Saturday 16th July 2016

With The British Sinfonietta Orchestra

Conducted by Marc Bride

Set in the grounds of one of the most stunning and also allegedly haunted castles Scotland has to offer – Glamis Castle, home to Earl and Countess of Strathmore, birthplace of Princess Margaret and the late Queen mum has a lot of history… to which has now been added a jolly good show at Glamis, 2016. Set in the heart of Angus countryside, thesplendiferous surrounds heightening the atmosphere, before proceedings began I looked around the audience at 5the smatterings of tartan rugs keeping folk cosy in their seats, a gatheirng of people going out to listen to music they love, enjoying good food and live music with likeminded souls.

West end star Norman Bowman was a delight and not just because he is a local talent from Abroath but because he is a naturally gifted entertainer worth keeping an eye on . Understudy to Ewan McGregor , his rise to fame is an interesting one..how many shoplifters go to a panto with their best mate and don’t look back ending up in Cats, Westside story, the list goes on! Having been awarded a scholarship to train in Musical Theatre at The London Academy of Performing Arts. can catch him appearing in the UK premiere of Murder Ballad at the Arts Theatre, London from Thursday 29th September 2016.

Melanie Masson was everything you would expect from a classical diva…big hair, big personality and of course the obligatory big voice. She was forgiven by the audience for her quiver at the last note of her Goldfinger performance because you could see her total commitment to give the big sounds the audience wanted.When Bowman sang a Mary Poppins medley with Melanie Masson and she danced around the stage in her lovely red dress(many changes did keep her looking glam at all times) as the dark crept up and dusk starts to exit Masson’s Tuppence was a magical moment.As was Bowmans Supercallafragalistic duet was stopped mid way through because according to ‘young Mr.Bowman’ were..”I feel we are just being watched’ and not participating. As the spotlights zipped about the audience a few ‘half sozzled’ punters got lively and joined in.

Mica Paris did not perform as well as expected to justify keeping her Queen of Soul title. No Susan Boyle or Elaine Paige performing like last year but still The British Sinfonietta Orchestra proved as much as a hit as The Philarmonic were last time round. Their version of Harry Potter was tremendous and couldn’t be faulted and was the prelude to the fireworks display. Richard and Adam , who performed for the Queen recently , and are currently top of the classical charts did not disappoint. The touch of rain that was more more of a gentle misting than an unpleasantry ensures you half price tickets for next years event if purchased before 31 August. I think that the majority of returning guests will not be complaining about Scottish weather for a while , don’t you?

Reviewer : Clare Crines