Bulawayo Morning Mirror Edition 910 - 23/12/2020

ZIMBABWE ACADEMY OF MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS BULAWAYO

Tel: 60684 / 67195 E-mail: zamfriends@gatorzw.co.uk

The Note, the Academy coffee shop, is open and is available for take-aways and deliveries as well as light meals before evening DVDs.

In recent years there's been a pre-Christmas dinner at the last DVD before Christmas Day and a dinner on New Year's Eve.
We'd like to continue the tradition but need to be sure of a minimum number.
In order for us to decide whether to go ahead, please could you let us know if you would be interested
in joining us for one or both of these dinners with an e-mail to music@gatorzw.co.uk.
That won't be an unbreakable commitment but would give us a good enough idea of whether or not to go ahead!

WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER AT 5.30 P.M. SCROOGE
The spirit of Christmas becomes a musical celebration of life in this rousing adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Mean-spirited and stingy, Ebenezer Scrooge has a sour face and a 'humbug' for anyone who crosses his path. But on this Christmas Eve, he will learn the terrible fate that awaits him if he continues his miserly ways. Filled with joyous songs, this delightful tale has enriched the lives of young and old alike for generations.

The umpteenth musical version of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is blessed with several sprightly Leslie Bricusse songs, including the bona fide hit Thank You Very Much. Buried under mounds of latex, Albert Finney is perfection itself as Ebenezer Scrooge, proving as effective as a young (un-made up) man as the old skinflint we've grown to love. The Three Ghosts who turn the miserly Scrooge's life around on Christmas Eve are portrayed by Edith Evans (Past), Kenneth More (Present) and Paddy Stone (Yet to Come) and also notable among the huge, predominantly British supporting cast is Sir Alec Guinness as a fussy, slightly effeminate Marley's Ghost. Best of all, Finney performs his many songs 'live' and not lip-synched to a pre-recording.
Scrooge is more than satisfactory Yuletide entertainment.
- This is BY FAR the best movie about Scrooge you will ever see! The music is OVER THE MOON FANTASTIC...the story impeccably told...the acting by Albert Finney...Oscar worthy... [Amazon]
- This film is an underrated classic family musical. In the spirit and tradition of Oliver! and My Fair Lady, with an energetic memorable score and an eclectic cast all on top form. Sir Alec Guinness, Dame Edith Evans and the wonderful Kenneth Moore support magnificently. Moore in one of the last roles before his untimely death, clearly enjoying hamming it up as the ghost of Christmas Present carrying the miserable Scrooge along for the ride of his life whilst singing 'I like life!' is a joy to see. But Finney's performance is the standout. [IMDb]
Finney's performance as cold-hearted Scrooge is a professional high-water mark. [Variety]Full Review
- Director Ronald Neame's well-paced film captures the period beautifully, and the acting is superb, with Finney and Alec Guinness, as Marley's ghost, real standouts. [TV Guide]
Admission: US$1.00 [free to Film Members]

THURSDAY 24 DECEMBER AT 5.30 P.M. THE NUTCRACKER / 7.30 P.M. KING'S COLLEGE CAROLS
In the Royal Ballet's 2000 production of Tchaikovsky's ballet, with Anthony Dowell as Herr Drosselmeyer and Alina Cojocaru as Clara, Tchaikovsky's unforgettable score combines with the magical choreography inspired by Lev Ivanov in an atmosphere of fantasy and the supernatural. Hoffman's Christmas story unfolds with breath-taking splendour and beauty in the most festive and enduring of all ballets.
After a short break there will be a traditional service of lessons and carols from King's College, Cambridge.
Admission to both or either is US$1.00 [free to Red Carpet members]
- Peter Wright's production is gloriously traditional, brilliantly choreographed, lavishly spectacular...The camera is always in the right place and Tchaikovsky's miraculously inspired score, of which one never tires, is marvellously played... [The Penguin Guide]
- Peter Wright's traditional production of The Nutcracker is lovely Christmas stuff, with lots of tutus and tiaras. [The Mail on Sunday]
- This is about as good as it gets. This is THE best Nutcracker I have found. You have everything and Anthony Dowell as well. The Sugar Plum Fairy is just superb and the whole story is told in full with all the characters fully represented. Principle dancers are all absolutely faultless. I loved every minute and I just don't think it is possible to better this. [Amazon]
- One almost feels privileged to watch... guaranteed to get you in the mood for Christmas. [Classic FM]
- Perhaps the finest Christmas choral performances ever recorded on DVD. The Chapel exhibits gorgeous Pre-Reformation beauty especially in the candle light, matched by the outstanding singing of the choir. Stunning views of the rare fan vaulted roof. Classic and elegant. [Amazon]

