The Professionals

WNO's chorus causes Doyle to lose control over his hair

If I was taller, fitter and with better hand eye co-ordination I could have been a basketball player. But I'm not. I'm shorter than a basketball player's second lowest rib and can't hit the side of a barn with an aubergine at ten paces. But I'm a quick learner and I could have been something special. I'd say a legend. Not that I actually like the game, but hey – I didn't like Wagner until two years ago. Who knows, maybe a year from now this blog could be called HairMan at the Basketball. But don't hold your breath. Unless you've just walked into a kitchen of frying mushrooms – if you do then I urge you to hold your breath until you look like Dizzy Gillespie and get the hell out of there. I dislike mushrooms more than basketball.

Time for some JonesMole Gang twupdates.

Breaking with tradition I'll start off with TJ Twitter today…

Apparently there will be a shake your sexy booty thang dance number if TraviataJones' start to her week is anything to go by – Week has started with a dance rehearsal with Bryn. I wonder if Kevin Bacon will make a guest appearance as Walther's wild brother looking for some outrageous crazy dance kicks?

Whether or not the Bacon does show up at least we know that things will finish before chucking out time at the Pro-Am Knitting Championships' Jim Beam Challenge - we have blocked the whole show, so I can confirm that Meistersinger does end. In our version it's a pretty cool ending... But then I'm biased!

I had to re-read this one twice as I suffered a flashback to when I encountered bright shining lights at midnight in the middle of a New England forest a long time ago – Listening to the first Sitzprobe of Meistersinger this afternoon. Amazing to hear it with a full Orchestra, Singers and Chorus!

Okay, I'm feeling a touch excited now – WNO's chorus has always raised a hair or two on my non-basketball playing body and there are a couple of shindigs in Meistersinger that I'm looking forward to. Among the raising of hair spots could well be Act 3…amazing to hear almost 100 people singing full out!

But how does all this musical action leave TJ Twitter at the end of the week? Tired.com. Hopefully the nationwide shortage of Frappucino's at Starbuck's will have been sorted by the time of the next rehearsals.

So what of the Mole?

He's been playing it smoother than a cyclist's leg with a silk sheet this week with an audio boo extravaganza of boos by Bryn Terfel. We found out that Hans Sachs quite likes singing in German due to the similarities of sound between Deutsch and Cymraeg. But he likes singing in Italiano just a bit more.

But not if it's Rigoletto. If Simon Keenlyside and his understudy become engaged in a Playstation 3 World Cup throwdown there'll be no Singing in the Rain moment with Bryn Terfel coming to the rescue.

Anyway, he has enough on his plate – Hans Sachs has been on the backburner for two or three years…and the last six months has been dedicated religious hard work.

There was one boo that I did disagree with – due to my extensive non-basketball playing career I think that Berbatov hasn't been given the license to roam that he had at Spurs and his play, admittedly languid in anyone's eyes, has suffered as a result. It's a bit like the Veron situation all over again – classy player but not suited to United's style.

Same time. Same place. But not the same week for the next twupdates*.

*Do you think it'll catch on? Neither do I.