[Accy-mad]

Interesting to see several comments about John Tomlinson. The great man always gives full credit to his Oswaldtwistle upbringing and the debt he owes to the many years he attended the Methodist Chapel there and the experience he gained singing with the Accrington Male Voice Choir. Incidentally, John gained a fantastic review from the Daily Telegraph following his brilliant performance at the Proms earlier this week in a concert performance of Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" - Ivan Hewitt wrote that "John Tomlinson as Bluebeard rose magisterially above it, however" ( "it" in this case, referring to the critic's opinion that Bartok had given the orchestra too much to do !) "More importantly", continued Hewitt, "Tomlinson gave Bluebeard a world-weary and heart-sick tone that went straight to the heart of this strange and riveting drama"