Classical Brits 2008 .

xcept · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 9:57 pm Post subject:

A personal account of the Classical Brit Awards evening from xbons

Classic Brit Awards May 8th 2008

A beautiful summer's day - bright, warm, sunny….. Perfect weather for standing outside the Royal Albert Hall, waiting to see the arriving guests for the Classical Brit Awards - and perfect for sitting on the steps of the Albert Memorial for a picnic after the guests had gone into the Hall and before the awards ceremony began! Perfect, too, for showing off the dresses of the guests - and for complying with the instruction on tickets - first time I have seen this! - that the dress code for females was cocktail dresses!

First to arrive were Hayley Westenra and Jonathan Ansell, who were to duet together during the ceremony, in a double seat at the back of a motor bike, Hayley in a long lime green dress, Jonathan in a silvery grey suit. Other arrivals were Nicola Benedetti in a fabulous dark blue / purple dress, very close fitting in the bodice but floaty in the skirt, which suited her brilliantly and was one of the "dresses of the evening" among out group; Natasha Marsh and Lesley Garret, both in silver; Sarah Brightman in - well, black…..; Danielle De Niese in a beautiful red dress; Anna Netrebko in a - hm…. shades of the swan dress worn by Bjork in 2001!; All Angels in dresses ranging in colours from lime green, to pale blue to dark blue to purple; Jane Asher looking far too young(!) in a dress that merged from light grey on the bodice too dark at the hem. And of course there were the men! _ Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, Brian Blessed, Alfie Boe, Andrea Boccelli… And lastly arrived Myleene Klass, in a long - very long! - bright yellow dress. There are excellent pictures on various sites, but some of the best are on

CLICK HERE See also CLICK HERE
and also:
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE

There are also excellent photos on the individual forums of various artists.

Inside the hall was set up as usual, with the arena divided into the orchestra area near the stage, and the rear arena having the tables, each seating about 10 people, where the guests had dined. As in previous years, a long staircase led up from the body of the arena to the stage, with barlights up the stairs and across the front of the orchestra. The stage was a dark navy colour, with stars sparkling in the sky as we went in; again, as in previous years, the lighting on the stage altered throughout the evening, as did the background of the stage, with the mood of the performances being reflected in the lighting colours. There were three tall pillars at the back left of the stage, with large leaf effects across them, and at the front of the stage on the right were four more pillars, three in a group and a single one - the surface of all the pillars looked a bit like large silver birch trees! A rushes effect at the front left of the stage covered the entrance the presenters used as they later came onstage, and a huge swirl of bark effects hung from the ceiling, curving from the back to the front on the right. And, as in previous years, screens were positioned high up on either side of the stage with the wording "NSI" and "Classical Brit Awards".

We could see in the arena, sitting at the various tables, Hayley, Lesley, Anna, Julian and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alfie, Jonathan ……. but there is always so much massing of people and so many guests there moving round the tables, speaking with each other, that it is not always easy to pick out everyone!

The screens went blank, the background lightened to grey with streaks across the "sky", and then darkened as the performance began. Without any introduction, Sarah Brightman led Andrea Bocelli on to the stage. Sarah had changed into a long red dress and looked a good deal better!!! The background was now an orangey/brown colour, and after a quick kiss, Andrea and Sarah sang 'Canto della terra' (Song of the Earth). The information in the programme states: "the song's love lyrics evoke the romantic transformation from night's darkness into a bright new day" and to echo this, the background lightened to yellow and a huge, shiny sun rose slowly into the sky behind as they sang. Unfortunately the sound appeared to be too loud, a fault which was, apparently, corrected later, as the rest of the evening sounded less discordant and less overwhelming to the ears.

The stage darkened, a choir came on behind, and then Myleene was introduced as the presenter for the evening, and came down the stairs from the left wearing another very long frock - longer if possible!! - in a pale lilac colour, looking somewhat like a bridal dress. She introduced the nominees for the Young British Classical Performer Award - Kate Royal, Lawrence Power and Nicola Benedetti - and snatches of each nominee performing were shown on the side screens. Nicola was declared the winner and the award was presented by Laurence Llewelyn Bowen. Nicola, who looked fantastic in her dark blue dress, did a slight trip a she mounted the stairs - and was able to laugh it off in her (very good) acceptance speech.

