Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ. (Orchestra, Seat L6, $30).
Program – Messiah and More.
Artists
Devony Smith, mezzo-soprano
The New Jersey Youth Chorus, Trish Joyce, Director.
Per my records, this was the sixth year that Lorinda and
I celebrated our birthday together. For
many years it was marked by attending the Christmas concert performed by the
Monmouth Civic Chorus.
Trying a selfie with the ultra wide angle camera on the iPhone 11.
Compared to prior years’ programs, this afternoon’s
concerts had a relatively heavy dose of Messiah, with a couple of arias (and a
recitative) sung by the mezzo-soprano Devony Smith.
Also on the program were several pieces by the NJ Youth
Chorus Coriste – consisting of high school girls – who in some ways stole the
show (in a good way).
Several numbers were sung by the men in the Civic Chorus,
two of them used a microphone, one didn’t, and his voice didn’t carry
well. The mezzo on the other hand, did
well, and I wished she had done a few more arias from Messiah. The mike’d singers got a lot of applause,
naturally. As Renee Fleming once said,
the microphone is a singer’s best friend.
The program was generally light-hearted and uplifting,
however, a couple of the poems by the Chorus’s resident poet Bob Kelly talked
of passed loved ones. Debbie Downer, no
doubt, but reality nonetheless. Some
families have table settings for those no longer around at Christmas dinner,
not so much superstition as a way of remembrance.
At the conclusion of the program. The NJ Youth Chorus Coriste in front, and the guest artist Smith on the right.
We had dinner at Juanito’s afterwards, and Jennifer
joined us.
No comments:
Post a Comment