I said last Sunday that I had two outings to chose from – and after telling you about The Tempest last week (which finished last night at Stratford) this week it’s Rufus Does Judy at the Albert Hall, which was basically the culmination of a near 20 year dream for me. But before we get to the review, the TV version of Scamanda is now on BBC iPlayer (having previously been on Disney+ in the UK). I saw someone watching this on their phone on the way home the other day – and noticed the BBC logo on the top corner and thought it was worth mentioning!
Back in 2006, Rufus Wainwright re-created Judy Garland’s legendary Carnegie Hall concert from 1961. After that first (double) performance at Carnegie Hall, he performed it in London twice in early 2007 and also Paris The Carnegie Hall original was recorded and released as a double CD in 2007. He also performed the concert at the Hollywood Bowl and then a couple of years later at the Royal Opera House. I have owned the CD since not that long after it was released – and tried and failed to get tickets to the Royal Opera House in 2011. So when I was served an advert on Instagram for a 20th anniversary version of the concert at The Royal Albert Hall for “the last time” I booked immediately, without needing to think about it at all.
All of which is to say that my expectations for this were frighteningly high. I listened to the album more times than I care to recall and Wainwright is one of my favourite artists generally – I think I’ve seen him in concert more than I’ve seen any other artist as you may remember from when I went to see him twice in the same night at the Proms. But the good news is that it was brilliant. The orchestra (conducted by Stephen Oremus) sounded fabulous and Rufus was on great form. The special guests on the night were Rufus’s sister Martha – who as you know I also love – and was part of the original concert album too and Nicole Scherzinger, who was not there 20 years ago, but made for an interesting addition and was wearing an amazing black sequinned dress which looked like a glittery oil slick (that’s a compliment). Also, I really loved Martha’s long shirt dress – I would totally wear that although maybe not in that bright red-orange. I thought the sound mix needed a little more Rufus and a little less of the of the band – but it was actually pretty good from where I was sat five rows back in the Rausing circle. If you want to know where I was, in picture 11 of the insta post below I was just to the right of the follow spot underneath the arches at the top.
Do I regret not spending more on my ticket to be closer? Well, yes a little – but it got very expensive to be closer and lower down front on – I think everything below me was over £100 and although I loved my seats in the choir for Want One and Want Two I knew that Rufus was going to be playing some piano himself in those so I would get a little bit of his face from where I was and as I said at the time it was a bit heavy on the brass there. So, on balance I think I did the right thing – I was front on, the sound was good and it was still one of the most expensive tickets I’ve had this year – on a par with the Branagh last weekend which was in a much smaller space. The bit I do regret is the large glass of wine I bought – which cost me more than I wish to admit and definitely more than I’ve ever spent on a drink at a venue before. I will remember that when it comes to my next trip to the RAH – which as it stands will be for a Prom in August.
Have a great Sunday!
Verity Reads Books (lots of them) 