The Opera Dudes Russian Around the UK

Mid May - The Dude's "NEW" Show, Russian around the UK!

Mid May – the sun is shining and the Dudes have a brand new tour and a (nearly) brand new show. Russian Around The UK found us rushing around the East Midlands. First stop was Long Whatton. 

This was our third visit to this lovely community and we were made to feel very welcome with lots of friendly faces and even a friendly stage - yes, friendly in the sense that every time you stepped on it, it waved at you! This was no ordinary stage - not passive and immobile like most common or garden stages. No, this very animated construction responded to our every move and even creaked with pleasure at our antics. 

Although it could be described as an 'old stage', the committee had made some very significant improvements; in the past the stage had been held together by orange string. This year, after a very generous donation, the whole stage was adorned and indeed secured with some very glamorous blue string!

Click here to buy

As usual the Long Whatton audience was as lovely as it was receptive and took everything the Dudes could throw at them with pleasure: they were even very happy to be sworn into Russian secret service. Big thanks go to Vivienne, Graham, Murray and the dogs for making us feel so welcome and feeding us - well, the dog didn't actually feed us but he did seem pleased to see us!

It was also a special night for us as we were appearing alongside our new CD - For Your Ears Only - and the audience snapped them up like little flat hot cakes. We sold 16 on Thursday night which was amazing - thank you Long Whatton!

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Friday night saw another return visit - this time to Aslockton. 

The last time we played here it was in the church; this time it was the very splendid brand new Thomas Cranmer Centre, fundraised for by the highly resourceful Sue, who also cooked the tea, laid out the tables and dished up the Hula Hoops - more of those later. 

The Centre is a beautiful creation and makes a lovely venue. Mind you, it does also serve as a bit of a warning to would-be performers as the eponymous Thomas ended up getting a right royal roasting!

Aslockton was the second night of the tour and things were going more smoothly for the Dudes; with new repertoire and new material things can be a bit hairy, but the show was starting to shape up nicely. The audience were warm and receptive; quite a posh lot in Aslockton and they showed their exclusivity in their attitude towards the nibbles. 

 
The crisps were fine, the pretzels - 'mmm delicious darling, I don't mind if I do' - but the large bowl of Hula Hoops bang in front of us were going nowhere. Mr and Mrs Aslockton were definitely not going to be seen guzzling those little blighters!


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Last stop of this first leg of the new tour was Long Sutton in Lincolnshire, close to Kings Lynn, near the borders of Nottinghamshire and Cambridgeshire and, most disconcerting of all, on the edge of Fenland!

We were in the old Corn Exchange, which is appropriate given some of our humour. Met and greeted by the delightful Kay and Mike, we were soon set up and sampling the delights of Kay's cooking. 

The audience were small but almost perfectly formed, which was a relief as we were in the fens, and they enjoyed the variety of music as well as tales of Rossini, Schumacher and Renee and Renato! 

You can say what you like, you certainly get variety in an Opera Dude show. You even get variety amongst the audience - I mean, we even had someone in from Essex on Saturday night! The Royal Box, to Tim's right, was occupied by Long Sutton's finest who, despite having a wonderful spread, never did eat the scotch eggs in front of them.

The Opera Dudes New CD is now out and ready for sale!! 

Follow this link for more details.   

Buy it now

1. Come Fly With Me - Cahn/ Van Heusen
2. Because You’re Mine - Brodszky/ Cahn
3. Sway - Ruiz/ Gimbel
4. Recondita Armonia - Puccini (Tosca)
5. Volare - Modugno/ Paris
6. Prelude in C# Minor - Rachmaninov
7. Impossible Dream Medley - Leigh/ Darion
8. O Sole Mio - Di Capua
9. The Lady Is A Tramp - Rodgers/ Hart plus Allen/ Lole
10. E Lucevan Le Stelle - Puccini (Tosca)
11. Come Prima - Taccani/ di Paola
12. Buona Sera - Sigman/ DeRose
13. On The Street Where You Live - Lerner/ Loewe
14. Time To Say Goodbye - Sartori/ Quarantotto
15. Funiculi Funicula - Denza/ Turco 

The Opera dudes at Thornbury Arts Festival

Saturday 28th April

"Swing it" Dudes

Today was a big night on the current tour, with the Opera Dudes appearing at the Thornbury Arts Festival. This is the closest the Dudes have got to a homecoming for Tim, whose home town is Bristol. We were unsure how the Festival had heard of the Dudes but all was revealed when Artistic Director Liz Wilkins told us that she'd first heard about the Opera Dudes in a snowstorm on top of a Tibetan mountain! Our fame has spread far and wide....

