Festival HistoryNewsPre-Festival Stuff Festival Time Newbie? Witterings Links Site Map
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HomeFestival HistoryNewsPre-Festival Stuff Festival Time Newbie? Witterings Links Site Map |
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Pre-Festival Stuff for 2010 This page is split into two halves. The top section covers the launch of each festival programme and the early critical feedback: Edinburgh International Festival The brochure for this year's festival can be viewed online, downloaded as a PDF file or you can order a printed version. See this page for details. Tickets will be on sale to the public from March 27th, 2010. Initial media feedback Initial media feedback was available almost instantly (links below) although these pieces are seldom more than a regurgitation of the EIF's press release. Articles written later in the day which usually appear in the paper the following day make for a slightly more coherent read - I call them day 2 previews. Any more studied feedback will not appear for a day or three. The early headlines have been reserved for: Caledonia, a new play commissioned by the EIF from Alistair Beaton and performed by the National Theatre of Scotland; Bliss, a new Australian opera based on the novel by Peter Carey; The Gospel at Colonus, set in present day America and driven by Gospel Music, a reworking of Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus; and Porgy and Bess, a multi-media production of George Gershwin's work by Opéra de Lyon and the contemporary dance Compagnie Montalvo-Hervieu. A comprehensive series of articles on various aspects of this year's programme was published in The Scotsman on March 27th, 2010 (links below). Susan's Views My friend and fellow punter Susan was first out of the blocks with detailed views, particularly impressive as she lives on the east coast of the USA. Although her tastes are more eclectic Susan is a particular aficionado of music and opera and has been coming to Edinburgh in August for close on 30 years. Although she protests that her thoughts are merely her gut impressions, as she is way ahead of mainstream media, their verbatim reproduction here is fully warranted ... "My immediate reaction is that the EIF is becoming more like the Fringe and vice-versa that you have to wonder where it all will lead. I also, as last year, find it very frustrating that instead of focusing on bringing the best artists from all over the world, which I believe is what the "international" part of the EIF was always meant to be, Jonathan Mills remains intent to make choices that fit into his "themes." I think that really limits and weakens the overall program. That said, even within his own parameters, the choice of music seems baffling. For instance, since one of the nations highlighted is the good old USA, I am bewildered by his leaving out certain composers, like Samuel Barber, who is having an anniversary celebration this year and many consider one of our best ever. Ditto for Aaron Copeland - there is only one of his pieces. I am also surprised by there being so few Canadian artists given the number of Canadians who attend the Festival. I noticed in the different presentations a predominance of "modern" music which probably isn't going to make traditional Festival goers happy. As in past years, opera is getting weaker and weaker. Two of the operas, John Adam's El Nino and a premiere Australian opera are very modern. I admire Mill's eagerness to present new and infrequently heard music (ie Montezume-a German opera rarely if ever heard) but this only works if the pieces are worth being heard---and I'm not so sure how often this will be the case. Once again there is a lot of theatre---a lot from South America in Spanish--and one new play, Caledonia, by the Scottish National Theatre and written by Alistair Beaton (about a Scottish speculative scheme to establish a colony in Central America which ultimately failed and so threatened Scotland's solvency that it was considered a major factor in the decision to join the Union). Lots of dance but all modern and innovative. To me the strength of the Festival this year are the Orchestras, especially the Royal Concertgebouw. There are also very good artists and quartets at Queens Hall but they are established. I still greatly miss the former role the EIF played in presenting and discovering new and very talented artists. Instead of Mill's focusing on this important aspect of the EIF, he has chosen to "discover" artists who fit into his annual themes. Ok, Brian. As I know you like me to name some of what I look forward to and plan to attend, here are my initial thoughts in note form: Opera: El Nino by John Adams- in my opinionated point of view this American composer is overrated but this is considered one of, if not, his best. Conductor is excellent and the singers seem promising Porgy and Bess- I have seen many times but Opera de Lyon is very good Bliss-Opera Australia-premiere - We have decided to take the risk as it is based on Peter Carey’s book, great baritone and we need to support new works. Idameno-concert performance with fantastic American singer, Joyce De Donato, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra with Charles Mackerras. Should be interesting to compare with EIF much acclaimed production several years ago. The Indian Queen by Purcell presented by the Sixteen-wish he would have picked another Purcell instead of feeling compelled to stick to his theme but I love Purcell and The Sixteen are fab. Orchestras: Royal Concertgebouw-THE BEST.
