Michael Tanner

Reflexive and reflective

<strong>Punch and Judy</strong><br /> <em>Linbury Studio</em> <strong>La vie parisienne</strong><br /> <em>Guildhall School of Music and Drama</em>

issue 29 March 2008

Punch and Judy
Linbury Studio

La vie parisienne
Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Harrison Birtwistle’s Punch and Judy is very much a piece of its time, the late 1960s, but returning to it after many years I was pleasantly surprised to find how much of it remains fresh and invigorating. Music Theatre Wales mounted three performances at the Linbury, and in a few weeks there will be a new production of it by ENO. It seemed to fit perfectly into the limited space of the Linbury, the orchestra behind the stage, and it has enough of the feel of a fairground entertainment to make the idea of it in a large and more formal setting odd, but we can only hope for a fascinating transformation.

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