Dit jaar is het 20 jaar geleden dat de legendarische Freddy Mercury is overleden. Mercury overleed op slechts 45 jarige leeftijd aan aids. Zijn werk met Queen wordt nu nog altijd door jong en oud beluisterd. De meeste van hun hits kunnen door de halve wereldbevolking mee gedreund worden. Queen was 1 van de eerste groepen die ik leuk vond. Daarnaast is Freddy ook 1 van mijn favoriete zangers geworden over de jaren heen. Dit blogje is dan ook aan hem opgedragen.

A trip to London is not complete without a stop at the famous West End. I had never seen a musical, except for maybe in movies like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, so I was really excited about seeing one.

When you walk in West End you are greeted by big neon lights and advertisements but one theatre really catches the eye: Dominion Theatre. Above the entrance is a statue of late Freddie Mercury in his typical Wembley pose. For the past nine years the musical ‘We will rock you’ has been playing there and I went to see it. The musical was written by Ben Elton together with Brian May and Roger Taylor. It stars Ricardo Afonso as Galileo Figaro and Sarah French-Ellis as Scaramouche.



A big crowd had already formed in front of the theatre when we arrived and five minutes later the doors opened. We had good seats in the middle part of the stalls. Although nothing had happened the curtain and stage immediately drew the attention of the audience. At last the lights were dimmed and show started.

The audience was dropped in the middle of story. We are not given a real date nor place. The only thing we know is that the story is set 300 years in the future and earth is now called Planet Mall. Rock ‘n Roll music has died and everything, including music, is controlled by the government. Everyone is turned into Ga Ga kids but there are a few people who resist. One of them is Galileo Figaro, a man who says he hears voices in his head. Another person is called Scaramouche. She’s a very strong-willed and individual young woman. The two of them are captured by the government and they decide to escape together. Once on the streets they run into a couple who are members of a group of outlaws who call themselves “The Bohemians”. The man is called Britney Spears and the woman is called Meat Loaf. At first the couple is a bit suspicious but the man thinks that Galileo is “The Dreamer”. In the history of the Bohemians it has been foretold that Rock ’n Roll will be brought back to life by “The Dreamer”. They test him and when he passes their test they take Galileo and Scaramouche to their hideout called “The Heartbreak Hotel”. From there on Galileo is informed about the history of the Bohemians but the hideout is attacked by the government and the only people who can escape are Figaro and Scaramouche. Britney Spears even dies trying to protect him. Now Galileo and Scaramouche have to save the world …

I really loved the musical as a Queen fan. Most of the hits were in the show and there were a lot of musical references. I’m afraid not everyone in the audience understood all the references but if you did it was hilarious. I was impressed by the vocal capacities of the actors/singers. The climax of the show is when everybody on stage and the audience sang “We Will Rock You” together. It was fun that the show was a little bit interactive. The atmosphere was great but at the end of the show it felt like you were in a sauna. Air-conditioning wouldn’t be the worst idea.

We found coolness outside and people started to give their opinions about the show. Some people really liked other didn’t so. In general the criticism was positive. As I see it the musical was a great experience. The advertisements were right! It certainly was a mind-blowing performance. I would love to see another musical in West End but the price could be a drawback.




Photo's:
Top: http://www.flickr.com/photos/metropol2/117971761/
Bottom: http://www.londontheatrebookings.com/show/we-will-rock-you/

Een live concert is vaak magisch want je voelt de muziek echt op je afkomen. Soms krijgt het dan nog een extra duwtje in de rug als het hele publiek die ene strofe uit volle borst meezingt. Het krijgt toch nog dat ietsje meer kracht als het door duizenden wordt gezongen. Een kleine selectie:


Queen zingt de liefdesballade "Love Of My Life" waarop het hele publiek het refrein meezingt.


De versie van Black op de geniale live cd van Pearl jam "Live @ Benayora Hall" is ook een meezinger. Eddie laat het mooiste stuk van het nummer aan het publiek die de kans niet laat liggen.


Oasis stond bekend om zijn ego en zijn kracht. Als je een heel stadium je nummers kunt laten meezingen is dat ego niet eens zo onterecht.