Finnish Radio Symphony-good conductor and musicians. Russian National Orchestra--great conductor. Scottish Chamber Orchestra-very promising young conductor Robin Ticciati. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra-again conductor Donald Runnicles--especially Mahler Symphony 8. Sydney Symphony-again conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Individual Artists: Piano: Jonathan Biss.Llyr Williams, Steven Osborne. Violin: Midori Opera:
Choral groups: Ars Nova, The Tallis Scholars, The Sixteen, Fiesta Criolla---Sadly much less than past two years which is a shame as this has definitely been one of the highlights. As focus of all is South American folk/liturgical music, one wonders if there is less because it didn't fit into the "theme" but there are excellent American groups and probably true in other countries as well but they don't sing the "theme" music. Quartets: Skampa Quartet, Pavel Haas, Takacs, Nash Ensemble,
Theatre:
Again, the above represent only the artists I know so there may be others worth seeing. They also just reflect my personal tastes....The Spanish plays too may be excellent but since my Spanish isn't good enough to understand and looking at subtitles robs one of the visual experience, these are not my first choice. Given how many productions I like, it kind of makes everything else I said seem petty. However, it is because the EIF has been such a tremendous experience over all the years we have attended, the present one is competing against these and without criticism, there can be no growth."
Like Susan, and indeed many others, I remain to be convinced about the use of themes although I accept that they have been used with great success on a couple of occasions over the history of the EIF. Mark Fisher briefly discusses themes in Scotland on Sunday. I am pleased to see that Mills has omitted the visual arts this year. Given the precarious nature of funding at this time it seems eminently sensible to leave the visual arts to the Edinburgh Art Festival. In the drama programme Caledonia, to be performed by the National Theatre of Scotland, has to be a must see, while Gospel at Colonus and The Sun Also Rises (based on Hemingway's novel) may both be worth a punt. The dance programme looks more interesting than it has done for a number of years. Grupo Corpo definitely appeals while Agua by Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal, Lemi Ponifasio's MAU company and Paco Pena Flamenco Dance Company are possibilities. Go to Picks and Previews for a digest of links to useful articles and critics' recommendations across all the festivals from now until August. Edinburgh Fringe As is traditional, the Fringe likes to trot out figures to demonstrate just how large it is. So here goes ... it will include 40,254 performances of 2,453 shows involving an estimated 21,148 performers ... the biggest ever! The breakdown of productions sees comedy lead the way again with some 850 shows (35% of the total) with drama just behind on 700+ shows (29% of the total). 83% are UK-based productions with a quarter being Scottish. C Venues will host 210 shows, Pleasance 206 and Assembly 122. 558 shows (23% of the total) will be free. Early media feedback on the Fringe launch was available within hours in The Stage, the BBC News website, The Scotsman, WhatsonStage.com and The Guardian. The Scotsman had a slightly more measured piece the following morning. In depth comments usually take several days to appear as it takes time - even for media organisations - to plough through the bulky 340+ page programme brochure. It usually takes us best part of a week to come to any conclusions. I am glad to say that our brochure arrived on time - just after lunch on the day of the launch. Re the above, the mainstream media seems loath to let us know their thoughts. It is now July 21st and picks and previews are in short supply. Does this presage a relative lack of interest this year? The brochure can be viewed online or downloaded in pdf format (70MB). In my opinion its sheer size makes it preferable to get hold of a printed copy if you can. The revamped Fringe website was launched on Friday 11th June, 2010. Tickets can be purchased online from 8am. The site contains the official unveiling of the programme. The Traverse Theatre, home of drama at the Edinburgh Festivals, has announced its 2010 festival programme which will consist of 18 productions. The brochure can be downloaded from their website. Other venues either already have details of their own shows on their web sites or will have them shortly. This facility on The Stage web site can be useful to find the link to a venue's web site, as well as other useful information. Go to Picks and Previews for a digest of links to useful articles and critics' recommendations on the Fringe when they have had time to digest the programme. You will also find links to picks and previews across all