REVIEW: Alfie Boe & Michael Ball at Stansted Park
But from the moment the pair stepped out on stage in front of 4,000 people at Stansted Park, I was hooked.
Backed by an orchestra, the ‘bezzie mates’ were a show-stopping tour de force.
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Hide AdFrom the openers Somewhere and Tonight, from West Side Story, it was 90 minutes of pure joy.
Boe, the rockstar of the opera world, and Ball, the king of the Lloyd-Webber love song, were simply fantastic.
Elvis and Bond medleys had the audience on their feet. And my dear mum went weak at the knees at Boe’s snake hips.
There was lots of banter and some really beautiful moments.
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Hide AdWhen they sang solo – Boe with The Who’s Love Reign o’er Me and Ball’s Love Changes Everything (from Aspects of Love) it was really moving.
For me, the big swing numbers, Luck Be a Lady Tonight and New York, New York, were the stand-out pieces.
And, of course, having both made their names in Les Miserables, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Boe performed Bring Him Home.
Boe and Ball are so slick, such great showmen, and, best of all, they appeared to be having the time of their lives up there on stage – which was reflected back at them from the audience.
A truly unforgettable evening.