Musica Viva Australia Presents: A captivating tapestry of William Bolcom’s cabaret songs, Delving into life’s complexities and the playful dance of comedy and love
Constantine Costi uncovers the emotional layers using humour and musical storytelling in Long Lost Loves (and Grey Suede Gloves); a one-woman show he wrote and directed, set to tour nationwide this February and March.
Presented by Musica Viva Australia and featuring mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley and Australia’s acclaimed pianist Michael Curtain, the production weaves together William Bolcom’s cabaret songs.
The collection of “scattered stories about love and loss” aims to explore life’s complexities, the nuances of love, and the significance of living in the present moment.
Read the full story (neokosmos.com)
The production ran in 2024 in these Australian venues:
Newcastle 20 February 7:30pm
Brisbane, Powerhouse 22 February 7pm
Canberra, Playhouse 1 March 7pm
Sydney 4 March 7pm
Melbourne 5 March 7pm
Adelaide 7 March 7:30pm
Perth 10 March 6:30pm
Read the ArtsReview.com.au review:
“Long Lost Loves (and Grey Suede Gloves) contains twenty Bolcom songs. The longest, Oh Close the Curtain, runs about five minutes, while there are several, including Surprise!, Lady Luck and Satisfaction (sorry Mick, Bolcom got there first!) take only around one minute each to perform.
Of the twenty songs, perhaps the two most popular, Song of Black Max, and the exquisite Waitin are offered as encores, while the rest, including Toothbrush Time, At the Last Lousy Moments of Love, and Amor are shoe-horned into a concocted narrative around a group of friends attending the wake for a character named George, then expressing their recollections of George through Bolcom’s songs.”