It’s now been 24 hours since I attended the wonderful performance of Queen Symphonic at The Glasshouse, and I’m still thinking about it.

It was my first time back in the Sage One performance space since its renovation. You might walk in and think nothing much has changed, but it’s in the details where the work lies. A new powered flying system, refurbished stage lifts, automated orchestral risers, a fully renewed stage and upgraded cooling systems are all part of the improvements. The space remains as wonderful as ever, with its curved, flowing wooden interior spanning three floors.

The night was a celebration of Queen’s music, but more importantly, the talent and sound of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. While they’re best known for performing classical music, shows like this introduce orchestral music to people like myself, attracting new audiences alongside those already familiar with the orchestra.

What makes this show different is that the orchestra takes the lead. This isn’t a Freddie Mercury-style frontman belting out Queen songs with an orchestra providing the backing. Instead, the orchestra is accompanied by four wonderfully talented singers who complement the music without ever overpowering it. At times, they would sing just a few words of the chorus, leaving you to mouth along to the familiar lyrics yourself.

The setlist was laid out in our programme from the beginning:

First Half: Bohemian Intro, We Will Rock You, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Don’t Stop Me Now, I Want It All, Tie Your Mother Down, Who Wants to Live Forever, Love of My Life, Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody to Love.

Second Half: One Vision, A Kind of Magic, Under Pressure, Fat Bottomed Girls, I Want to Break Free, Another One Bites the Dust, No One But You, The Show Must Go On, Barcelona, We Are the Champions.

Every song had been arranged by the award-winning Matthew Freeman. I can only imagine what goes into choosing a setlist like this, never mind creating arrangements that stay true to Queen’s music while allowing the orchestra’s talent to shine. Thankfully, he’s no stranger to bringing rock and pop music into the orchestral world, having created Symphonic Rock and previously arranged and conducted ABBAphonic. I could spend pages listing his achievements, but I’ll keep it short. It’s a pleasure to have him performing alongside our pride of the North, the RNS.

His passionate conducting kept the performance flowing throughout the night, with a few well-timed, pre-planned jokes thrown in for good measure!

One thing I noticed was how the vocals seemed to come less from the microphones themselves and more from the sound system positioned behind the performers. It gave the voices an understated depth, allowing them to carry beyond the singers and into the audience without dominating the orchestra.

The four singers were Amelia Adams, Soophia Foroughi, Daniel Jagusz-Holley and newcomer to the group, Rory McCollum (not that you’d have known it). From the start, they brought a quiet energy to the stage through their dancing, expressions and gentle clapping, often encouraging the audience to join in.

When they moved away from their microphones and spread out across the stage, they danced individually and in pairs, smiling and mouthing the words as the orchestra played. Amelia, in particular, looked as though she’d happily dance and rock out all night if given the chance!

Although their main role was to accompany the orchestra, each singer had an opportunity to take centre stage and perform a song in full. I have to say, the choices suited their individual voices perfectly.

Soophia Foroughi gave us ‘A Kind of Magic’, Rory McCollum performed ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, and Amelia Adams rounded off the four solos with ‘The Show Must Go On’.

Each was a joy to watch, but my personal favourite, without taking anything away from the others, was Daniel Jagusz-Holley’s rendition of ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’. His vocal delivery, tone and pitch were brilliant, and something about his performance really stood out for me.

Now, onto the stars of the show – the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Some of the musicians took their places sporting Freddie Mercury moustaches or Brian May wigs, adding a little humour before delivering a musical delight.

Throughout the night, different sections of the orchestra would come to the forefront, with sounds moving from left to right and creating this wonderful wall of music that seemed to flow around the stage. Whether it was the trombone, percussion, guitar, bass, viola, first and second violins, cello, flute, oboe or clarinet, to name a few, every section had something to contribute.

There were moments when you could close your eyes and be completely transported into Queen’s music. The orchestral arrangements allowed you to pick out sounds you might otherwise overlook. The strum of a guitar, the rich sound of a trombone, the glide of a violin or the crash of a drum. Every instrument could be heard, yet everything worked together beautifully.

I was sitting in the stalls, close to the front of the stage, which gave me a fantastic view of the performers. However, if you’re planning to watch the orchestra at The Glasshouse in the future, I’d actually recommend sitting on level two. From there, you can look down across the entire orchestra and appreciate each musician playing their part, something that’s harder to see when you’re sitting directly in front of the stage.

A huge well done to every member of the Royal Northern Sinfonia who performed on the night. The talent, precision and musicianship on display were incredible, and it’s something we should be immensely proud to have here in the North East. Every musician played their part in bringing Queen’s music to life in such a wonderful way, and they thoroughly deserved the applause they received.

The show must go on, and after a night like this, I genuinely look forward to seeing it return next year!

Photo credit: TyneSight Media

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Review by Aaron Whittington