THURSDAY 31 DECEMBER AT 5.30 P.M. NEW YEAR'S EVE / BERLIN PHILHARMONIC FRENCH NIGHT
'New Year's Eve' is a romantic comedy along the lines of 'Love Actually' in which people from different walks of life get their lives intertwined when they embark on a quest to find happiness on New Year's Eve. The film has an 'ensemble cast' of Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Jake T. Austin, Hilary Swank, and Sofia Vergara. The critics hated it but audience reaction was very favourable - for example, 'Don't listen to critics, they rarely have feelings and art is interpreted differently by anyone on any day....this film is adorable.. heart-warming, uplifting, smile inducing and perfect for a fluffy, fill you with hope two- hour therapy session...enjoy the beautiful people face their challenges handle them and project hope...'
After the interval THE 'French Night' conducted by Sir Simon Rattle includes 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', 'Carnival of the Animals' and 'Bolero'.
THURSDAY 7 JANUARY AT 5.30 P.M. WITHOUT A CLUE
Starring Michael Caine and ben Kingsley, 'Without a Clue' is farcical take on the Sherlock Holmes stories, which proposes that Holmes is as dashing as ever, but with a little secret: Dr.Watson is the brains behind the operation. Watson scripts all of Holmes' solutions, having discovered that while people would believe in Holmes, no one was ready to accept, Dr.Watson, Crime Doctor. When Reginald Kincaid, the actor he has hired to play Holmes becomes insufferable, Watson fires him and tries to go out on his own, but finds that he has done all too good a job building Holmes up in the public's mind, especially when the ill-matched pair find themselves the victims of the villainous Moriarty.
Admission: US$1.00 [free to Film Members]

FRIDAY 8 JANUARY AT 5.30 P.M. LA FILLE MAL GARDEE
Ever since it's triumphant premiere in January 1960, Frederick Ashton's 'La fille mal gardee' has been esteemed as one of his happiest creations. This is a charming piece, elegantly performed, a village love affair set in the idyllic Constable landscape of Ashton's imagination. Marianela Nuñez and Carlos Acosta would be show-stoppers in almost any suitable role, but as Lise and Colas they are superb. William Tuckett and Jonathan Howells, in the comic roles of Simone and Alain respectively, are every bit as arresting, both displaying a certain genius for knockabout. The luminously colourful Osbert Lancaster designs, together with the vitality of The Royal Ballet's dancing and vibrant playing from the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House under the baton of Anthony Twiner, serve to augment the harmless good fun at which Ashton excels.
Admission: US$1.00 [free to Red Carpet members]

THURSDAYS 14, 21 & 28 JANUARY AT 5.30 P.M. LINE OF DUTY - SERIES 2
A police convoy escorting a civilian under a witness protection scheme is attacked. The witness is hospitalised and all police officers are killed - with the exception of Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton, who organised the operation. The second series of 'Line of Duty' follows Superintendent Ted Hastings, DS Steve Arnott and DC Kate Fleming as they lead an investigation into whether Denton was involved or merely an innocent victim.
Admission: US$1.00 [free to Red Carpet members]

FRIDAY 15 JANUARY AT 5.30 P.M. ROSSINI: LA CENERENTOLA (GLYNDEBOURNE)
This is a performance that meets the Glyndebourne gold standard, truly marvellous on all counts - staging, conducting and singing. Sir Peter Hall manages to breathe new life into the routines without ever slipping over into farce, while exploring each character in some depth. The sense of an ensemble on top form is underlined by Vladimir Jurowski's exacting, pellucid and vivid interpretation, so that the music, like the libretto, is presented afresh. The superb cast has no weaknesses and many strengths, Ruxandra Donose, uses her wide range and rich tone to startling effect. Her youthful (24-year-old) partner, Russian tenor Maxim Mironov, proves an ideal Ramiro, fluent in every aspect of his role and delivering its appreciable demands in a light, pliant voice of delicate beauty. [Gramophone]
Admission: US$1.00 [free to Red Carpet members]