We arrived early in the day with more than enough time to enjoy the extensive delights of Thornbury in the driving rain! We did pay a visit to the famous Riddifords Grocers, which was apparently the inspiration for one of Neil's favourite comedy creations, Open All Hours with Ronnie Barker. No sign of Granville but some d-d-d-delicious looking f-f-f-farmhouse cheeses!

 Saturday's show was ‘Swing It’ - which includes our fantastic four piece band, Jimmy The Lip's All Stars, led by the multi-talented Jim Stretton of ‘Brassed Up’ fame. These four guys - also Iain, Percy and Richard - double up as a jazz quartet and a brass big band section and bring a whole new dimension to the show. Great guys, great players and seriously fancy ties!

We were performing at The Armstrong Hall which, despite its rather tired 1970s aesthetics, is a really nice venue, with an excellent stage and good facilities. People couldn't have been nicer or more helpful and the band were delighted with the spread that was provided; we didn't even get near the tin of chocolate biscuits. 

 We were following on from some pretty starry talent too; Evelyn Glennie earlier in the week and a quick glance at the autograph book revealed previous performers included such names as Stefan Grapelli, Heddle Nash and a certain Margaret Thatcher - apparently she blew one hell of a trumpet (principally her own!)

The show went down a storm - we certainly enjoyed it and the audience response, once they realised what they were in for, got warmer and warmer. Admittedly they were a bit soft in Thornbury - taking pity on poor beleaguered trumpeter Jim and feeling sorry for Neil when Tim finally lost his patience with him, but then this is the West Country. 

Mind you, we had one or two feisty members; when Tim introduced the character of the philandering Duke of Mantua from Rigoletto, one gentleman piped up 'he can keep away from my wife!'

Great comments after the show included 'this was the best night we've had in 23 years!'  Many thanks too to Brian and Peter who did a great job on the lights and sound.

The Opera Dudes New CD is now out and ready for sale!! 

Follow this link for more details.   

Buy it now

1. Come Fly With Me - Cahn/ Van Heusen
2. Because You’re Mine - Brodszky/ Cahn
3. Sway - Ruiz/ Gimbel
4. Recondita Armonia - Puccini (Tosca)
5. Volare - Modugno/ Paris
6. Prelude in C# Minor - Rachmaninov
7. Impossible Dream Medley - Leigh/ Darion
8. O Sole Mio - Di Capua
9. The Lady Is A Tramp - Rodgers/ Hart plus Allen/ Lole
10. E Lucevan Le Stelle - Puccini (Tosca)
11. Come Prima - Taccani/ di Paola
12. Buona Sera - Sigman/ DeRose
13. On The Street Where You Live - Lerner/ Loewe
14. Time To Say Goodbye - Sartori/ Quarantotto
15. Funiculi Funicula - Denza/ Turco 

The Opera Dudes at Laverton in Gloucestershire

Friday 27th April

On behalf of Air In G

Mission Improbable

Friday night saw a welcome return to Laverton in Gloucestershire on behalf of Air In G. We last toured here about five years ago, on our very first season. It is a very picturesque (aka posh) village, nestled in the lush countryside near Broadway and full of warm Cotswold stone cottages. 

It was also full of water on Friday as the rain was lashing down. This made for a very awkward get-in, as there was quite a long path and plenty of opportunity to get soaked – which we duly did. The welcome was warm, however, with a delicious tea served by Bob and his wife.

The Village Hall was much as we remembered: lovely stone building with an interior reminiscent of a manor house hall. There was a new stage in place - on our last visit we remember a more rickety affair - and just enough room to mount our lights in the fireplace! Other hazards included light switches and general power on the same board; press the wrong switch and you turn off the show!!

" the cows have gone mad"

The show was Mission Improbable and it went down well with the Laverton locals. They were a very friendly audience, although those on the front row were invisible – we saw right through them! During the interval Neil met one very well spoken gentleman who said 'we came to see you last time and I have brought some friends along tonight and if the first half is anything to go by, they are going to have a wonderful evening’. Neil also found a kindred spirit, a fellow builder in the audience, who specialised in solar panels. Not much use on Friday mind!

We also had a whole table of women to our left, who seemed to enjoy the show and who certainly enjoyed being serenaded by the Dude Neil.