The second performer, according to the programme, was meant to be Nigel Kennedy playing Csárdás by Vittorio Monti. However, a rather public falling out with the classical brit organisers. ("I'm not going to let some old farts dictate my musical decisions" said Nigel: "Nigel is a great artist with a unique vision, but artistic differences proved insurmountable" said the co-chairmen of the awards!!!!) meant that he did not appear. Instead Australian born, now US resident soprano Danielle De Niese (website: http://www.danielledeniese.com/ ) came on in the same lovely red dress she had appeared in on the red carpet - see CLICK HERE
scroll down to rows 8,9,10. I am afraid I cannot remember what she sang; suffice to say it was a well-known operatic aria, and she sang with great presence.

Next we had the Critics Award - presented by the larger than life Brian Blessed, wearing, for some reason a green scarf! The nominees were: Janácek 'The Makropulos Case' - English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Janácek 'String Quartet No 1' - Pavel Haas String Quartet; and Bach 'Cello Suites' - Steven Isserlis, and the winner was Steven Isserlis. Having received his award, Steven said he was about to play "the saddest piece I know - but one of the most sublime pieces in the world." He moved to a chair which had been placed in the centre of the stage, suddenly said "oh I need my cello"!!! and had to go off stage to fetch it! The stage darkened to a deep red, and Steven played unaccompanied. I must confess to not knowing the piece he played (according to the programme - the 'Sarabande' from Cello Suite no 5 in C by J S Bach) and it was indeed very sombre - somewhat against the cheery feeling of the general proceedings. And then the orchestra played alone, while behind, the stage-hands altered the set, quickly and quietly, including bringing on a piano and some long steps/platforms to create different levels.

Last year the categories of Male Artist and Female Artist of the year were merged into "Singer of the Year", which was won by Anna Netrebko. This year the categories were divided up again into Male and Female - but included all categories of artist, mixing singers with instrumentalists, and in the case of the males, with a conductor. The winner of the Male Artist was announced - Sir Colin Davis, who beat Alfie Boe and Rolando Villazón and whose album had included Elgar's Enigma Variations, some Sibelius and some Beethoven - and snatches of Elgar's Nimrod were played as he went up to the stage to receive his award from Jane Asher. We noticed one touching moment - Alfie Boe rose to his feet to applaud Sir Colin Davis. He was the only person who did so, something which touched us all in the group I was in.

The programme said Anna Netrebko was due to perform next, singing 'Les filles de Cadiz' - but there was a second change of schedule, and we jumped straight to the next performance, the appearance of Josh Groban. This was the first time I had seen Josh perform live and I could certainly see why he was popular! He first sang 'February Song', accompanying himself on the piano, with a choir on the platform steps behind to provide backing. The stage was bathed in yellow light, and on the screen behind hung an enormous moon. As the song built to a climax, the full auditorium lights came on too. Very enjoyable!

The Female artist of the Year (between Angela Hewitt - piano, Anna Netrebko - soprano and Natalie Clein - cello) was won by Anna Netrebko - in a way for the second year running! Anna went up, still in her strange white dress! to be presented with the award by Annie Lennox. The sky in the background to the stage went grey, with cloud effects, and Josh came back on, accompanied by a pianist so that he was able, for 'Smile', to stand at the front to the stage to sing. The stage colouring lightened, with yellowy lighting, which rather echoed the words of the song! and Josh ended on a well held, falsetto note.

After the interval, we had David Garrett (born in Germany), Valeriy Sokolov (born in the Ukraine, currently studying in England) and Xuefei Yang (born in China, now living in London). (What an international evening the "Classical Brits" is! After all, we also had performances from an Italian (Andrea Bocelli), an American (Josh Groban), a Russian (Anna Netrebko) and a New Zealander (Hayley Westenra). The two violinists stood at the front of the stage, backed by Xuefei Yang, in a lovely black dress with a dark maroon panel on the skirt, sitting on a chair and playing her guitar, in Pablo de Sarasate's 'Navarro Opus 33'. They were an interesting trio, the music was bright and lively, the stage lighting a bright green effect to match.

