Diamanda Galas

This weekend,you will be sad to hear, did not have any moments of spectacular personal failure, lack of grace or foot in mouth moments, nor was there a sore morning head to be found. For once I stayed within the boundaries of good taste.

Friday was spent waiting in delicious anticipation for the stage to be graced by the presence of the one, the only, Diamanda Galas.



Her show Defixiones: Orders of the Dead had elements of triumph and disappointment. Hamer Hall is such a brilliant venue so I wasn't surprised by how clear and all encompassing the sound was. The disappointments came from what I felt was a lack of energy within the performance. The beginning was lacklustre and I was only truly inspired by the breadth of Galas' range towards the middle of the performance which I found spectacular in lighting, design and content. The final third of the performance which featured Galas' singing in English for the first time reminded me of some very bad fringe performance. It looked unprofessional and the visual work was cringeworthy.

For all the Gothic glory that Diamanda utilises in her own diva way perhaps she could have updated the aesthetic of the show, perhaps modernise these Gothic symbols and skew the visuals toward the Greek style that reflects her heritage and the theme of this song cycle. Nevertheless, having waited 5 years to see her I was thrilled to have such great seats and witness one of the great female artists I admire even if I felt that this show was lacking.