Program
Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here CHEETHAM and DOYLE
Messa di Gloria – PUCCINI
Te Deum, Tre sbirri and Una carrozza from Tosca – PUCCINI
Flower Duet and Humming Chorus – PUCCINI
Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut – PUCCINI
Nessum Dorma and other highlights from Turandot – PUCCINI
Performers
Artistic Director – Brett Weymark
Guest Soloists – Cheryl Barker, Antoinette Halloran, Bradley Daley, Peter Coleman-Wright
Festival chorus
Sydney Youth Orchestra with members of the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra
Glitz and glamour filled the Concert Hall on Saturday night with a wonderful program from Sydney Philharmonia Choirs as they draw towards the close of their season for 2022.
The program GLORIOUS PUCCINI centred around Giacomo Puccini, one of the western world’s best known operatic composers from the 19th Century including highlights of his operas plus a lesser known sacred work. Who knew that Puccini wrote for the church? He in fact wrote a Mass and, much later in life, a Requiem.
The Messa di Gloria a.k.a. Messa a Quattro Voci (referring to the four part choir harmony), was composed when Puccini was around 22 years old as the graduation exercise for his final year at the Istituto Musicale Pacini in Lucca, Tuscany. His family had traditionally held the post of Musical Director of the Cathedral in San Martino, Lucca but young Giacomo had other ideas. He must have been about the age of 18 when he was blown away seeing Verdi’s Aida. So influential was this experience, he swapped out the family tradition of a quiet life in the church for a more lively career in the theatre and headed for the Milan Conservatory to further his education.
Thus, Puccini’s Messa – which is actually a Grand Mass with all its components rather than a true abridged Messa di Gloria – is a relatively simple work compared to those we most easily recognise from his operatic career. This makes for a perfect showcase for the Sydney Youth Orchestra where they could focus on a magnificent performance rather than being caught up in technicalities. The audience were enthusiastic in their appreciation for the orchestra and the musicians themselves appeared to really enjoy the concert.
Soloists for the Messa di Gloria were tenor Bradley Daley and baritone Peter Coleman-Wright. Lovely to see Australian soloists in the spotlight! Their tone and delivery showed great expertise built over many years. There was distraction several times where the choir and orchestra overwhelmed the soloists to the point of not being able to hear them at all. This might have been resolved by either adding microphone amplification or for Musical Director Brett Weymark to reign in the choir and orchestra during those parts creating a better balance. Generally the choir responded well to his direction though there were a few brief, muddy sounding sections. These appeared when the tempo was faster than usual or the choir members were absorbed in their manuscripts rather than keeping an eye on the direction, particularly during the fugue. However, the unity and power over all were highly impressive.
Both sound and lighting in the Concert Hall have been much improved since the major renovation work at the venue. The lighting was delicate and sophisticated. The deep red-pink of the choir seats made a delightful contrast to the warm, wooden hues of the stringed instruments downstage. One fun little colour pop came from a choir member who’s hair matched the choir seats. There were a few jokes in the audience during the interval about the blue lighting threading along the back walls looking similar to lights found in Central Station toilets, (i.e. no choir member will be able to “shoot up” in their seats) but this dramatically changed to fiery red as we moved into the final section of the concert.
After interval, we moved from sacred work to theatrical, dramatic moments from Puccini’s most popular operas. The choices were interesting in that they were not just the arias but padded out to include music before and after the aria. This made a very pleasant change and created more context. We so often hear the arias on their own in concert format which might only last 3-4 minutes each with little idea of how we reached this point in the storyline.
First was Te Deum from Tosca with Coleman-Wright as the domineering and murderous Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia. Coleman-Wright was in character from moment he walked on stage. The posture, the strut, the snarling arrogance that softens to a more lusty or even sentimental thought of the woman he wants for himself, the beautiful Tosca.
Next, a feminine aspect from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly featuring Cheryl Barker in the leading role of Cio Cio San supported by Antoinette Halloran as her servant Suzuki. The scene opened where Butterfly spots the ship in the harbour and the two women make plans in preparing the house for Butterfly’s long awaited sposa. It helped the audience understand the very well known Flower Duet and lead into a rather quick version of the Humming Chorus with the choir. Speeding this chorus up is the freedom of personal interpretation, of course, though a slower tempo might have demonstrated the long long wait through the night as each character slowly drops off to sleep.
The Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut performed by the Orchestra was absolutely delightful. The musicians were skilled and well aligned. The featured soloists from both the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra and the Sydney Youth Orchestra were excellent. Top points to Olivia Kowalik from the Youth Orchestra who was Concert Master for the operatic second half of the concert.
The final piece for the concert featured highlights from Puccini’s final and unfinished (by him) work, the opera Turandot. The opening piece was performed by the chorus/choir followed by select pieces with Halloran as Principessa Turandot, Barker as slave girl Liù, Daley as our hero Calaf and Coleman-Wright as Timur and Ping. Barker dressed her part in a dark muted, simple dress making a stark contrast to Halloran’s blast of sequins. It was a thoughtful way to show the difference in their status – a pity the same was not used in Butterfly where the dresses appeared to be of similar calibre. Daley’s Nessum Dorma was emotive and accurate with the artist clearly enjoying the opportunity to share such a wonderful aria with the audience. The performance was excellent though, again, the volume balance was difficult a few times. In an opera production, soloists can easily sing over a chorus of 50, not so easy with a 360 voice choir. Outstanding was Cheryl Barker whose articulation and dramatic acting placed the scenes most clearly. Parts of the vocalisation were slightly overworked but it was easily forgiven as she maintained the focus throughout her performance and is much loved by this audience who see her in Sydney so rarely these days.
All in all, the program was a lovely mix from Puccini’s first to last works. Highly satisfying for artists and audience alike with great applause and cheers in gratitude. Thank you Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Brett Weymark for a delightful evening. This program would be just as delightful for a second or third viewing so could easily be repeated.
Book early for the Choir’s Messiah early December. Seating is limited.
Artist/Show website: https://sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/
Review by Annabelle Drumm. Th performance took place on the 29th October 2022.