Over the past year many members have met a new partner and interesting friends through our introductions service and social events. This week we heard of our latest success – John from the Midlands and Sarah from London who are moving to Bath together: we wish them every happiness in their new life.

During the year we have visited many leading venues for the Arts including the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, English National Opera, Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, West End Theatre, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, Cadogan Hall, Opera Holland Park, Hatfield House and the Wigmore Hall. As well as enjoying informal soirees in members’ homes.

Our regular monthly informal drinks on the South Bank continue to be popular with members and guests.

This year we also launched a new online service  – http://www.classicalpartnersonline.co.uk to supplement our introduction service and events.

Classical Partners now offers something for everyone –
• personal introductions
• regular informal social events
• online dating service

We are looking forward to our last social outing of the year at the Royal Festival Hall this Saturday – Messiah by Candlelight – which should get us into festive mood. After the break we have lots of exciting events planned for the New Year (see http://www.classicalpartners.co.uk/Events.html)  and look forward to seeing you.

Best wishes

Dan and Caroline

Great applause for Eugene Onegin opening night

The ENO’s new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin opened at the Coliseum on Saturday night and our group from Classical Partners had a fantastic view of the performance from the Dress Circle slips.

Before the opera we met for complimentary glass of bubbly (offered to all ENO ticket holders) and delicious early evening supper at Cote Brasserie, just a few metres from the Coliseum.

Deborah Warner’s new production has been given the thumbs up by the critics, with 4-star reviews in the Telegraph, Guardian and Times.  Particularly singled out for praise are the ENO orchestra under Edward Gardner, the direction, set design and lighting.  And most of the central characters’ performances, notably Toby Spence’s as Lensky.

“Ravishingly designed by Tom Pye, costumed by Chloe Obolensky and lit by Jean Kalman, the show has been meticulously prepared.  I enjoyed and admired every soothing minute and can safely prophesy that it will be a big hit.”   Rupert Christiansen, the Telegraph.

“Tradtionally staged and passionately conducted, ENO’s new production of Tchaikovsky’s lyrical masterpiece is full of ensemble virtues.  The orchestra under Edward Gardner’s direction sounds virtuosic…. Warner’s direction is naturalistic and intelligent.  The duel, between the two men whose bond is rent asunder by wounded pride, is superb theatre; brutal and heartbreaking.”  Richard Morrison, The Times

It could be argued that some of the dramatic tension is lost in the English translation, but the music and staging in this production more than makes up for that.

What better way to spend an evening than enjoying good food and wine in the company of an interesting group of people all eagerly anticipating an exciting new operatic production – and the opera certainly didn’t disappoint.

Forthcoming musical evenings see us at the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall, then in the New Year we will be at the Royal Albert Hall for a spectacular in-the-round production of Verdi’s stunning opera, Aida.  Can’t wait for that! 

Do look at our Events page for further details of forthcoming social evenings – http://www.classicalpartners.co.uk/Events.html

Established in 1992, Classical Partners has enjoyed outstanding success in bringing people together using their well respected introduction service alongside a varied programme of social events.

The new online venture  http://www.classicalpartnersonline.co.uk is part of Love and Friends database which has over 75,000 members of all ages and locations. But by joining Classical Partners Online you can search specifically for people with an interest in Music and the Arts.

You can sign up for Free, or take advantage of a special introductory offer of 3-months’ Full membership for less than £10 per month.

Or for information about Classical Partners introductions and events do give us a call on 01582 834334,

With best wishes
Caroline and Dan Boon

The rest of our group on Saturday seemed to agree that the play, about a New York Jewish couple in 1938 and how they are affected by what happens to German Jews on the night of the ‘Kristallnacht’, brilliantly explored, as Miller does so well, the angst and absurdities of the human condition. We had great seats near the front of the stalls from which to enjoy powerful performances from Antony Sher and Tara Fitzgerald in the leading roles.

Prior to the play our group had the chance to get acquainted over a glass or two of wine and delicious Italian meal at a nearby West End restaurant. All in all, a most stimulating evening!

At Classical Partners we aim to provide a wide variety of social events for members to attend and meet like-minded people. To that end, our next theatre outing offers somewhat lighter fare – a new production of Michael Frayn’s sparkling, multi-award winning comedy, Noises Off. Directed by Lindsay Posner and starring Robert Glenister and Celia Imrie, this new production at The Old Vic is sure to be thoroughly entertaining. See
http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whatson.php?id=80

Other cultural treats planned for the New Year include a spectacular production of Aida at the Royal Albert Hall and some superb concerts at the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Cadogan Hall. See our Events page for further details      - http://www.classicalpartners.co.uk/Events.html

However it’s not all good news. The subsidised sector, which accounts for almost all new and cutting edge drama, is struggling to maintain private donations and corporate sponsorship and it seems likely, under current budgetary pressures, that Arts Council grants will be cut when the present agreement expires in 2011. This is bound to have a detrimental effect on the West End which relies on the National and other subsidised theatres for much of its upmarket drama.

But why is the British stage by and large doing so well in the middle of an economic downturn? One theory is that in hard times, such as war or recession, people want to gather together and hear stories. Dominic Cooke, of the Royal Court, which recently celebrated packed-out productions of the plays Enron and Jerusalem, suggests that in difficult times there is a demand for work that brings people together to question received values… “to help them to make sense of the mess we’re in”. Interesting.

Whatever the reasons, it’s good to see live theatre continuing in the West End and around the provinces and let’s hope that the Arts Council and other bodies continue to support theatre and the arts in general.

Our cultured members at Classical Partners have enjoyed some truly memorable theatre events in the past couple of years – Ian McKellan as King Lear, Never So Good at the National, and Waiting for Godot, to name but a few. Our next theatre outing is The Misanthrope, featuring Keira Knightley’s West End debut. Can’t wait for that!