Showstoppers: A night of musical perfection
A music review by Victor Grynberg
I have loved the music of Richard Rodgers (original family name Rogazinsky) all my life.
His partnership with Lorenz Hart was brilliant and included great shows like Pal Joey with wonderful songs like MANHATTAN.
Even greater success would come with his partnership with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein 11. Commencing with CAROUSEL in 1943 it was soon followed by OKLAHOMA. Another global megahit both as a stage show and movie was SOUTH PACIFIC. THE KING AND I SHOW (1951) was another huge hit and five years later the movie version won an amazing five Oscars.
All these great shows pale into insignificance almost compared to the unbelievable success in every way of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, completed in 1959 and launched as a stage show then, a year before Hammerstein’s passing. The 1965 movie which made Julie Andrews a global superstar won five Oscars.
For many years, I have admired the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and their enthusiastic and very committed artistic and music director, Brett Weymark.
You can imagine, therefore, that I have been keenly awaiting this concert for several months.
Yet nothing could have prepared me for what was delivered at the Sydney Town Hall on Saturday night.
Commencing with the first-class Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra playing the main title prologue from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the excellent acoustics of the Sydney Town Hall were strongly evident.
Then the first surprise of the night. Soprano Ashleigh Rubenach, with a delightful voice and sparkling presence, arrived on stage to enchant the audience with the famous DO RE MI, and we got our first marvellous contribution from the choir.
The rich voice of Rob Mc Dougall followed with a warm and emotional rendition of EDELWEISS.
CAROUSEL then came to the fore with soprano Johanna Allen and the choir singing JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER.
A truly wonderful first half concluded with Daniel Belle, accompanied by the Choir and Johanna with an exceptional version of YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE !
The second half, combining the choir and the four soloists, had an outstanding array of songs from so many of the hits over the years, yet nothing was as powerful or brilliant as the final number on the program. CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN was the absolutely perfect choice.
But they were not finished yet. The full ensemble performed an encore featuring a stirring version of the title song of OKLAHOMA.
The entire evening brought so much joy to the audience and full credit must be given to one of Australia’s musical greats – Brett Weymark whose skilled leadership brought it all together.
The terrific lighting in the historic Town Hall added yet another great element to a night that should be repeated and repeated by the Sydney Philharmonia. Thank you, Brett, Ashleigh, Johanna , Daniel and all the hard-working and devoted Choir members for a night that I loved so so much !!
Please make this an annual event.
5 stars
SHOWSTOPPERS
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Sydney Town Hall
Saturday November 16th 2024
