Wednesday, 21 January 2009I'd heard from some friendly sources that a small private concert was being held tonight at this residential college in Nedlands...
Being a classical musicophile AND finding out that there was the added bonus that it was no charge to attend, I eagerly sought out a seat in the reasonably sized auditorium the college boasted.
There was almost an embarrassment of riches with the amount of musical talent at the event - all the winsome performers were attached to the WA Opera; and while the evening was quite casual with an easy back and forth flow of conversation between the singers and the audience, the works presented was worthy of anything you would find on the professional stage.
The concert opened strongly with a flirtatious aria from The Barber of Seville sung by Courtney Pitman-Kerr, the rich clarity of her jewel-like tones matching the peacock-emerald hue of her gown. During the concert she maintained a lovely rapport with the audience, introducing her various pieces with humour and insight, and switching easily between opera and jazz.
Daniel McMillian, who also took over as the pianist at one point to allow composer and accompanist Daniel Masmanian to display his additional skills as a violinist; was a lovelorn tenor, sighing ah me! and endearing to gain but a glimpse of the pretty girls who would fall in love with his respective characters later, in pieces from The Barber of Seville and The Elixir of Love.
Annette Gebauer's breathy renditions of familiar jazz standards gave the audience a chance to enjoy a cabaret style feel to her songs, and she provided harmonious support to various other numbers throughout the concert.
Sitiveni Talei, winner of the Mathy Scholarship for 2008, was a deft and intuitive actor, complimenting his exceptional baritone with a swooning presence. His pieces were rich and strong, and filled the auditorium with warmth and benign power.
An unexpected treat for the evening was a world premiere composition by Daniel Masmanian inspired by the poetry of Sir Philip Sydney. Talei and Masmanian gave subtle and yearning performances with their respective instruments of voice and piano to the quietly attuned audience.
As with the whole evening, I was simply enraptured by the music.
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