Live at Royal Opera House
Encyclopedia
Live at Royal Opera House is an official DVD
released by Björk
on November 18, 2002. It contains a live performance by Björk on the Vespertine tour, recorded live at the Royal Opera House
in London
, England
on December 7, 2001. It was amongst one of the last of the concerts performed on that tour. With this concert Björk had become the first ever contemporary pop artist to perform in the Royal Opera House. The concert was exclusively premiered on UK television in the launch week of the BBC
digital channel BBC Four
on March 12, 2002. For the first half of the concert the majority of the songs were taken from her then most recent album Vespertine
, while the second half sees songs played from her previous solo albums. The closing song "It's in Our Hands
" (which was then previously unheard) was later released as the lead-off single from her Greatest Hits
album. The track "Generous Palmstroke" is a B-side
, and appears in a different form on the "Hidden Place
" single. Although listed as "Frosti", the first song of the concert is actually a music box version of "Pagan Poetry", as it appears on the "Cocoon" single. The DVD (and television broadcast) omits performances of two songs that were performed on the night - "Play Dead
" and "Bachelorette
". A mini-documentary "Touring Vespertine" is also included as a bonus feature, a working version of what was to become the Minuscule
DVD. However, the Minuscule documentary does not include some material which is included on "Touring Vespertine", such as the short interviews with composer Simon Lee
(who was part of the Vespertine tour).
Second half:
Documentaries on the DVD:
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
released by Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
on November 18, 2002. It contains a live performance by Björk on the Vespertine tour, recorded live at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on December 7, 2001. It was amongst one of the last of the concerts performed on that tour. With this concert Björk had become the first ever contemporary pop artist to perform in the Royal Opera House. The concert was exclusively premiered on UK television in the launch week of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
digital channel BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
on March 12, 2002. For the first half of the concert the majority of the songs were taken from her then most recent album Vespertine
Vespertine
Vespertine, is the fifth studio album by the Icelandic recording artist Björk, released on 27 August 2001. On this album, Björk creates a quiet, introverted world of microbeats and personal lyrics...
, while the second half sees songs played from her previous solo albums. The closing song "It's in Our Hands
It's in Our Hands
"It's in Our Hands" was a single released along with Björk's Greatest Hits CD in late 2002. The song was previously heard during her Vespertine Tour in 2001. The song relies heavily on a sample taken from To Rococo Rot's song Die Dinge Des Lebens from the album The Amateur View...
" (which was then previously unheard) was later released as the lead-off single from her Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Björk album)
Greatest Hits is a compilation album released in November 2002 featuring the songs of Icelandic singer Björk. Although not all of Björk's singles are included on this collection, all of the songs on Greatest Hits were released as singles. The tracks were selected by fans through a survey on...
album. The track "Generous Palmstroke" is a B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, and appears in a different form on the "Hidden Place
Hidden Place
"Hidden Place" is a song by Icelandic recording artist Björk, taken from her fourth English language , Vespertine . It was written by Björk, Guy Sigsworth and Mark Bell and produced by Björk...
" single. Although listed as "Frosti", the first song of the concert is actually a music box version of "Pagan Poetry", as it appears on the "Cocoon" single. The DVD (and television broadcast) omits performances of two songs that were performed on the night - "Play Dead
Play Dead (song)
"Play Dead" is a song by Icelandic singer Björk, and was released as the third single from her 1993 album Debut.-Background:It is a dark piece underscored by moody strings with lyrics about acting numb to prevent emotional pain....
" and "Bachelorette
Bachelorette (song)
"Bachelorette" is a song by Björk, released as the second single from her 1997 album Homogenic.The song was originally written for a film by Bernardo Bertolucci, but the project was withdrawn...
". A mini-documentary "Touring Vespertine" is also included as a bonus feature, a working version of what was to become the Minuscule
Minuscule (DVD)
Minuscule is an official DVD released by Björk on November 3, 2003. The DVD contains a documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at Björk and her touring entourage for the 2001 Vespertine tour. It includes interviews with harpist Zeena Parkins, the Inuit choir from Greenland, electronic duo...
DVD. However, the Minuscule documentary does not include some material which is included on "Touring Vespertine", such as the short interviews with composer Simon Lee
Simon Lee
Simon Lee, is a conductor and musical supervisor and is a longtime associate of Andrew Lloyd Webber.Lee served in June and July, 2008, as the How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? judge on the Canadian version of the television reality show, and was responsible for the musical aspects of the...
(who was part of the Vespertine tour).
Tracklist
First half:- "Frosti"
- "Overture"
- "All is Full of Love"
- "Aurora"
- "Undo"
- "Generous Palmstroke"
- "An Echo, a Stain"
- "Hidden Place"
- "Cocoon"
- "Unison"
Second half:
- "Harm of Will"
- "It's Not Up to You"
- "Pagan Poetry"
- "Possibly Maybe"
- "Isobel"
- "Hyperballad"
- "Human Behaviour"
- "Jóga"
- "It's In Our Hands"
Documentaries on the DVD:
- "Touring Vespertine": Programming, Playing, Singing