Next was the presentation of the Soundtrack of the Year - between 'Atonement' by Dario Marinelli, 'Blood Diamond' by James Newton Howard, and 'Elizabeth - The Golden Age' by Craig Armstrong. The winner was James Newton Howard, and the award was presented by Margherita Taylor, currently presenting on classicfm. And then the duet of Hayley Westenra and Jonathan Ansell - 'Un giorno per noi' by Nino Rota. We had seen Hayley in a very attractive black dress in the arena, but she had changed back in to the long green dress for the performance; and it was indeed a performance rather than just a "singing". The background was a deep purple and blue; Hayley entered from the left, and Jonathan from the right, meeting in the centre of the stage, which had lightened to a pale grey, and it was a duet in which they truly sang to each other.

Another orchestral piece followed - the overture to 'The Barber of Seville'. While the orchestra was playing, the stage hands were on stage again, organising for a later performance. But firstly we had the Lifetime achievement award, presented by Michael Grade to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. "In the West End" he said, introducing his subject, " you are never more that three feet away from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical!" As Sir Andrew mounted the stairs, the choir, again dressed in simple black, filed once more onto the back of the stage, and a choirboy - Andrew Swait from "The Choirboys" - moved to stand centre stage. Firstly, the award was presented to Sir Andrew, who said he felt that his brother Julian deserved it more than him, and then dedicated his award to their father, Bill, who had supported them both in the musical careers. Sarah Brightman came on stage, now dressed on a simple black dress, which suited her much better; Michael Grade asked Myleene if she intended going home on the bus in her long, weddingy lilac dress(!), and then we had the 'Pie Jesu' from Lloyd Webber's "Requiem". I am afraid that I rather preferred young Andrew's voice to Sarah Brightman's! And I think others felt the same. The stage was very lightly lit, and dry ice rose around the feet of the singers - the whole effect was very appropriately simple and ethereal.

Finally - the award for the NSI Album of the Year. This was presented by Simon Bates, and went to - Blake. The four fellows, all smartly dressed in black suits with black ties, stood up from their seats and filed up on stage to accept their award and make their speeches. They spoke individually - Dom first, who actually accepted the award, followed by Steven, Ollie and then Jules (thanks to xantha for identifying them for me!!) And a lovely touch - having thanked the public for voting for them, Jules dedicated the award - "to you".

Meanwhile Anne Netrebko had led Andrea back on stage for the last performance of the evening, the 'Brindisi', or drinking song, from "La Traviata". Anna was now in a fabulous long black dress, sparkling and shimmering, and set off by a diamonds worth, so it was reported, £1.5 million! She had apparently defied doctors' orders so that she could sing despite being five months' pregnant. Andrea, in contrast, was in a white suit, and the stage lighting, which started as a pale mauve, shaded through to a grey green colour.

And so the end approached - and suddenly to, I think, everyone's surprise, there was a large POP and multicoloured streamers started to fall from the Albert Hall ceiling! We finished the evening with lots of laughter - I can still see my neighbour pulling the long, long streamer from the shoulder of the gentlemen in front, on and on, and he hardly seemed to notice! And then a camera swung round in front of us, streamers falling from the lens!

The usual accolades? We could not agree, of course! Dress of the evening - I definitely went for Nicola's, while xantha liked Myleene's yellow arrival dress. And WOW of the evening ? - nothing stood out quite as clearly as in previous years; I would probably have to say the duet with Andrea and Anna, although I have to admit to enjoying more Anna's solo performance the last time I heard her sing at the classic brits in 2005.
After the ceremony was over, we spoke for a few minutes with Hayley, smiling as ever! And then went round to the stage door to wait for Blake, as xantha, understandably enough, wanted to speak with them briefly. Two final touches to give amusement and pleasure! - Myleene saying "you'll find me on page 4" (of the programme) when asked for her autograph! And the opportunity to see, and indeed to touch, Blake's award!

