To commemorate the iconic films 25th year since its initial release, a special re-screening, complete with LIVE orchestra is currently touring the UK – and The Southernist took The Northernist along to see it in Middlesbrough, for another instalment of #DateNight.
When considering things to do with your partner, a
crucial aspect of choosing what to do is to find something you will both enjoy.
For the men out there reading this that might seem
quite a difficult task, but I’m lead to understand “paying attention and
listening to your partner” and then using this to interpret what you might do
as being a key part of the task of choosing a #DateNight activity.
I must confess, this is an aspect I find very testing
myself - ‘not listening’ is something I’m often accused of and justifiably so.
However, upon seeing a promotional 2 for 1 offer
for this evening’s special screening of Jurassic Park at Middlesbrough Town
Hall, where the music would be performed live by The Czech National Symphony Orchestra something
tweaked in my mind.
A recollection of a conversation - I know not
when, or where, or generally what it was about – where my partner divulged the
“liking of dinosaurs.”
A moment passed where I considered whether this could
have been a reference to my pensioner ways, but in hoping I understood
correctly that it could mean a fondness for the Jurassic Park series of films,
I promptly snapped up a pair of tickets.
But a further confession must be made at this
point, for this was not a completely selfless act as I will continue to
explain.
Now advancing in years it is true I have developed
certain senior citizen style ways, or as I like to put it, my tastes in
everything are becoming ever more refined.
I enjoy the odd glass of wine with a meal, a variety
of cheese’s including ones of a smellier nature and sitting down in a comfy
chair.
I have also grown to detest some of the things the
youth of today consider as ‘entertainment’ such as hover boards and their degrading
contraction of the English language into simplified letter sounds such as BAE.
And so having passed the mid-life crisis of my
early thirties and moved into acceptance that I’m getting old and should now
enjoy pursuits more fitting of my age, a burgeoning enjoyment in classical
music has blossomed.
This interest has yet to reach any degree of
expert status; for example, I couldn’t tell you which end of an Oboe you should
blow from, nor freely explain what an Octave or Melisma is.
But the interest has resulted in allocating Classical FM a saved station slot on my radio, downloading a collection of various classical music to my phone, mainly of music I recognise from films or adverts and making pretend conductor actions whenever I’m listening to a piece.
But the interest has resulted in allocating Classical FM a saved station slot on my radio, downloading a collection of various classical music to my phone, mainly of music I recognise from films or adverts and making pretend conductor actions whenever I’m listening to a piece.
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An Octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency;
a Melisma is a group of notes sung to one syllable of text... apparently.
Naturally this led to feeling both rather pleased
with myself and quite excited at the prospect of spending a more mature evening
listening to the symphony of string section, the whistle of the wind section
and the drumming roar of the ‘dinosauraus’ section.
The plan had been to keep what was in store for my
party a secret, but having let slip the date to ensure she didn’t become double
booked and then foolishly the venue, my covering story that we were going to
see The Reg Vardy Band a week later held no credit.
Yet there was a fortunate relief and bonus in letting slip the plan, because it quickly became obvious Olivia was genuinely excited for what was in store – new dress and shoes level excited!
Yet there was a fortunate relief and bonus in letting slip the plan, because it quickly became obvious Olivia was genuinely excited for what was in store – new dress and shoes level excited!
There was even the constant humming of the Jurassic Park theme tune from
her, with only the intermittent addition of the "scary in the
dark" lyrics as performed by Jeff Goldblum himself (see below)
offering any sort of key change, that confirmed the eager anticipation Olivia had for our evening to come - I had done well, it seemed!
Finally the evening of #DateNight arrived, and we got made up in our Sunday finest and headed out early to find somewhere to eat to make a full evening of it.
Finally the evening of #DateNight arrived, and we got made up in our Sunday finest and headed out early to find somewhere to eat to make a full evening of it.
Initially hoping to dine at Eliano’s Brasserie, a
quaint and quite beautiful independent Italian restaurant in the centre on
Fairbridge Street, we were gutted to learn it wasn’t open late on a Sunday
evening and so our hopes of pasta and petit rouge with a handy 40% discount
courtesy of vouchers received with our tickets were dashed.
Some quick and adept thinking on one’s feet was
now required to avoid a minor disaster becoming a major one, but thankfully a
further dash of memory came to my aid; that of the lasting impression the baked
brie starter at Bistro Pierre had left on Olivia.
