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| Louis Sharpe and the National Capital Orchestra in Snow Concert Hall |
Snow Concert Hall, November 16th, 2025 - Reviewed
by BILL STEPHENS.
Having just been awarded by the Canberra Critics Circle for
its consistent quality of performance in presenting challenging repertoire and playing
new Australian compositions, the National Capital Orchestra rounded out a
successful year by presenting a dazzling concert in the Snow Concert Hall.
Although it didn’t include any Australian compositions, Sunday’s
concert certainly demonstrated the orchestra’s mastery of challenging
repertoire.
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| Louis Sharpe conducting the National Capital Orchestra in Snow Concert Hall |
Under the enthusiastic baton of its musical director, Louis Sharpe, who also doubled as a jovial compere, the orchestra of nearly 80 musicians was a spectacular sight as it launched into a lush arrangement by Robert Russell Bennett of the overture from the Jule Styne musical, Funny Girl.
Then followed a feast of music from landmark musicals
commencing with a rousing rendition by guest artists Joe Dinn and Jared Newall of "Agony" from the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods and followed with a delightful
rendition of Harold Arlen’s "Over the Rainbow" by Alira Prideaux.
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| Joe Dinn - Alira Predeaux - Jared Newall - performing "Do-Re-Mi" in Broadway". |
It was interesting to hear songs written for female artists but performed by male singers for this concert when Jared Newall offered,"You’ll Never Walk Alone" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel, and Joe Dinn sang "Memory" from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats.
Compositions by Leonard Bernstein ended the first half of
the program in sensational style when Alira Prideaux took the stage in a
dazzling red sequined gown to perform a virtuosic rendition of "Glitter and Be
Gay" from Candide; following which the National Capital Orchestra thrilled with
a stunning performance of selections from Bernstein’s West Side Story arranged
by Jack Mason, which left the auditorium abuzz.
How did they top that? Well may you ask.
Selections from Lerner & Loewe’s, My Fair Lady, Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s, Phantom of the Opera and Schonberg & Boublil’s, Les Misérables,
superbly sung by the three guest artists, is part of the answer.
But Louis Sharpe still had some aces up his sleeve in the
form of brilliant orchestral arrangements of music from the Stephen Schwartz
musical, Wicked, arranged by Ted Ricketts, and a gorgeous new arrangement by
Marcus Martin of the spectacular "Waltz" from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical,
Carousel, both thrillingly performed by the orchestra.
Apart from the sheer pleasure of hearing the orchestral
items so stylishly performed with thrilling precision and attention to detail
by an orchestra of this size, there was also pleasure in marvelling at how
sensitively the orchestra accompanied the vocal items, and the care taken by Sharpe
to insure that the soloists lyrics were not lost in the orchestral sound, particularly
evident in Jared Newall’s beautifully nuanced rendition of "The Music of the
Night", and the lovely duet, "All I Ask of You", sung by Alira Prideaux, and both
from Phantom of the Opera.
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| Zahra Zulkapli performing "On My Own" |
For the penultimate act of the concert Sharpe introduced a final
guest artist in the form of fourteen-year-old Zahra Zulkapli who wowed the
audience with her flawless rendition of "On My Own" from Les Misérables. She then
joined the rest of the cast, the orchestra, and the audience, in a heartfelt rendition
of "Do You Hear the People Sing", from the same musical, which brought a
memorable concert to its rousing conclusion.