An interesting stage play of Strauss and Zweig in Collaboration at the Duchess Theatre

It has been a few years since I last read Tim Ashley's biography of Richard Strauss.
The period after the fall of the Weimar Republic leading to the end of
World War II was difficult for Strauss - both creatively and
personally. After all, he had written his popular and successful operas by this stage and Hoffmansthal was dead. Therefore, it was fascinating to see Collaboration by Ronald Harwood at the Duchess Theatre where the relationship of Strauss and Stefan Zweig was portrayed.

Michael Pennington and David Horovitch played Strauss and Zweig respectively. The slightly overbearing Pauline Strauss was played by Isla Blair. The play had a very domestic setting - in sitting rooms, hotel rooms, etc. There were pensive moments as well as emotional outbursts. The drama vividly portrayed how two creative men worked under the most difficult circumstances - their main output, Die schweigsame Frau, only had a tiny bit of airing. Many of the dialogues were necessarily conjectural, nonetheless it was a delight to see this period of Strauss enacted on stage.

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Dialogues des Carmélites at the Royal Opera

Michael Levine's set design for Dialogues des Carmélites was minimalist. Actually, was there any set design? I suppose the director Robert Carsen was clever at introducing formation of human figures in many different ways to suggest the context of the opera. It kind of worked. Blanche, sung by Sally Matthews, was pretty good. Though I did find the whole work quite tedious - I think the intimate nature of the dialogues needed a small and intimate performing space i.e. not the Royal Opera House. The ending was worth waiting for. Dramatic. Poignant.

Strauss Four Last Songs and Sibelius 5 - Singapore Symphony

The evening concert started with the overture of Lohengrin. Jukka-Pekka Saraste took a poised temple and the strings of Singapore Symphony rose to the ocassion to provide that mythical sound. This probbaly was intedned to set the mood for the Four Last Songs - I guessed. Evelina Dobračeva was the star soprano. Frühling got off to a sure, if a little safe start. The best was probably Beim Schlafengehen, sung with great stillness. September and Im Abendrot felt unblanaced - Dobračeva's subtle words were somehow lost among the swell of orchestral sound. This was followed by Morgen - probbaly the best song of the evening, perhaps the very light orchestration helped. Jukka-Pekka Saraste and SSO were on surer footing with Sibelius 5. The first movement was brisk with lightness and details. The second and last movements felt cohesive, leading to the well known tune in the finale. If only there were more people in the concert hall to enjoy the music.

Xuan Spa, Park Hyatt Saigon

After a long day on my feet travelling from frantic Bangkok to Saigon, I very much looked forward to a relaxing massage before going to bed. The Xuan Spa was a very pleasant surprise. The staff was very friendly and the atmosphere of the spa was tranquil - a world away from the screaming mopeds on the streets outside. The therapy room was big, with an en suite shower and lovely foot bath. The massage was good - classical Swedish - and at a leisurely pace. Subsequently I had a very good night's sleep.

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