Irish Times reviwers check out off-the-wall theatre in the form of Big Telly's The Thief; jazz wunderkind, Peter Cincotti and Thierry Fischer with the Ulster Orchestra.
Peter Cincotti
Vicar Street
US wunderkind, singer/pianist/ composer Peter Cincotti came, saw and, as far as the bulk of the audience was concerned, conquered, at Vicar Street last Tuesday. Presented by Note Productions, his quartet got a standing ovation, which seemed a tad over the top for a slickly presented show honed into precision by a hectic touring schedule for the young prodigy and his group in recent months.
Cincotti's band, with Scott Kreizer (tenor), Barak Mory (bass) and Mark McClean (drums), is a tight, capable one; the trio of piano, bass and drums struck an infectious groove on Sway, for instance. But for all the ability of the musicians and their capacity to swing, it never revealed anything more than skilled anonymity.
This was particularly true of Kreizer; amid his impressive dexterity and all-over-the-horn technique, it was difficult to hear anything personal. As an instrumentalist, Cincotti is much the same, but, given the fact that he's just into his 20s, he has years on his side. His time and technique are good, even if his touch is hard, as the pastiche of Errol Garner on After You've Gone heavy-handedly revealed limitations.
His voice is what has won him attention. It's light, with a warm lower register, somewhat pinched higher up. Already it shows signs of wear and tear from constant use, and his intonation was occasionally unsure. But he phrases well and may develop into a stronger interpretative singer than he showed here, especially if he finds his own creative voice through his compositions.
He also has an engaging stage personality, and he clearly enjoys singing old standards. Just as well; we got plenty of them here - Comes Love, You Don't Know Me, I Love Paris, an audience-flattering I Love Being Here With You, and Cherokee, whose non-politically correct lyrics about Indian maids would cause a reservation or two nowadays. But there's no pain in the singing; that comes with living and experience.
His own songs - I Changed The Rules, On The Moon and especially He's Watching - were stronger musically than in terms of lyrics. Understandably, he seemed to identify more readily with them than the standards, which were basically an excuse to have some musical fun and enjoyment. Overall, this was more like a cabaret show than anything else and, taken as such, was an undemandingly pleasant way to pass an hour and a half, if no more than that.
Ray Comiskey
Ulster Orchestra,Thierry Fischer
Ulster Hall, Belfast
Beethoven - Cantata, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage. Violin Concerto. Symphony No 7.
We have heard quite a few performances of Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Seventh Symphony over the years, but the only one that I can recall of his cantata Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, was that given some years ago by students at Queen's University.
A setting of the Goethe poem which inspired Mendelssohn's overture of the same name, the opening captures a feeling of becalmed stasis with a few terse phrases. A striking piece of tone painting from a composer who, it seems, never saw the sea, and well sung by Renaissance, a smallish but fresh-sounding group.
The young Canadian violinist James Ehnes brought a full, golden tone to the concerto. His playing had the traditional warmth of feeling and also the traditional Kreisler cadenzas, the sparkling third movement cadenza in particular standing out. How many violin concertos have such a sparsely-scored slow movement? Here Beethoven gives the soloist an opportunity to commune with the audience, but one felt that the conductor could have allowed him more room. At Fischer's flowing tempi the music slid along too easily, without much sense of involvement.
In the slower parts of the symphony, the second movement, and the Trio sections of the third, Fischer was more relaxed than some present-day performers. He has also clearly given thought to playing styles. But the faster movements were metrical rather than rhythmical, and detail slipped past in the general whirl. Although the Ulster Orchestra strings worked hard, this was one of the cycle's more routine performances.
Dermot Gault
The Thief
Old Museum Arts Centre, Belfast
As the title suggests, Big Telly's zany new one-man show, begs, borrows and steals - from theatre, from television, from the movies, from documentary archive and from old-fashioned magic shows. It brings together actor Michael O'Reilly with writer/visual director/ illusionist Paul McEneaney, director Zoe Seaton and composer Paul Boyd, a creative team that has worked together so many times it has forged a comic shorthand, which occasionally threatens to exclude those on the outside track. In O'Reilly, they have found the perfect fall-guy and accomplice. He plays Vince, a man in a knitted jumper, who leads a solitary, obsessive life, absorbed in whatever crosses his television screen. So familiar has he become with local presenters and celebrities, that he has found a way of penetrating their thoughts and interfering with their thought processes. Against Vince's superior mental control, they haven't a chance - he can even make long odds horses cross the winning line ahead of the pack. But one night he takes a step too far when he infiltrates Gerry Kelly's chat show and comes up against the acerbic wit of James Nesbitt. Stung by Nesbitt and Kelly's dismissal of him, he vows to follow the urging of his hero, escapologist Harry Houdini, to "...do something greater, something more wonderful".
At this point, a new demand is made upon our attention, which has already having been unevenly divided between O'Reilly's engaging, loose-limbed presence and the large and small screens in which he meets and greets his heroes. Vince emerges, sharply suited and initially apprehensive, to involve the unsuspecting audience in some pretty nifty ESP and mind-reading stunts. When a large tank of water is wheeled on, complete with tatty plastic curtains and scruffy stage hands, the intention is clear - to do his own downbeat version of Houdini's famous escape. It is, perhaps, a stunt too far, as the comedic treatment diminishes any real sense of danger. It is more the finishing touch to a evening of barely controlled craziness, which contains some genuine gems of humour and wonder. Strange, very strange.
• The Thief is at the Old Museum until Saturday, March 6th, then tours to Kilmallock, Monaghan, Antrim, Newtownards, Ennis, Listowel, Derry, Armagh, Downpatrick, Letterkenny, Cushendall and Newbridge
Jane Coyle
