Chess

Last week I saw one of my friends performing in the musical 'Chess.' I didn't know that much about it, only that it had something to do with chess (I think the name was a bit of a give away) and the music was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus who were the guys in ABBA. But other than that, I didn't know what the story was about or what any of the songs were. In summary, it is set during the period of the Cold War and about the World Chess Championship between an American and a Soviet, who not only are fighting over the game of chess, but also a woman. It was quite political, which I hadn't been expecting, but it was thoroughly entertaining and really interesting. The performance was quality, and similar to 'Les Miserables,' it was sung the entire time.  I was also really impressed with the lighting, which captured the mood and events perfectly.

Having not known any of the songs, I had no particular one that I was looking forward to hearing. So hearing them for the first time, I really enjoyed many of the songs and when I got home, I looked up the song list and tried to identify some of my favourites, which included: 'The Arbiter', 'Nobody's side' and 'I know him so well.' The last two of these are so beautiful and sad.

But for today, I really loved the number 'Where I want to be' which is sung by the Soviet chess champion's character. The lyrics are soulful and passionate, and the music is quite eerie, reminding me a bit of a circus, which I thought added some more character to the song and creating a mysterious atmosphere.