The evening ending with a wet get-out, just to remind us that life on the road is all glamour. By the time we had finished it felt more like Farmers Weekly than Hello Magazine!

The Opera Dudes New CD is now out and ready for sale!! 

Follow this link for more details.   

Buy it now

 

1. Come Fly With Me - Cahn/ Van Heusen
2. Because You’re Mine - Brodszky/ Cahn
3. Sway - Ruiz/ Gimbel
4. Recondita Armonia - Puccini (Tosca)
5. Volare - Modugno/ Paris
6. Prelude in C# Minor - Rachmaninov
7. Impossible Dream Medley - Leigh/ Darion
8. O Sole Mio - Di Capua
9. The Lady Is A Tramp - Rodgers/ Hart plus Allen/ Lole
10. E Lucevan Le Stelle - Puccini (Tosca)
11. Come Prima - Taccani/ di Paola
12. Buona Sera - Sigman/ DeRose
13. On The Street Where You Live - Lerner/ Loewe
14. Time To Say Goodbye - Sartori/ Quarantotto
15. Funiculi Funicula - Denza/ Turco 

The Opera Dudes in Awre Gloucester

21st April 2012

Saturday night and we were in deepest darkest Gloucestershire. 

The village of Awre - pronounced Are and not, as we thought, Ore. We were met by Mark Awre from Awre. Yes, that's right - effectively Mr Village Himself. 

This was a very special place with a great deal of history. It lies on the  banks of Severn, is very remote and beautiful and is literally at the end of the road, a real step back in time. We were performing in the church, which can be difficult, but luckily this one had all mod cons, including toilet, kettle and heating.

This was a village full of characters and we met them all. There were even one or two from the Forest, but they seemed harmless enough!

Tea was lasagne which was served up in front of the altar - holy delicious! Once the show was under way the audience were very responsive. 

Neil serenaded several ladies - including one regular Opera Dude groupie who blushed deeply as well as a very glamorous lady from Newnham. Neil approached her saying 'I'll be gentle with you' to which she replied ‘That's a shame!!' They breed ‘em hardy down there!

Anyway, the audience pronounced themselves well pleased and so they should be; we taught them a new singing technique and I am sure they will be squeezing for weeks!!

After the show, we went back to Nick and May’s, where we were staying; lovely people and while there we learned the story of their emergent business, Severn Cider which grew out of an old family tradition. 

It’s a fascinating story, great people and wonderful cider - thoroughly recommend you try it.

www.severncider.com

Support Rural touring in your area............ Air in G

 

Opera Dudes in Cassington Oxfordshire

20th of April 2012

After a well-earned Easter break the Opera Dudes are back on the road and this marks our first visit to Oxfordshire, peddling good old-fashioned entertainment on behalf of Good Night Out Rural Touring.

First stop of the day is Radio Oxford, where we are due to appear on the afternoon show with Jo Thoenes. Armed with a delicious cup of BBC tea, we enter the studio and start to tell our life stories. She can’t quite believe that Neil was a builder but she seems genuinely interested. She also tells us her life story, which is equally fascinating. You can hear the interview via this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00qv9fq

 

Next stop is Cassington Village Hall. 

As this is leafy Oxfordshire, it is no surprise to find an immaculate Village Hall finished in gorgeous Cotswold stone. The Hall is impressive and comes complete with lighting rig, stage and complementary flapjacks!

This was a night of firsts: our first gig in Oxfordshire, our first female lighting designer and our first brush with death by chocolate! The lighting designer was the lovely Nicky - who also made the tea and put out all the chairs. Responsible for the chocolate was Carolyn, who organised the event. She also cooked us a delicious Lasagne with garlic bread and salad, followed by the most amazing chocolate mousse, which nearly finished us off.

One of the Locals

We had a good turn out in the hall - seventy plus of the good people of Cassington plus the odd one or two from Eynsham - well, not that odd - and the show went well, despite an early interruption from a sartorially challenged local!

We had a visit in the interval from a gentleman who trod the boards himself in his day – as had his parents -  and who wanted to share his stories with us. He had also traveled to,and lived in South Africa for several years a lovely guy, straight out of  "It ain't half hot Mum" a sitcom from the seventies, for those of you old enough to remember? 

Italliano Stalliano

 

The audience included lots of children who enjoyed the show, sang along and became fluent in Neapolitan. 

We ended up with a standing ovation, so not bad for first day back at the office!

Support Rural Touring....  Oxfordshire Good Night Out Rural Touring.