The classical brits will be broadcast Thursday, May 15th at 10.35 - 11.50 on ITV 1

from xbons

Penny · Joined: Jan 14, 2006 Posts: 94

It was a very condensed version that was shown on ITV1 last night. Sarah Brightman appeared to be miming and seemed very disconnected with her duet with Andrea. I thought Josh Groban was outstanding - good to see a classical crossover artist appearing. I would have liked to have seen Alfie Boe win at least one of his 2 nominations as well.

xantha · Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 5:31 am Post subject:

It was a wonderful evening - I don't think I've ever seen so many Classicalx featured artists in one place at any one time! Smile

Thanks for a very detailed and descriptive report Xbons, reading it was like reliving the whole thing over again. Smile

You also mentioned a few behind the scenes things I'd forgotten about which is nice as it made the evening more memorable.Great to see the show on ITV last night, there's nothing better than being in a place live to soak up the atmosphere but seeing all the hi-lights on TV again (and with technical difficulties ironed out) was wonderful.

cathyk2002 · Joined: Sep 18, 2007 Posts: 675

xantha · Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 4:59 am Post subject:

The Classical Brits 2008 Album is on sale now as a 2-CD Box Set

Track Listing:

Disc: 1

1. Hallelujah - Blake
2. Attesa - Sarah Brightman
3. Amazing Grace 2007 - Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
4. "O soave fanciulla" - Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Staatskapelle Dresden, Nicola Luisotti
5. Csardas - Gypsy Dance - David Garrett
6. Sonata In F: Andante un poco adagio - Lawrence Power
7. Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer - Fron Male Voice Choir
8. One Fine Day - Hayley Westenra
9. The Heart asks Pleasure First - Myleene Klass
10. Nothing Compares 2 U - All Angels
11. Ave verum corpus, K.618 - Adapted by Chris Hazell - Bryn Terfel, London Symphony Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth, London Voices, Terry Edwards
12. Enigma Variations: Nimrod - Colin Davis
13. In Trutina (from Carmina Burana) - Kate Royal, Carl Orff
14. Robbies Note - Dario Marianelli
15. Ave maria - motet, 5vv - The Sixteen, Harry Christophers

Disc: 2

1. The Lark Ascending - Nicola Benedetti
2. Here's To The Heroes - Jonathan Ansell
3. "Quando me'n vò" (Musette's Waltz) - Anna Netrebko, Wiener Philharmoniker, Gianandrea Noseda
4. Caruso - Cortes
5. A Gaelic Blessing - Alfie Boe
6. Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Major Op. 6: Allegro vivace - Nigel Kennedy, Polish Chamber Orchestra, Jacek Kaspszyk
7. Sancta Maria - Katherine Jenkins
8. Horseriding - Craig Armstrong, A.R. Rahman
9. Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana (From La Wally) - Natasha Marsh
10. Andare - Ludovico Einaudi
11. Cello Concerto in E Minor Op. 85: 1 - Adagio-moderato - Natalie Clein, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley
12. Panis Angelicus - The Choir Boys
13. Solomon Finds Family - James Newton Howard
14. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte - Sophie Cashell

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON[/img]

cathyk2002 · Joined: Sep 18, 2007 Posts: 675

Some nice tracks on there Smile

_________________

Molly · Joined: Jan 14, 2006 Posts: 516

I loved the tv broadcast of the Classical Brits - looking forward to watching it again this afternoon.

My favourite performances were Jonathan and Hayley (such a beautiful emotional and passionate performance) and the David Garrett trio - surprisingly for me - as the violin is not my favourite instrument - but I thought they were excellent.

I liked Andrea and Anna singing La Traviata too.

I thought the stage was beautiful and the orchestra were superb.

And it was lovely to see some glimpses of the audience and an overview of how it looked at the RAH.

Great show - and well done to all the winners and performers!

Love Molly xx Smile

_________________

Jonathan on Tour...October/November 2008

JessicaL · Joined: Sep 19, 2007 Posts: 543 Location: Belfast

Liking the look of the Classical Brits album -might order that later Very Happy

-like Molly looking forward to watching the repeat of The Classical Brits later-Jonathan and Hayley were the highlight for me but the whole show was just lovely Smile

.
_________________
Jonathan Ansell's official forum Smile

http://jonathanansell.forums.umusic.co.uk/