Friday 15th April

It's 00.28hrs by the clock on the PC, I'm feeling very tired and a little bit tipsy thanks to Mr Jack Daniels :0) 

Opera bites cabaret @ View Two Gallery
23 Mathew Street, Liverpool 2
Friday, 15th April 2005 at 8pm

An evening of wonderful music from your favourite operas and shows, in a cabaret setting.

Including music by Bizet, Gershwin,
Cole Porter, Mozart, Lloyd-Webber,
Rogers and Hammerstein,
Lehar, Rossini, etc.

Licensed bar

Sarah Helsby Hughes - Mezzo-soprano

David Watkin - Holmes - Tenor

John Peace - Piano

Music and art (and a bar!)  what more can one ask for? ;0)  We did take some pics with the phone but they're a bit rubbish.  I keep doing that!  One of these days I'll actually remember to take a real camera with me, although I still can't get over what one can do with a phone these days.  I hardly ever use mine to actually make a phone call! :0)

we were among the first to arrive that's why the place looks empty! ;0)

I first saw Sarah back in September 2004 at the palm house in Liverpool (see diary) and thought she was fabulous then but tonight, with the more informal setting of the gallery bar, she really shone!  She knows how to beguile the audience and during her rendition of Habanera, she sidled up to some of men in the audience and made them blush ;0) 

Both her and David charmed the audience and were real stars.  Fabulous performers with real charisma.  I much prefer the more intimate setting of a small venue.  The acoustics were great and every vocal nuance and facial expression can be appreciated up close and personal, so to speak ;0)  Plus, of course, they didn't need microphones!  I mustn't forget John on the piano either.  I suppose it's the mark of a first-class pianist when you don't perceive him as a separate entity from the overall performance and I mean that in the nicest possible way! :0)  I mean, if his playing was awful, you soon would take notice...and he really was rather good.  If only I could play half as well!  They performed a total of 21 numbers, some solos and some duets;

1- "Girls were made to love and kiss"- from Paganini (Franz Lehár)
2- "Yum Yum's song"- from The Mikado (Gilbert and  Sullivan)
3- "Willow, Tit Willow"- as above
4- "Vilia"- from The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár)
5- "The Merry Widow Waltz"- as above
6-  a song from The Barber of Seville (but they didn't say which one)
7- "The Flower Song"- from Carmen (Bizet)
8- "Habanera"- as above (one of my favourites)
9- "Là ci darem la mano"- from Don Giovanni (Mozart)
10- "O mio babbino caro"- from Gianni Schicci (Puccini) (one of my favourites)
11- "You are my heart's delight"- from The Land of Smiles (Franz Lehár)
12- "Anything Goes"- from Anything Goes (Cole Porter)
13- "Wunderbar"- from Kiss Me Kate (Cole Porter)
14- "Summertime"- from Porgy and Bess (Gershwin)
15- "There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon For New York"- as above
16-  "Getting to know you"- from The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein)
17- "Some Enchanted Evening"- from South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) - one of my favourite songs from this musical.  In fact, one of my favourite musicals.  I have to say, I grew up listening to songs from musicals and I could sing "Happy Talk" when I was 2 years old! :0) 
It used to drive me and my sister barmy when my mum and dad would burst into song constantly!  But now I'm glad, because I know virtually all the songs from all the musicals and I'm now the one who bursts into song at the drop of a hat!  (if only I could actually sing though! :0)
Wonder if one day I'll have kids of my own to annoy the hell out of? ;0)  Anyway...

18-  "I dreamed a dream"- fom Les Miserables (Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil)
19- "Bring him home"- as above
20- "You is my woman"- from Porgy and Bess (Gershwin)

The encore- "O Sole Mio" composed by E. Di Capua and G. Capurro

They decided to ditch Lloyd-Webber at the last minute.  I wouldn't have been averse to a couple of toons from Phantom ;0)

I really enjoy these evenings of musical potpourri, I get to listen to songs I wouldn't normally come across, plus on this occasion we got to see some interesting works of art.  I was mystified but intrigued by the work of Matthew Wilde.  I can't find any information about him on the net, sadly.  His work comprised scenes of Liverpool but with an anomalous recurring  image (sometimes dominating the canvas and sometimes as a distant figure) of a man holding on to a kite suspended above the city scape.  In one canvas, the figure totally dominates the scene and the kite is revealed as what appears to be the bonnet of a car!?  Except I didn't get a picture of that one! :0(

It seems the view gallery only hosts events infrequently and they're not publicised.  I only got to find out about this evening because Sarah e-mailed me after reading my review of her performance in September.  Well Sarah, I hope you enjoy reading this one! :0)

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