 

The Opera Dudes at the Heron Theatre Cumbria

Friday 30th March 2012

This was our last date before Easter! It has been a fairly gruelling schedule over the last two months; 18 gigs all over the country plus a recording and we are both ready for a break.

YES SOLD OUT!!

This last date was scheduled for the lovely Heron Theatre in Cumbria. However if Francis Maude and his cronies in the government had had their way, we may never have made it! 'Don't panic' they said, so what did everyone do - panicked! Neil, believing in the reason of mankind, reckoned there was nothing to worry about while Tim - no stranger to panic himself - was counselling an early top-up of the van. Good job we did, the queues deepened as the day went on.

Anyway, we took the Government's advice and finally got under way with a full tank as well as several plastic bags brimming with diesel, along with a sack-full of cut-price first-class stamps and some luke-warm Cornish pasties and headed for Cumbria.

 

Rabbit time!!

The Heron Theatre can be found just off the main road in a little village called Beetham. It is an old school house that has been extended and is dead sweet! With a lovely stage and 80 or so seats in the small auditorium, the place is run as a theatre club with regular professional acts and a dedicated audience. Fantastic set-up, run by people who are passionate about it, it is the kind of place we love.

What do you mean, I can't play it??

The get-in was via a hole in the wall and we were soon set up. We were greeted by the very helpful Stuart, who also improvised a frame with a cloth to sit in front of the piano to cover the wires - more of that later. 

After sampling the local fish and chips and seeing the audience settle in their cosy seats, the show was under way. The first half went very smoothly, the audience enjoying the usual mix of music and mayhem; there were some very enthusiastic would-be ballet dancers among the crowd!

We lika dee ladees!

To open the second half, the Dudes entered as the smooth Italian Mafiosi characters, resplendent in cool shades. However, Tim soon blew his cool by not realising that the cover that Stuart had erected was not as solid as it appeared and as he brushed by, he brought the whole edifice crashing down!

  The audience howled as the Dudes turned into Laurel and Hardy trying to prevent further collapse. Neil's construction skills finally won the day and the show was back on the road.

Further hilarity ensued later in the second half when the lighting desk failed and the Dudes were plunged into blackness. Hasty improvisation on both our part and by the poor lighting engineer, John, meant that disaster was averted. There's a lesson there, Francis Maude!!

The Opera Dudes in Longparish Hampshire

Saturday 24^th March 2012

Our second night in Hampshire this week and we were off to Longparish, a delightful village in the heart of rural Hampshire – all leafy lanes, thatched roofs and ladies with labradors and green willies - or is it thatched ladies, leafy labradors and lots of welly in the lanes, I can never remember?! We arrived to find out that we weren’t performing in the Village Hall but the Community Hall, attached to the Primary School. 

Very nice modern venue – bijou stage, but in moveable chunks, so we could make it work for us. Jelly, ice cream and fizzy pop for the audience, all provided by the delightful David, who wasn’t a leafy-laned, green-wellied, thatched southerner at all but is an East-Midlander like Neil and hails originally from Mansfield. Well, you can’t have everything!

The singing lesson went down a treat

We had a delicious meal – managed not to eat anyone else’s tea (see Blog for 23^rd March in Medstead) and all was going smoothly.

The good burghers of Longparish are a very cultured lot – some more lively that others, no mention of names in the corner – and indeed we had the whole local choir in the audience. No-one was owning up to it, but apparently they were all there! 

You love me really?

However, despite their obvious breeding and cultural awareness, they really seemed to enjoy the show, which is always a good thing. In fact we even had some posh feedback – ‘Absolutely top drawer. We must invite them back next year.’ Don’t worry – we’ll be back!!

Opera dudes in Action!!

The Opera Dudes in Medstead Hampshire

Friday 23rd March 2012

Cod Fathers of Croon

Back down south on behalf of Hog The Limelight to entertain the locals in Hampshire and a return to Medstead. Well almost. You see the last time we were booked by Medstead we actually performed in Four Marks, Medstead having suffered a serious fire. 

However this year, although we were booked by the same people as booked us for Four Marks last year, we were going to Medstead, but we were staying in Four Marks. I hope that’s clear?!!

Now for a singing lesson!!

We go to many places with strange names. We were recently in Longparish, which got its name because it is in a parish that is long. We’ve also recently been to a place called Swayfield, where the fields really do sway. So we were curious about the name of Four Marks, where we stayed. What ancient, interesting provenance did that name have? 

