Karl Smallman
Morris Bishop reviews the first concert given by by the newly formed Canto Lirica…
IF you missed the inaugural concert given by the newly formed Canto Lirico don’t worry – there are more to come!
It was nearly a full house at Teatro del Ingenio in San Pedro de Alcantara on 22 March for the performance given by four very talented artists – Maria Rosa Perez Diaz (mezzo soprano), Julie Anne Hunter (soprano) – Fernando Luigi Marquez (tenor) and Maria del Carmen Perez Blanco (pianist).
The first part of the pre-Easter evening was, appropriately enough, a series of eight sacred arias, which were warmly received by the appreciative audience.
After a short interval, seven well known works from the crème de la crème of operatic composers – Mozart – Puccini – Bizet and Verdi were performed.
Starting with one of the greatest love duets by Mozart, ‘La Ci Darem La Mano’ (There We Will Entwine Our Hands) from Don Giovanni. The soprano and tenor, convincingly played the parts of Zerlina (fiancee to Masetto) and Giovanni, (the licentious seducer) and I enjoyed this part equally as much from Fernando, as from the more normal bass baritone rendering.
The other Mozart duet was Sull aria from the marriage of Figaro. This was a beautiful example of harmonic perfection by the soprano and the mezzo, that was to be repeated in the ‘Las Flores Duet’ from Delibe’s Lakme – yes, you know the one, British Airways used it in their commercial.
From Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi came the soprano aria ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ (Oh My Beloved Father) sung by Lauretto, the daughter of Gianni. The love that exuded from Julie Anne’s interpretation gave me goose bumps!
Next came the ‘Habanera’ from Bizet’s Carmen. The title role is that of a fiery gypsy who seduces a soldier (Jose) by taunting him with this love song, because of this, Jose loses his sweetheart and, to make maters worse, fights with his Lieutenant over Carmen and has to desert the military. Later in the opera he discovers Carmen with a toreador who is another of her conquests, and in a fit of rage, he kills her.
Finally the two ladies join Fernando to indulge in the famous ‘Brindis’ drinking song from Verdi’s Traviata, Grateful thanks are due to the Ayuntamiento de Marbella and Fay & Co for their generous patronage of this event.
The four performers were delighted with the reception they received and are now resolved to give regular performances in the future.
