Tube station hello
Yesterday i felt a bit too sad to post this phone snap… Yes, i admit i had this lovely idea of RA decked out in evening wear attending the celebration with his peers and just getting the well deserved praise for his extraordinary Proctor in person.
But it can’t be, as more good work is actually happening pretty far away. Double pity as i think it will be a really nice and warm weekend in London…
Not that i am even close, i too am missing out on the excitement of being thereabouts and living it out as it happens. Away to see family at the moment but it seems like even as i was leaving i was being reminded of it! This is taken around 5am in the tube station where i picked up my train to Heathrow… I was trying not to fall asleep on my feet and dragging my suitcase behind me … realised i had a near 20 min wait for the first tube i sighed and turned around looking for a place to sit and saw this! It is absolutely massive, hope even the blurry phone pic manages to convey that.
I saw several on my way, far out from town centre, it is a big deal 🙂
I meant to bring you some more substantial posts full of RA love these days but unfortunately things are not really going as i hoped at the moment, all my energies have to be with family.
But at least i have the time to remind myself, regardless of what will be the outcome of tomorrow night, that the Crucible changed my life and many other peoples’, that it was praised and appreciated everywhere in London, press and critics raved about it, the audiences smiled and sighed and cried through it and gave it many standing ovations.
It was so well received that the play has been nominated for an Olivier and he will always know that this is what the professional world thought of his Proctor (Olivier nomination wording):
“Richard Armitage for The Crucible at Old Vic
Richard Armitage provided a colossal presence at the heart of The Crucible, playing a prowling John Proctor, whose very being balanced on a knife edge.”
Once again to the entire ensemble and Yael my thanks for such an amazing experience. And to Richard: i’m grateful and proud to have seen your Proctor 🙂 You are not just very good, you are special.
and… 
the one and only 😉 Jonas Kaufmann got his second nomination to an Olivier for Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut & Andrea Chenier/ Giordano, both for the Royal Opera House!! I never though i’d actually get an event where my opera and theatre interests would merge, or get to write a post where they would end up sitting naturally next to each other 🙂 I’ve always meant to ‘introduce’ them to each other around here but never found the time for a proper post and now reality has taken me by surprise! 🙂 Wonderfully so! I’m very pleased. Some things i understand much better, like the opera scene –> for one, it is much smaller than the theatre scene and i just have many more years of experience (i’ve guessed and actually agree with 90% of the nominations there – doesn’t make me any less happy to see it confirmed!). I am glad Richard Jones also gets some recognition, good opera directors like him are very few and far between and we need to really celebrate them. Especially considering the amount of tosh i’ve seen lately even at big international houses like the ROH. I can’t even begin to say how many times i have sat in a theatre recently and wished the opera directors were half as good as the theatre directors of the pieces if was seeing. And a lot of the plays were in modern settings, but none dipped into the pretentious, self-indulgent, navel-gazing concepts that i am frankly sick of seeing on the opera stage! Having said that, all opera production nominated deserve their praise, they were good ones and we need more of these! As for Jonas himself, well in a way it is long overdue really, i think he actually deserved it back in 2007 when he was Don Jose in Carmen at the ROH, which was certainly some of the best singing in this role i ever heard and without a doubt the best acting of it on an opera stage 🙂 Not that Chenier wasn’t amazing, it certainly was some of the best singing at the ROH in years 🙂 But the Oliviers are very ‘London’ and West- end. Weirdly it can take some time even for an international star to become a household name in London, an integral part of its artistic live. And i think Jonas truly become part of ‘London artistic life’ over the last 12 months when he’s spend more time than ever here, did two new productions very successfully, was present at all kinds of artistic events around town, sang to the locals and subscribers at the Wigmore, stepped outside the boundaries of classical music listeners on BBC Radio3 and really connected with the general public, he even got invited to Desert Island Discs! (as a friend of mine put it, it’s a sign you have ‘arrived’ in London if you are on DID!). It seems he finally has and i wouldn’t actually be surprised if he won it this time round. And he better put his tux on and come to London and be there if it happens! 