I have reviewed many choirs, some with origins dating from the 19th century, but last Saturday evening in Hanover Hall I attended a concert presented by a "one day only" chorus of 45 singers performing publicly after just four hours of learning and perfecting operatic choruses.
Opera Otago had organised this workshop event with Wellington musician Brent Stewart, but at very short notice, sickness prevented him travelling, so Andrew Worthington (Christchurch) flew in and worked them hard for two sessions during the day. The choruses were "well-known" — the sort of music you recognise but often can’t name, and the evening concert was a resounding climax to the day, with several local soloists and very competent accompanists Tom McGrath and Ozan Biner-McGrath.
They opened with a well-paced commanding chorus — O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (Orff), followed by a more lyrical Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s Nabucco. This achieved excellent dynamics. Overall I was impressed with the attention to detail, intonation and harmony of all the choruses presented.
An arrangement of Dance Song of the Slaves (Borodin) ended with a thrilling top note, then soprano Erin Connelly-Whyte gave a dramatic delivery of the popular Lehar aria Meine Lippen, sie kussen so heiss. A favourite Māori choral item arranged by Stewart, A Te Tarakihi (The Cicada) paid attention to the rhythmic character,and Haydn’s The Heavens are Telling featured three soloists (soprano Ameera Woods, tenor Teddy Finney-Waters and bass Ewen Clarke-Wallace). Soprano Rosie Auchinvole contributed Vedrai, Carino (Mozart) and Connelly-Whyte returned with Purcell’s sorrowful aria Dido’s Lament which the chorus completed with the final chorus from that early opera Dido and Aeneas. The recital ended with a fast-paced America from Bernstein’s West Side Story.
It was great to hear the operatic favourites sung so well by 45 singers, from teenagers to octogenarians. Comments were "let’s do this again — and soon!"
Review by Elizabeth Bouman
