clearly that Kusama’s obsession with dots, infinity and endless repetitions of organic motifs was there all along. A keen curatorial instinct of clustering groups of paintings together throughout the exhibition enhanced the demonstration.
Back to Paris by train.
Friday 26 December
To Lisbon by plane.
And so, for now, the lights dim… until the next act.