On Dec 29, 2016, I attended “Home for the Holidays” – a concert in support of Saskatoon Opera – what a great concert featuring a good variety of voices and opera arias!
I enjoyed sitting back and being entertained by many sopranos, a good number of tenors, a baritone, and a really wonderful basso profundo – all engaging performers – featuring works by a nice variety of composers including Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Puccini, Leoncavallo, Bizet, Gounod, Moore, and Weill. For me, the highlight – more than the music – which is saying a lot – was the feeling of camaraderie among the singers – I feel that this is so important in our small musical community – that we’re all on the same page and on the same team – there’s no room for divas in the communal creation of good art! So, thank you to the singers for your shared confidence in your abilities and your devotion to your art!!
All of the singers we were entertained by were immediately in character and set the scene with a little verbal spiel about who they were in the opera and what was happening dramatically at the time of the aria they sang. I enjoyed the excited youthful energy of the setting of the scene as much as the actual performances themselves – lots of great performing skills, poise, presence, and characterization.
I look forward to hearing all these singers again sometime – it has been a joy hearing how these voices are developing!! The singers we heard included: Jordie Hughton, Kurt Haunsperger, Kelsey Ronn, David Boan, Linsday Gable, Chris Donlevy, Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, Spencer McKnight, Chelsea Mahan, Whitney Mather, Brenden Friesen, Kateryna Khartova, and Allison Walmsley. I am hoping to hear these singers and Philip Klaassen as well next year – this year, he was unable to perform in the concert because of ill health. Big thanks to the organizers of this concert, to the accompanists (Kerry Agnew, Kathleen Lohrenz Gable, Karen Reynaud, and Mark Turner), and of course to the singers for all their beautiful, well prepared work! Brava e Bravo everyone!!
-Anna
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