Opera Review - Oct. 28, 2002
OPERA IN CONCERT – A CANADIAN GALA CONCERT
Opera in Concert's excellent A Canadian
Gala Concert last Sunday was a well-chosen potpourri of – not surprisingly –
Canadian opera and operetta. The book ends were operettas by Calixa Lavallée
and Oscar Telgmann, while in between were excerpts from some of Canada's
brightest and best composers. With good singers on hand to sing the music and
the always excellent Opera in Concert Chorus led by the always excellent Robert
Cooper, the concert could not help but please. Pianist John Hess was the music
director and is probably the most able O in C has featured. He plays like a
dream and sounds like an entire orchestra.
Tenor Leonard Whiting was the
old pro among the singers and did a good job with the character roles. It was
also a good opportunity to hear baritone Jeffrey Carl, who is making a splash
in Europe. He has a strong, manly voice and is an excellent interpreter as
shown by his stirring arias from both Harry Somers "Louis Riel" and
James Rolfe’s "Beatrice Chancy". Coloratura soprano Jane Archibald
got to show off her formidable technique in Murray Schafer's "The Palace
of the Cinnabar Phoenix" and Harry Somers' "Serinette". Lyric
soprano Laura Whalen won huge applause for her aria from John Estacio's
"Filumena". Among the ones to watch are mezzo-soprano Melinda Delorme
and tenor Joey Niceforo. Other excerpts included music by Timothy Sullivan and
John Beckwith, and collectively, the selections proved what a rich repertoire
Canadian opera is.
I'm
Paula Citron, arts reviewer for CLASSICAL 96.3 FM.