🙂 I know his shelves are heaving with awards but this is the Oliviers! And hey, the Olivier ceremony happens at the Royal Opera House, it’d be just like coming to his second home 😉 and here he is, the Chenier’s last poem before the execution (it’s a cheeky filming one so that is why it is wobbly, but you’ll get the idea i think 🙂 ) and here is a euronews video clip about the opera, unfortunately i can find it in many languages, but not English, this is the German version In terms of theatre there is much more variety and there are trends that can go in opposite directions. People tend to say theatre in London is more traditional, but actually it is ‘story driven’ and good story telling is paramount. Because of that there is maybe less appetite to ‘go crazy’ with concepts on stage which is why i think critics tend to push and favour innovation. So the directors who will manage to be innovative and modern but also tell a story well will certainly be featured significantly at awards. Acting is generally of a very high standard and there are significant amounts of new plays being written and staged. It’s probably the most competitive theatrical environment in the world and at the same time it is big business. There is old and well established acting tradition, but there is also ‘establishment’ and a constant tension with trying to be innovative, fresh, open and particularly on the talent side that is an uphill battle. There may be a slight whiff of snobbism towards actors with a TV background rather than a classical theatre path but that is easily overridden by the quality of performance and because the public tend to be experienced and knowledgeable, they are also demanding and it’s often the case that the very good plays and performances will result in extended runs. This year’s nominations are a refection of all these kinds of sometimes conflicting trends. Check out the play with by far the biggest numbers of nominations and you’ll see the push for innovation and change 🙂 And the wide spread of awards among plays is surely an attempt to give recognition to many outstanding performances and plays during last year. (By the way Olivier nominations seem to run from the last one to the nomination day as some things i thought were highlights of last year were actually nominated in 2014 and some things nominated in 2015 i haven’t seen yet and the run is ongoing). I am very very happy that the Oliviers finally gave recognition to the Crucible! I think they wanted to send clear message considering what has happened at other awards in town. 
It’s certainly quite extraordinary how they chose to message their appreciation of the play, they decided to single out only 1 individual! Which i think is quite extraordinary in itself! “An imposing Richard Armitage starred in internationally acclaimed director Yaël Farber’s chillingly atmospheric, exhilarating take on Arthur Miller’s classic American drama.” Although they give credit to Yael for the production, she’s actually not individually nominated under directors. I do think that is a pity as i think she was a significant catalyst in the final product. But they singles out one extraordinary performance: “Richard Armitage provided a colossal presence at the heart of The Crucible, playing a prowling John Proctor, whose very being balanced on a knife edge.” Considering how often Richard has stressed that for him this was an ensemble work i wonder how this sits with him, i don’t think he fully agrees with them 🙂 But however he may feel about being singled out like this, it still is our right as well as the Olivier’s choosers to point the finger at him and say: ‘accept it or not, we feel you were outstanding and special’ (deal with it!):-) Let’s remember what Richard thought of John Proctor (DT interview for the cinema) – and the look in his eyes pretty much tells the story of how much Proctor meant to him 🙂 And here are some more insights from a recent interview in 
But, there are also some unforgivable omissions, one of which is really huge and i am very sure i will not be the only one asking why??? Helen McCrory’s breathtaking, shattering Medea at NT is missing from the best actress nominations. I’ve seen 3 Greek plays in the past year and this was by far the best production and the best performance (much much more powerful in my opinion than the Electra at the Old Vic… ‘establishment’). I also find it rather sad that Adrian Schiller’s Hale isn’t on the supporting actors nominations; there are many ensemble members of the Crucible worthy of recognition but in comparison to other performances nominated in the category i thought his was much more powerful, human and convincing. I also thought the lighting for the Crucible was by far the best i’ve seen … sadly i think these details have fallen victim to the perceived ‘traditional’ nature of the production and the general desire to recognise innovation… But, there is more recognition than i was expecting and i am very happy about that. I’m less happy that fate has given me this gift and at the same time delivered a strong blow to my backside…. So, given my two boys will be celebrated in London in April you’d think i’d be there to say a Bravo and celebrate as well, but no.. the ceremony happens on a day i’m actually not even in the UK and i won’t even be able to watch it. It’s a downer of incredible proportions as the likelihood of both of them being at the same event ever again is a big fat zero… The one thing that would maybe compensate me for not being able to be in London for this is both of them winning it! Now i wonder what are the chances of that? 🙂 Crossing fingers… and toes…
Opera is Magic 