Review: A wonderful evening of arias and songs with the EPO
Saturday night in the Victory Theatre was a remarkable event. The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra teamed with the Orchestra Chorus and four soloists to present music rarely heard in our town.
They offered a tantalizing menu of opera arias and choruses with the accompaniment of the entire orchestra. Audience excitement seemed to grow as the concert went on to its encore, when all musical forces came together for Johann Strauss’ bubbly “Champagne Song.”
The program was cleverly designed, each half opening with a rousing opera overture, including “Treemonisha,” by ragtime pianist Scott Joplin. Then, each of the soloists presented one solo aria while contributing to other numbers in the program. The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus, under the expert direction of Andrea Drury, was featured by itself in several compositions − such as the famous “Va, pensiero” by Verdi and “The Promise of Living” by Aaron Copland.
They were assisted by a very well-trained Evansville Children’s Choir in the tongue-twisting “Les voici” chorus from “Carmen,” by Georges Bizet.
The final number on the program, Bernstein’s “Make Our Garden Grow,” brought together the fine soloists and the remarkable voices of the chorus − and brought audience members to their feet.
Early in the concert, Kate Tombaugh came on stage as the bewitching Carmen, her rich mezzo-soprano more than a match for the orchestra behind her − and for any guy that came her way in the opera.
The first half of the program concluded with a dramatic scene from Puccini’s “Tosca,” where baritone Jon Truitt as the villainous Scarpia boldly and beautifully proclaims his love for (opera singer!) Tosca as a church choir sings behind him.
In the second half, soprano Katherine Jolly delighted the audience with her musical portrait of Norina, from Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale.” She convincingly combined both coquette and coloratura in that sparkling number.
Then the women of the Orchestra Chorus rose to intone their hushed response to the heart-rending sounds of tenor Demetrious Sampson in “Nessun dorma,” from Puccini’s “Turandot.” Sampson’s beautiful rendering of that famous aria brought him an ovation from the audience.
Roger Kalia held the diverse program together with apparent ease − and great aplomb. The Orchestra Chorus, stretched out on risers behind the large orchestra, sang with unparalleled skill, balancing the sound of the instruments in front.
What a gift to our community are the orchestra and chorus. And what a gift was this concert, a tribute to a rich history of music for the human voice.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Review: A wonderful evening of arias and songs with the EPO
