Launch of Bristol Proms at old Vic

[Guest]

Bristol’s Old Vic is combining past traditions with recent advances in technology to present the Bristol Proms, running from July 29 to August 3. Led by the theatre’s artistic director Tom Morris, the 2013 Proms hark back to the boisterous concerts performed at the Old Vic in the 18th and 19th centuries, but with a digital, interactive twist

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/bristol-old-vic-launches-proms-for-a-modern-age

http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/bristolproms.html

[clive heath]

If a non-musical response is allowed then it is a great pleasure to recall my visits ( school trips ) to the Old Vic in the 50s where I saw "Pygmalion" and "Waiting for Godot" both of which had Peter O'Toole in the cast but it was the Beckett in which he stood out as "Vladimir". Patrick Stewart had just joined the Theatre School and had seen the same performance as he recalled when he himself played the same role in the West End recently. Another thread allowed one to post close encounters and in that spirit I mention that PS was sitting in the row behind us (at another Old Vic) for "Resurrection Blues" to the delight of some of the younger generation nearby.

[french frank]

It's rather on the lines of Caliban's 'Damned Chamber Music' series - and presumably after a similar audience?

For myself, I think of listening to music an auditory experience and don't want the distraction of visuals. The recently troubled BOV (it closed abruptly a few years ago and has only recently reopened) may want to pull in new audiences as much as making classical music more appealing.