Irish Times writers review the latest concerts and shows.
Tinney, Cassard, MacGregor, Bantry House, Co Cork
Beethoven - Piano Sonatas 11-15
With the Sonata in B flat, Op 22, the Beethoven piano-sonata cycle at Bantry House finally reached the 19th century, and the third programme, on Monday evening, also included probably the most famous of all sonatas, the Moonlight.
Some patterns to the playing styles have now become quite clear. Hugh Tinney, who played Op 22, is the most sober and restrained of these three performers. His musicianly approach sometimes seems a little wanting in temperament, but his thoughtfulness and care produce the most consistent results.
Philippe Cassard created the greatest surprise on Monday by taking the opening movement of the Moonlight at an unyieldingly brisk pace. Sadly, he ditched much if not most of the movement's uniquely appealing character in the process. And he flew in a fury at the finale, brewing up a level of storm that threatened all too consistently to tilt into disorder. Even in his more controlled performance of the Sonata in A flat, Op 26, he seemed concerned to heighten contrasts a little unnaturally - to spotlight foreground and darken background - as if he were placing Beethoven closer to the manners of a later period in the 19th century.
Joanna MacGregor, who played the Sonata in E flat, Op 27 No 1, and the Sonata in D, Op 28, is proving a law unto herself.
Her manner is wild and passionate but, sadly, also all too arbitrary-seeming in expression, loose in detail and, at times, uncomfortably close to the sort of parodies of classical performers that have long been found useful on stage and screen. What her unsettled and unsettling playing has to do with a Beethoven who's not the tousled, anguished, misunderstood genius of a screenwriter's imagination is at times hard to work out. - Michael Dervan
Singin' In The Rain, Everyman Palace, Cork
There are several contenders for the prize of scene-stealer in this enchanting Goldenboy production of the classic musical about the impact of the talkies on Hollywood: the last-minute replacement of the second male lead, the dance sequences that merge into acrobatic fantasy, the rain itself.
Outdoing them all is Shirley McCarthy as Lina Lamont, star of the silent screen. This is an actress with an attractive and well-trained singing voice; here she turns it into an instrument of torture that would not have shamed Torquemada. She also has all the best lines in a funny, light-hearted and clever show.
The standing ovation at the close of the Everyman event - an Irish première - was a salute to the adrenalin-filled audacity of Mark Connell, who arrived on Saturday to take the place of the injured Simon Coulthard and who injected both personality and expertise into a physically demanding role.
But it also acknowledged the courage of the entire cast, which performed with unruffled style. Courage too is a characteristic of Edward Baker-Daly's playing of Lamont's screen partner, Don Lockwood, tapping away despite areas of slippery danger on the drenched stage. Romantic lead Kathy Selden brings charm and substance to her role, displaying the commitment that seems to have energised everyone, from the orchestra under David Hayes to the dancers trained by Donna Daly Blyth to the film director Padraig Trehy and, crucially, sound designer Tony Heron and rain-maker Dave O'Leary.
A slight quibble is possible here and there, but the production values are so high and Marion Wyatt's direction so intrepid that it would be silly to mention any fault in this marvellous recapturing of an era both brilliant and innocent. - Mary Leland
Runs until March 25th
