Queen Rhapsody, a show dedicated to giving fans a chance to experience in parts what a Queen show would have been like, came to Norwich last night.
Put on by MRC Presents, this show sees UK Queen, formerly known as Rhapsody Queen, aiming to deliver a night that replicates Queen's shows both in sound and vision. Queen Rhapsody is a two-hour high energy show packed with classic hit after hit.
This tribute was formed out of a love for re-producing Queen's top hits with top musicians. Alexander Koronka (Al) fronts his hand picked live band as 'Freddie Mercury' and has performed from the Queen songbook for well over a decade to audiences across the globe - including Malta, India, The Middle East, Scandinavia, the UK and throughout Europe.
UK Queen seek to create a musical 'experience'. Koronka's desire is not just to faithfully reproduce Queen's greatest hits, but to expand an audience's musical journey by introducing them to the magnificent and broad song book of Queen.
Going in to last night's show having read very little information on it meant it was anyone's guess as to what was going to unfold over the course of the evening.
Was it going to be a full stage theatrical show or was it going to be some tacky tribute to easily one of the UK's greatest ever rock bands. Thankfully this show took it's place somewhere in the middle of these two extremities doing exactly what it said on the tin - bringing to life some of the magic you would have expected from a Queen show.
The first half of the show seemed to lack lustre in some parts feeling a little bit over dramatised. Perhaps this was down to nerves but there were moments when replicating Freddie Mercury's flamboyant stage persona felt forced and overplayed. This is not to say the first half wasn't enjoyable because it absolutely was aided by incredible performances from the accompanying musicians.
By the second half Koronka seemed to have really settled into the show and pulled off, both vocally and in terms of performance, an uncanny tribute to the much-missed legend. A large chunk of this half was made up of Queen's Live Aid performance which had the audience on their feet belting out the words to some of their most popular songs.
The crowd interaction was on point during this half of the show and you really saw Koronka shine up on stage. Multiple notes that he managed to hit, in true Freddie Mercury style, left me with goosebumps as for a split it was easy to forget he wasn't the real deal.
Myself and fans alike will never get the chance to see Queen live with Freddie Mercury but this show was a fun and entertaining way to get a glimpse into what this would have been like.
If you're looking for a fun night out then try and catch Queen Rhapsody at another venue - it is a great tribute to one of the best British rock bands.
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