Ahead of the “Coronation Concert” – aired on the BBC on Sunday as the climax of the weekend’s royal celebrations – all the talk was of who wasn’t going to perform. Multiple A-listers (A…
Sprayed-on pomp and ceremony abounded: a 200-piece orchestra, sweeping crane shots, Union Jacks in every hand, and a shifting lightshow illuminating Windsor Castle itself. Perry, importing tried-and-tested showstoppers “Roar” and “Firework,” looked the part in a flowing golden dress suggesting a Disney truffle wrapper.
Yet despite a high-profile fly-by from Tom Cruise – inviting the king to be his wingman – so much of the show felt trivial and unmemorable. Scene changes were covered with “Did You Know…?” segments in which random celebrities reeled off notionally fun Charles facts: the green credentials, the children’s books, the watercolors. Even before Prince William bounded on stage to sing his dad’s praises, the underlying message was clear: Charles is Great.
More ambitious interactions tended to fall flat. A sequence involving the so-called “Commonwealth Choir” – performing Zoomed-in karaoke to Steve Winwood’s enduring “Higher Love” – didn’t exactly translate on screen. And you don’t, surely, recruit Lang Lang just to accompany Nicole Scherzinger on one of “Mulan’s” duller ballads.
You clung to such small mercies, and the passing moments of old-school showbiz competence. An Andrea Bocelli/Bryn Terfel duet at least introduced singers for whom the king has publicly expressed some fondness. And with a vibrant “All Night Long,” Lionel Richie once again demonstrated he knows how to keep an audience in the palm of his hand. Briefly, the concert felt like a party, with awkward dancing in the Royal Box. The Queen cast a surreptitious glance at her watch. We were 45 minutes in.
Much of it, however, proceeded with no greater rhyme or reason than the James Nesbitt poem that built to the payoff “Please welcome Paloma Faith.” Who needed Adele? This was culture as interchangeable primetime pabulum; three minutes apiece for the acts to impress the new judges and boost sales. Great for them, of course. Not so reassuring for any commoners, faced with an ongoing cost-of-living crisis and swingeing arts cuts liable only to seal the drawbridge shut.
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