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Review / Voices bring out the superlatives

Well, it was just sheer fun! In an engaging three-act show, with an enthusiastic audience in a packed hall, “Voices in the Forest” No 6 covered a wide-ranging program with arias from operas by Verdi and Mozart to operetta by Lehar and Offenbach to musical theatre by Bernstein and Lloyd Webber, just to mention a few.

Korean superstar Sumi Jo
Korean superstar Sumi Jo.
Such diversity requires adaptability from the singers. Headliner, Sumi Jo, tenor Richard Troxell and our very own mezzo, Sally-Anne Russell rose to the challenge brilliantly. It was one of those rare performances in which everything came together perfectly to create something truly memorable. My only (tiny) gripe was that there should have been a follow spot to bring the artists on stage; they were in darkness until they got to their centre-stage position.

The Voices in the Forest Orchestra, led by concertmaster Anna McMichael, played superbly under the animated but very expressive baton of Roland Peelman. Peelman had every nuance under total control and the orchestra responded beautifully to his every gesture, from the grandest to the tiniest.

Setting the mood, the show opened brilliantly with the ear-pinning fanfare from Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra”. Peelman held the orchestra for the longest final chord I’ve ever heard for this piece and, to a musician, it never faltered.

Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” was another ear-pinner. The orchestra’s brass and percussion sections filled the piece with high drama. Troxell sang “Yours in My Heart Alone” to the bashful but popular Alex Sloane, MC for the concert. Sumi Jo and flautist, Virginia Taylor, bravely took on variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” (the tune was “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”) in a musical duel that was nothing short of gymnastic. Sally-Anne Russell’s performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” had the audience utterly spellbound. And the chorus, made up of the Canberra Choral Society and the Woden Valley Youth Choir, gave a superb performance of Verdi’s “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”.

That’s just a handful of highlights. Every piece in the program warrants a string of superlatives. A standing ovation encouraged three encores. The entire company performed the last of them, leaving the audience inspired by a moving performance of “You Raise Me Up”, chosen by Bob Winnell whose Village Building Company was the major sponsor.

For anyone not used to opera, this show gives a taste of the “theatre” of opera in every sense. Artistic director, Christopher Latham, deserves every accolade for bringing such high-quality opera to the people. The packed hall proved it.

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One Response to Review / Voices bring out the superlatives

Malcolm Davies says: 26 November 2016 at 8:48 pm

Sorry – it was just another concert in Llewellyn Hall NOT Voices in the Forest. The charm of the performance is meant to be the venue. We did not and will never attend Voices in the Hall

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