Monday May 2, 2011

A Heart That's Free: Music for the Heroine; Orchestra London's Pops Series, May 2011

by Brian Hay

It finally happened. I was late for a show and missed the first number. The members of the orchestra and anyone who reads this has my sincerest apologies. I was seated for the second piece and can make an educated guess that the 'Overture to Die Fledermaus' was given a reading similar to it. That was 'Mein Herr Marquis', also from 'Die Fledermaus' by Richard Strauss. It was played with the lyrical beauty associated with Viennese Waltzes and had an airy feel to it. Soprano Donna Bennett and delivered the first of several ravishing performances.

The next piece the orchestra played was the 'Overture to West Side Story' by Leonard Bernstein. Something special has to be said about the way they rendered this. The opening passages were played with severity and an arresting injection of drama. When they moved into the passages from 'There's a Place' the string players did some of the loveliest playing I've ever heard from them. When the violins stopped and the cellos and violas took up the theme from 'Maria' it was heartrendingly lovely. Once the violins took that melody up as well, it was even better. The musicians looked as if they were in a state of enchantment. (Concertmaster) Joe Lanza's head was swaying gently, back and forth, in time with the music. It was one of those special moments that makes all the work involved truly worthwhile for everyone.

Donna Bennett returned to the stage for 'How Could I Ever Know' from 'The Secret Garden' by Lucy Simon and delivered a beautiful rendition of the song. Under Warren the orchestra performed 'Leia's Theme' from John Williams' music for 'Star Wars' (the fourth film even though it was the first) beautifully before coming to the finale of the first half.

Donna Bennett sang the medley of pieces from Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera' as if she was born to them. After an excerpt from the 'Overture' she entered into Christine's fist big number, 'Think of Me', and it was enough to melt the heart. She gave a gorgeous rendition of an except from 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again'. She and Dan Warren combined for the famous duet, 'All I Ask of You'. He isn't known as a singer but his performance in that role was entirely credible. The finale concluded with a superbly dramatic reading of an except from 'The Music of the Night'. It was magnificent but at the same time opens the door to one complaint. When someone sings this material as well as Donna Bennett does that song really should be performed in its entirety. It is simply too good to be done any other way and she'd have given it a reading for the ages.

The second half began with a fantasy on music from Puccini's 'La Boheme'. It was followed by Donna Bennett singing 'O mio Babbino caro' from 'Gianni Schicchi', also by Puccini. The orchestra and Bennett captured the lushness of Puccini's music perfectly. The next work was the finale of Dvorak's cello concerto which featured Cameron Crozman as the soloist. This young man is only sixteen years old and has a technical command of the instrument that's astounding and the depth of his musical expression shows maturity that's way beyond his years. He's only going to get better. Donna Bennett's rendition of 'Colours of the Wind' from Alan Menken's 'Pocahontas' was stunning. It may have been her finest moment in the show. The finale came with an orchestral medley of numbers 'Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Sound of Music' and closed with Donna Bennett's reading of the poignant vocal finale from the piece. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Conductor Daniel Warren's arrangements were tasteful and dynamic. His re-pore with the orchestra was an easy one and the communication between himself and the players was excellent. He's also a really genial and funny host. Cameron Crozman is a prodigy who's on the cusp of greatness. Donna Bennett has a lovely voice that has its power distributed very evenly throughout her range. Her control is stellar and she sings in Broadway or operatic styles with equal ease. And she combines the styles easily in any single number. More importantly, she feels the songs and projects not just their notes, but their essence as well. The musicians of Orchestra London covered a stylistic range that ran from the intense drama from parts of Bernstein's 'West Side Story' to the romanticism of Puccini's and Dvorak's music with the almost overly lush beauty of Webber's 'Phantom' in the middle and made the transitions look easy.

Proof again that this orchestra is one of the best around.

This show took place in Centennial Hall in London Ontario on Sunday May 1, 2011. this review was written to convey an impression of what it was like to be there.

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