All became clear when we arrived at our accommodation – no names but this national chain provides lodges for people who travel – and we instantly realised that it scored four marks – out of a hundred!!!

mmmm that dinner was nice!!

Not so the Village Hall, a wonderful long venue with a stage large enough to hold about thirty people; shame we didn’t bring our chorus with us this time. Also getting ten out of ten was Mike, who runs this outfit like a crack Roman Centurion. Everything is thought of, the organisation is impeccable and he fills the hall with 130 local residents every time. 

What a star! Apologies, however, to the very friendly Chairman, whose tea we ate thinking it was all meant for us!! What a pair of porkers....

Show went really well; the good people of Medstead/ Four Marks were up for a good night and a good night we gave them.

A showcase evening for Theatre In TheVillages rural touring run by Aylesbury District Council.

Thursday 22nd March 2012

An unusual gig for us today - a round trip to Buckinghamshire for a showcase evening for Theatre In TheVillages rural touring run by Aylesbury District Council.

This was a rare pleasure for us as it meant meeting with and watching other acts who are on the same circuit. The thing about touring is that the one thing you never do is go and see touring acts; you're always on stage yourself, so it was a real pleasure to see who else is out there. And what a talented bunch they were! 

Madame Galina

The first person we met was Iestyn Edwards, otherwise known as Madame Galina, Prima Ballerina. Iestyn was clearly the only Welshman in the village that night - he is a real live wire and a proper hoot. His show - My Tutu's Gone AWOL - was hilarious; we've heard about him from other promoters but great to meet him. 

Michael Lunts

Then there was the ridiculously talented Michael Lunts - pianist, actor, singer and entertainer with his new show Coward at Sea. Three theatre companies - Multi Story Theatre, Mad Dogs & Englishmen Theatre Co and The Incredible Dr Guttmann -  all very different but amazing how they all managed to capture the audience's imagination so quickly and with limited means at their disposal. 

Cat Weatherill

We also met and watched the hypnotic storyteller Cat Weatherill who was very engaging. 

And top of the bill was Isla St Clare, who was delightful, sang and played beautifully and hasn't changed a bit since her Generation Game days!

Isla St Claire

So a great evening for us and also a chance to meet the promoters face to face over a Chicken Ticka and Rocket sandwich!

Plus we had the chance to strut our stuff just before Isla came on to the stage, well corner of the village hall!!

The Opera Dudes at The People’s Hall Of Toft, Cambridgeshire.

Friday 9^th March 2012. 

The People’s Hall Of Toft, Cambridgeshire.

People’s Order 1. 

It is decreed that entertainment is an egalitarian pursuit and should be delivered to the masses on a fair and equal basis to inspire loyalty to the community and to the People's Republic of Toft.

People’s Order 2.   
That State Artistes Opera Dudes be invited to Toft to inspire local residents with performance of Licensed To Trill in the People's Hall of Toft on behalf of the Committee of Arts In Rural Cambridgeshire.

People’s Order 3. 

That the word Audience be replaced with People’s title of Performance Recipients – Audience being an honorific title implying a hierarchical system.

People’s Report. Comrade Artistes Allen and Lole arrive at the state sponsored hall and are greeted by Performance Commission. 

Commissar Tebbit welcomes artistes and provides them with refreshment produced by the hard work on the land. 

Strict protocol is observed and Opera Dudes are offered fair portion of Dundee cake, produced for the glory of the common toilet by Comrade Joan.The Dundee cake is first tested by Committee for its tenderness. Cake must always be soft in Toft.

The Comrade Artistes are installed in the changing room in the roof space - the revolutionary loft in Toft - and introduced to Comrade Martin, chief lighting, plumbing and computing delegate. (Committee to investigate whether this much skill in the hands of one man is a true representation of the democratic ideal.)

Opera Dudes are given demonstration of impressive revolutionary teamwork carried out on the stage and in the hall by the local delegates in true egalitarian fashion - every man is born equal in Toft and remains equal. It is decreed that not a hat is doffed in Toft.

The Performance Recipients arrive, refreshed from hard, honest work on the land. Refreshment continues throughout the evening!

The Performance Recipients include a world authority on snails, a linguistics Professor and a top barrister. People of Toft are not sluggish when it comes to the semantics of the law!

State Artistes sing revolutionary songs and sketches and even liberate the artistic expression of one or two ladies! The performance is deemed a success and at the end of the show, the Performance Recipients show their appreciation after a unanimous vote. 

 

               The Opera Dudes reputation is held aloft in Toft.

                   .....In an egalitarian fashion of course......