BSO~The Best Of Bond at Lighthouse Poole Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Anita Connor

I have been to many concerts by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at Lighthouse Poole, so I was eagerly anticipating going to this evening featuring music from the James Bond films. The BSO has been resident at Lighthouse, Poole since 1979 when the venue opened; they have a weekly programme of concerts from October to May each year at Poole and give approximately 150 performances in the south and southwest of England throughout the year.

This concert highlights many of the signature theme tunes from seven decades of Bond films. The British conductor David Arnold is well known and respected as a composer, music producer and orchestral conductor and he kept the audience entertained with his anecdotes. The soloist, Jacinta Whyte, is a star of the West End who has many notable performances to her name. She was Eponine in Les Misérables, Linda in Blood Brothers and Ellen in Miss Saigon. She has sung with many orchestras around the world and sang in the 50th anniversary concert of West Side Story and the 25th anniversary concert of Les Misérables. Her powerful and beautiful, rich voice was a pleasure to listen to, and she really owned the stage. There was a real connection between the conductor and soloist, and the orchestra also seemed to be having fun playing the iconic melodies, resulting in a joyful atmosphere in the concert hall.
The programme included music from the following films:

Dr. No, For Your Eyes Only, Diamonds are Forever, Skyfall, Thunderball, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, The World is Not Enough, Licence to Kill, Nobody Does It Better, The Living Daylights, Moonraker, Golden Eye, You Only Live Twice and We Have All the Time in the World. Shirley Bassey is the only artist to have performed 3 of the Bond theme tunes and they were all included in the programme.

Lighthouse, Poole, is a great venue with both a theatre and concert hall. The acoustics in the concert hall are excellent, and the seating is well tiered and comfortable. The Beacon Café on the ground floor provides the opportunity for pre-theatre dining; there is also a bar serving hot and cold drinks, and ice cream and sweets are available to purchase in the foyer. The venue has accessible toilets and there are lifts to all the floors. All the staff we spoke to were pleasant, friendly, and helpful.

Parking is available at street level opposite the venue and the Dolphin Shopping Centre has a multi-storey car park very near to the concert hall. There is additional parking available at the Dolphin Swimming Pool. Poole railway station is approximately a 10 minute walk from the venue.

I would rate this performance 5/5. Everybody in the audience seemed to be enjoying the music and reliving personal memories of the timeless James Bond films. I would whole-heartedly recommend all lovers of classical music to browse the orchestra’s website and book tickets for some of their other concerts – you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets range in price from £15 – £50. The link for booking tickets is www.lighthousepoole.co.uk or you can search info@lighthousepoole.co.uk. The address is 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UPG and the telephone number is 01202 280000.