As I recall, it had been a beautiful summers day
back in July when on a whim I took her to the Middlesbrough branch of Bistro
Pierre on Albert Road for a lunch date, which incidentally is celebrating its first
full year this very week.
Despite neither us really being dressed for it on
this, our initial occasion at the fine-dining restaurant, we unashamedly enjoyed
a 2 course meal and shared desert, making use of their prix fixe lunch menu with
our orders where we could.
This luncheon had included Olivia selecting the ‘Fritot
de Brie’ to start, which resulted in all sorts of audible sounds of delight and
repeated comments of “oh that baked brie” and “we should try and make our own
baked brie” for weeks and weeks after.
Hoping that memory and prompt action would save the day, by providing both hunger satisfaction and a timely shield from the hair destroyer that is Middlesbrough’s whirling wind, we made our way to the restaurant to be greeted and seated promptly despite not having a reservation, to much relief.
Hoping that memory and prompt action would save the day, by providing both hunger satisfaction and a timely shield from the hair destroyer that is Middlesbrough’s whirling wind, we made our way to the restaurant to be greeted and seated promptly despite not having a reservation, to much relief.
From there Olivia naturally chose the Fritot de
Brie to start, with a main course of Steak Frites and I went for the Calamars
and Poulet au citron, which to my own surprise I managed to request in almost
passable French (Oui c'est vrai).
To round off our delightful meal just before the
performance we shared the Bavarois et compote de fruits rouges, or vanilla
panna cotta with a berry compote to you and me and made our way across to the
Town Hall with a spring in our step.
That this spring was present was somewhat fortunate,
given I had booked seats on the third-floor gallery to ensure front row viewing,
but any slight frown that may have been evident from my love as a result of clambering
up thousands of steps soon drifted away as the film begun and the orchestra started
to play.
For a first-time witnessing film accompanied by live
music, the experience was peculiar in one regard, because as you concentrated
on the screen the orchestra playing below was out of sight and almost out of
mind; it wasn’t obvious to this old man’s hearing they were playing at all.
But to the once classically trained ear of my flautist
companion, she was revealing in the moment, questioning if she should dust of
her own flute.
Led by the 38-year old, Australian-British
conductor Jessica Cottis the Czech National Symphony Orchestra impeccably kept
time with the film, ensuring not a beat of John Williams masterful score was
missed; and when the conscious mind allowed, enhanced the overall feel of the
film.
Closing with a flourish as the end credits rolled,
the eyes were for once free to gaze in awe on those playing below, with the majesty
of talent clear to see; creating a slight feeling of regret that up until that
point focus had understandably been placed elsewhere.
I might consider that one way to enhance this
concept of a classic film being accompanied by a live orchestra would be to
allow the orchestra to play a short introduction prior to the screening of the
film; to enable the audience to train their ears to the unique sound being
produced and ensure just a little more focus is given to the joint stars of the
evenings show.
A further thought from the evening’s entertainment
was that although the idea of fusing live classical music with iconic films provides
a great opportunity to bring this style of music into focus to a different audience,
the full price of tickets for the evening - £41 plus booking fee per person – was
surely prohibitive for many.
Had it not been for the 2 for 1 offer it is
unlikely that I would have booked tickets for us both and given there was a
significant number of vacant seats that evening, it would suggest that may have
been a factor as to why take up of what was a fabulous event in itself wasn’t
as strong as it might have been.
To be fair to Middlesbrough Town Hall, the ticket
price for the concert is in comparison to the price being charged elsewhere in
the country as the concert continues its tour around the UK, where in many places
it has sold out, it just felt a shame that more people, especially younger
children, were not in attendance.
However, in terms of an evenings entertainment for myself and The Northernist, modest grumbles aside, it proved to be the perfect and memorable #DateNight.
Jurassic Park, the 25th Anniversary Concert continues on its UK Tour up until December.
You can find tickets here:
https://blog.ticketmaster.co.uk/theatre/jurassic-park-concert-tour-uk-37271
Middlesbrough Town Hall has a full line up of
events over the coming months, including the return of the Czech National
Symphony Orchestra, minus dinosaurs, in late November.
Details of whats on can be found here:
https://www.middlesbroughtownhall.co.uk/whats-on/
Details of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra performance at Middlesbrough Town Hall can be found here:
https://www.middlesbroughtownhall.co.uk/shows/czech-national-symphony-orchestra/
Bistro Pierre celebrates one year of opening in
Middlesbrough this week.
To find your nearest resturant, menu’s or to book
a table, click here;
https://bistrotpierre.co.uk/
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