Opera, again?

What is this? Me, opera? Again? It's a surprise to me too but I enjoyed it well enough. Canberra Opera is a community company. They performed at the High Court prior to their upcoming season of Die Fledermaus and they were good and they were entertaining. This was mostly a hot shot set of arias, so not the whole story, with piano accompaniment, so not the full orchestral treatment, but the voices were good and there was a sense of drama and performance even if often enough just tongue-in-cheek. Opera is different in this respect from other singing: it's dramatic and it shows even in these snippets. This was a good 90 minutes, from Carmen, Handel, Tannhauser, Don Giovanni, Donizetti, Gounod, Tosca and the like, and a collection of tunes to finish up from the upcoming Die Fledermaus. There were some jokey love songs and one with two women vying for one mild man and a champagne chorus with empty glasses as props (the thought as there) and a few more serious numbers, not least a song from Rachmaninov. There were a string of singers, I guess mostly tenors and sopranos, and one piano backing the lot. The audience is keen at the High Court and the singing was vibrant and pleasurable and often fun, so this was a pleasurable outing, and it's so great to see our local amateur opera company is working away. Congrats to Opera Canberra.

Opera Canberra singers included the Chorus plus Lachlan McIntyre, Karyn Tisdell, Elisha Holley, Catherine Martin, Stephanie McAlister, Andrew Barron, Madeline Anderson and Keren Dalzell. Peter Smith was host.

Songs sung

Louise Keast got together a few friends for this Wednesday lunchtime gig at Wesley. I know Louise as a capable cellist in Maruki. I hadn't heard her as a singer. She started the gig singing a duet with fellow (but quite differently-sounding) soprano Karyn Tisdell with piano accompaniment by Emily Leong. This was a dream. The piece was Delibes Sous le dome epais (Flower duet) from Lakme. Everyone knows this and it's a gloriously beautiful melody. I could only melt, from the song itself and the singing, especially when paired. Fabulous. Then tenor Lachlan McIntyre supported by a string quartet singing Vaughan Williams Silent noon and baritone Jared Lopez with piano and string quartet singing the longest work of the day, Faure La bonne chanson, with many parts and lasting perhaps 25 minutes. The final one was obviously the major work and, I understand, arranged by Jared. The Faure was long and complex and impressive and the VW was a stately period piece, but I must say the beauty of the Delibes was the winner for me. But nice work all around.

Louise Keast (soprano, cello) collected singers and instrumentalists for a performance at Wesley: Karyn Tisdell (soprano), Lachlan McIntyre (tenor), Jared Lopez (baritone), Emily Leong (piano), Clara Barrs and Elisha Adams (violins) and Anne Bicknell (viola).