Wesley Music
Centre, 8th a& 9th April 2017
Matinee
performance on 8th April reviewed by Bill Stephens
Devised and
presented by Louise Keast and Veronica Thwaites-Brown, this delightful little
presentation combines two short one-act operas with other items to create a
thoroughly diverting program of twentieth century music which they have
labelled “parlour opera”.
Gian Carlo
Menotti had a hand in three of the items. He wrote “The Telephone”, and
“Lullaby” is from his opera “The Consul”. He also provided the words for “ A
Hand of Bridge” for which Samuel Barber provided the music. Both were
contemporaries of George Gershwin, which provided a good enough excuse to
include Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”.
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| Kenneth Goodge, Louise Keast, Veronica Thwaites-Brown, David Smythe in " A HAND OF BRIDGE" |
On entering
the auditorium, the audience was greeted with the cast of “A Hand of Bridge”,
Louise Keast, Veronica Thwaites-Brown, Kenneth Goodge and David Smythe, already
seated onstage, in a beautifully detailed 1950’s parlour setting, deeply
engaged in a game of bridge. Accompanist Emily Leong entered, took her place at
the grand piano, and the opera began.
Lasting only
nine minutes, and sung in English, the opera takes the form of four short
ariettas, sung in turn by each of the characters, in which they express their
inner thoughts. Unfortunately, despite excellent performances by the four
soloists, these thoughts were mostly unintelligible due to the very bright
acoustic of the piano, which tended to drown out the singers, at this
performance.
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| Emily Leong in " RHAPSODY IN BLUE" with Amanda Keast |
Then, after excess
furniture had been efficiently removed and replaced, intriguingly, by a 1950’s
style television set centre-stage, Emily Leong took the stage to perform George
Gershwins’ “Rhapsody in Blue”. The
reason for the television set was soon revealed as during Leong’s efficiently
played solo-piano version of the rhapsody, a very funny selection, carefully
edited by Amanda Keast, of moments from vintage films was shown on the
television set. George Gershwin may not have approved, but inwardly he would
surely have smiled.
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| Veronica Thwaites-Brown in 'LULLABY" |
The lovely
“Lullaby” from Act 11 of Menotti’s “The Consul” was given a sensitive
performance by Veronica Thwaites-Brown as she tucked her well-wrapped baby into
its cradle. Then, following another quick adjustment, the stage was ready for a
delightful performance of Menotti’s “The Telephone”.
This
delicious little comic opera, written by Gian Carlo Menotti in 1947, tells the
story of Ben (David Smythe), who arrives at Lucy’s apartment bearing a gift
with the intention of proposing to her
before setting off on a trip. Lucy
(Louise Keast) is so occupied in interminable conversations on the telephone
that Ben never gets the opportunity. Finally, with time running out, he leaves, but decides to make one more
attempt. He phones Lucy from a telephone booth outside. Lucy consents and they
join in a romantic aria over the phone. At the end of the aria Lucy makes sure
Ben remembers her phone number.
Louise Keast
gives a delightfully effervescent performance as Lucy, which is well matched by
David Smyth as the frustrated, but resourceful suitor, Ben. Veronica Thwaites-brown’s direction paid
careful attention to detail, while Emily Leong achieved the correct balance
with her accompaniment which allowed Menotti’s clever writing to be fully
enjoyed.
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| Louise Keast and David Smyth in 'THE TELEPHONE" |
Apart from its entertainment value, and a rare opportunity to hear two delightful short contemporary operas, “American Rhapsodies” also provided a witty and meticulously presented showcase for the five talented local artists in the cast. If you missed it this time around, “The Telephone” is to be given an encore performance as part of the “Wednesday Lunchtime Live” series at the Wesley Music Centre on 26th April. Here’s your opportunity.
Images by Peter Hislop