the festivals from now until August. Punters' Initial Fringe Picks Our Fringe picks are done in three or four iterations from the time that the programme brochure is issued right through to when we are actually in Edinburgh getting the word on the street. The first pass simply concentrates on our experiences in previous years ... although this is not always a guarantee of quality. Enda Walsh's Walworth Farce is up there among the best plays that we have seen at The Traverse over the years. And so, we are looking forward to seeing his latest play Penelope. We are also fans of Tim Crouch who we have seen several times before in Edinburgh. His current offering, The Author, was on at the Royal Court in London but we avoided seeing it there in the expectation that it would be on this year's programme. Daniel Kitson, in his storytelling guise, is another favourite and we plan to take in his new show It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later. Finally in drama, Guy Masterson productions can usually be relied upon although he may struggle to match last year's great success, Morecambe. I, Elizabeth appeals to us while I, Claudia and The Solitary Choice are possibles. On the dance front, we will certainly be seeing Derevo's production of Harlekin. We have good memories of Derevo productions at Aurora Nova, a venue which is sorely missed and which we fervently hope will one day be resurrected. In addition, Beautiful Burnout, a Frantic Assembly / National Theatre of Scotland / Byrnony Lavery production, is on our early list of definites. Our comedy picks tend to be arrived at close to festival time but we are currently thinking about going to see Tim Vine, the arch pun maker, and Tom Wrigglesworth. If you are old enough to remember and appreciate the dry humour of Victor Borge then Rainer Hersh's show is well worth a visit. Our second iteration has been hampered by the relative lack of information from the professional critics. However, we have added the following to our list of possibles: While You Lie, Emma Thompson presents Fair Trade, The Cage and My Romantic History (drama); plus Continent (dance). Our third pass will follow when the early reviews appear. International Book Festival The programme brochure can be browsed on the Book Festival website or it can be downloaded from its website. Sad to say, the death of Jose Saramago has been announced. As mentioned above, he was due to appear at the festival in August. International Film Festival It had previously been pre-announced at the beginning of April that animated feature film The Illusionist had been chosen for the opening gala which this year will be held in the Festival theatre. The programme with 133 movies from 34 countries will include: a 90 minute interview with Patrick Stewart; among the films will be Ryan Piers Williams' The Dry Land, Werner Herzog's My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? Floria Sigismondi's The Runaways and Steven Soderbergh's And Everything Is Going Fine; while the festival will close with the British tragi-comedy Third Star. The full programmme can be viewed on the EIFF website. Three late additions to the programme have been announced: an interview with Nick Hornby, the British premiere of Lucy Walker's documentary Countdown to Zero on June 18th, 2010 and the presence of Nick Cave at the Irregular event on June 24th, 2010. Go to Picks and Previews for a digest of links to useful articles and critics' recommendations across all the festivals. Art Festival The major exhibitions at the National Galleries include: Impressionist Gardens (NG complex on the Mound) and Another World: Dalí, Magritte, Miró and the Surrealists (Dean Gallery). There are a number of commissions this year which have been possible through the Scottish Government's Expo funding. They comprise three artworks - Richard Wright, Kim Coleman & Jenny Hogarth plus Martin Creed - and four interventions. Photography exhibitions include: William Wegman: Family Combinations and Edward Weston's work, both at the City Art Centre. The most comprehensive articles on the launch can be found in Art Daily and Creative Boom. Go to Picks and Previews for a digest of links to useful articles and critics' recommendations across all the festivals from now until August. Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival Full details can be found on the Jazz & Blues website. The programme can be downloaded from the website. Go to Picks and Previews for a digest of links to useful articles and critics' recommendations across all the festivals from now until August. Forest Fringe Edge Festival A summary article on the line-up can be found in The Skinny with information on some of the Scottish acts taking part in The Scotsman. Edinburgh Mela Festival A summary of the launch can be found in Edinburgh Spotlight. Picks and Previews for 2010
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