... Manifesto Battersea Arts Centre WHEN physical theatre first hit London a few years back, it forged a new movement style, and its vocabulary of daring body throws, catches and falls was heralded as highly gripping stuff. Subsequently though, the form has been over-exploited, and with familiarity, even the most reckless body dives no longer excite. Nigel Charnock, in his direction of ...

... The Rake's Progress GLYNDEBOURNE FESTIVAL OPERA THE REVIVAL of John Cox's production of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress makes for a very enjoyable Glyndebourne evening, though I don't feel the sharp edges of Hogarth's and Stravinsky's (neoclassical) worlds cut deep enough. Part of the problem lies with the designs. David Hockney's riot of crosshatching often has the effect of watching the ...

... Turandot Surrey Opera THE MIGHTY grandeur of Puccini's unfinished opera affords as much opportunity for the chorus as it does for principals. It is hard work all round and Surrey Opera tackled it with a chorus of 26 women, 22 men and 20 children. The result was a really big dramatic sound. The Croydon Ashcroft stage- looked dimunitive as singers fought for space but the vocal effect was ...

... Fearful Symmetries ROH FEARFULLY interesting is Ashley Page's new Fearful Symmetries as, like a firework display that blazes with light, it constantly finds new ways of blaz ing forth with renewed ideas. It's one of those ballets that, from the moment the curtain lifts, you know the choreographer has got right and almost you long for it to be over, for it to have revealed its surface surprises ...

... Peter Grimes GLYNDEBOURNE IT IS astonishing to think that next year will be the 50th anniversary of the first performance of this work, which marked not only the renaissance of opera in England but recognition for Britten as a composer. The care with which Franz Welser-Most conducted Peter Grimes makes one realise that Britten is held in high regard out side this country, and this particu lar ...

... Recorded delivery Compiled by PETER HEPPLE WELCOME to a new jazz label, Topaz, from Pavilion Records, the people who bring us Pearl, devoted mainly to historic recordings in the classical field, and Flapper, which specialises in nostalgia, whether it be by solo artists or British and American dance bands. Topaz gives us classic jazz, all over 50 years old, because of copyright restrictions, ...

... Howard's Way MICHAEL DYNAN explains the success of Johnny Howard, the bandleader who has been in the business for 30 years WHENEVER someone is planning a major society function and the question arises of which band to book, one of the first names that come to mind is that of Johnny Howard. The Johnny Howard Band and Singers have long had an enviable reputation as being leaders in the private ...

... The Miller's tale MICHAEL DYNAN looks at the Glenn Miller tribute phenomenon ANYONE who is interested in the music of Glenn Miller can expect to hear an abundance of it this year, because on December 1 5 it will be 50 years to the day that Major Glenn Miller, along with Flight Officer Johnny Morgan and Colonel Norman Baesell, flew off from England in a single engine nine-seater C-64 Norseman.. ...

... AND THE BANDS PLAY ON Times may change but some music tastes remain the same, says PETER HEPPLE SAY WHAT you like but I am convinced that, whatever may be the latest pop trend, sixties rock and roll and jazz have shown themselves to be two popular music forms that are virtually craze proof and show no signs of dying. Jazz, I firmly believe, is actually on the increase, both in the numbers of ...

... Instruments of war There was a time when it was dangerous to play jazz. BILL ASHTON celebrates the brave swingers who kept jazz alive in wartime Germany WHEN agent Jack Higgins asked me what I was doing in May 1995, the short answer was: Not a I lot. It was Tune 1994 at the time. You are aware that May 8 will be the 50th Anniversary of VE Day, aren't you? said Higgins. Every Glenn Miller ...

... The fairer sex sing out! There's a new generation of female singers making their mark on the jazz scene. PETER HEPPLE discovers they are all ready, willing and able to make it big IF THERE is one area in jazz in which women have always reigned supreme it is the vocal arts. Look back through jazz history to the days of Bessie Smith and earlier and it is the female singers who remain in the ...

... There's nothing like making Whoopee Bob Kerr and his Whoopee Band have played successfully all over the world but British audiences have been too slow to catch their act. MICHAEL DYNAN says we don't know what were missing WHOOPEE! Right number, wrong time, said the message on bandleader Bob Kerr's answering machine. It was hardly surprising that he was not at home, because these days Bob ...