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A Night At
The Opera London
Festival Opera Lichfield
Garrick **** THIS was a bit like one of
those free compilation CDs so beloved by the more heavyweight nationals
– Top of the Opera Pops . . . Live! Not that there is anything
wrong with that mind. For opera lovers there were plenty of old
favourites and for the less sure of foot in the heady world of Verdi and
Puccini there were lots of good,
familiar bits, thanks to TV advertising in
many cases without the less exciting recitative bits
full-blown opera in between the arias. The quality of singing was there for all to see while the introductions by the group's founder and artistic director, baritone Philip Blake-Jones were both amusing and informative so you not only heard the aria but also knew which character was singing it in which opera and why they were happy, in despair or whatever. The five singers seemed to
have an imedidiate rapprt with the audience from the off, opening with
the drinking song from Verdi's La Traviata, Libiamo, libiamo
ne' lieti calici. German Mezzo-Soprano Yvonne
Fontane, a stunning lady who has made Bizet's
Carmen something of a specialty, even sang the well known
Habanera in the audience handing out her favours – or at least red
roses – to the quite-willing-to-be-seduced male members. Not to be outdone baritone
Quentin Hayes was up and down the aisles with his scissors for Largo
al factotum from Rossini's The Barber of Seville.
Blake-Jones had his moment
with The Birdcatcher's Song from The Magic Flute by
Mozart. He has a fine voice but sadly is a strong contender in the
world's worst Pan's pipe player category – a fact he manfully admitted
to much amusement between tuneless puffs. Tenor John Pierce, who
represented Wales in the BBC's Cardiff Singer of the World competition
this year, had perhaps the most dramatic aria with Puccini's E
lucevan le stele, And the Stars Shone, the bitter cry of despair by
the condemned artist Cavaradoss who realises he will never see his lover
Tosca again. At the top of the scale,
musically, was young soprano Caroline MacPhie who has a beautifully
clear voice which she showed in Je Veiux Vivre from Gounod's
Romeo and Juliet and her duet with Fontane, The Flower
Duet, Sous le dôme épais, was a highlight. The quintet moved into the
lighter world of operetta for the final quarter starting with the
Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day madrigal from Gilbert & Sullivan's
The Mikado and ending with Im Feuerstrom der Reben, by happy
coincidence another drinking song, from Johann Strauss II's Die
Fledermaus. The encore was The Cat Duet,
Duetto buffo di due gatti, which
has its origins on Rossini's Otello had the novelty of being
arranged for five. Keeping the evening in time
and in tune superbly were Jenny Trew on piano and Kate Grace on
flute. Roger
Clarke Meanwhile telling arias from elbows . . . ****
FIVE quality singers brought all the joy and drama of opera to life for
an enthusiastic audience in this sparkling one-nighter. After one of the hottest days
of the year they appropriately began and ended a tasty programme with
drinking songs - Libiamo, libiamo ne' lieti calici from Verdi's
La Traviata and Im Feuerstrom der Reben from Strauss's
Die Fledermaus. In between there was a virtual
banquet of classics, with tenor John Pierce (he represented Wales in
this year's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition) setting the
pace with La donna e mobile from Rigoletto; soprano
Caroline MacPhie delighting with The Waltz Song from Romeo
and Juliet; and baritone Quentin Hayes in trim with Largo
al factotum from The Barber of Seville. Yvonne Fontane (mezzo soprano)
teased the audience by strolling round the stalls and offering roses to
men as she sang Habanera from Carmen, and after the
interval Pierce and Hayes impressed with The Pearl Fishers Duet,
then Fontane gave a superb performance of Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix
from Samson and Delila Philip Blake-Jones (baritone),
director and founder of London Festival Opera, introduced each item on
the programme as well as joining in, and music was beautifully provided
by Jenny Trew (piano) and Kate Grace (flute). Paul
Marston
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