Oh Aussie Fans....are you in for a treat!!!! Where to begin. I'd expect that alll we saw at this concert will be happening at the other gigs.
Was very excited to arrive and find that the support act was a
cellist... what with that being my favourite instrument. Sally, the
cellodiva did not disappoint.
Had
a lovely repertoire interspersed with banter with her piano
accompanist. That went for 40 minutes. Then we had a 20 minute interval.
After
the break, a 12 piece orchstra took the stage withe musical director,
then Our Amici came on to the strains of Olympia. With the back of the
stage a giant screen on which beautiful images were shown as they sang.
The guys had their drop dead gorgeous white outfits on and the girls were in their longer blue numbers.
Geoff did the intros next..just so full life and energy..as were they all.
What came next.. oh yes...
Whisper of Angels.... followed by
Prayer in the Night. Boy, they do an amazing version of this now.
Vita Mia .. this version with just Geoff and David is fast becoming my favourite...
as is the girls' duet " Mon Coeur S'ouvre"- I like this version better than the one on the cd.
Side note:
Amici
are always coming up with wonderful new arrangements for their
songs.... which I think augers VERY WELL for their next cd and the
brilliance that is there waiting to be shown.
Boys went off and changed into their black numbers while the girls sang.
I think the girls changed into their black numbers while the boys sang Vita Mia.
Could
have been The Prayer next.. no that was earlier..because they had
beautiful images that eventually merged into a large stained glass
window.
Prayer may have been after Whisper of Angels.
Then they had us all clapping and singing along to 'Finicule Finicula"
Anyhow.. as the night wore one...the applause was getting louder with each song.
The
guys sat on stools and introduced Sacred Flame... then they did their
lounge set with the Musical director playing the piano beautifully.
David started off with 'Younger than Springtime' - from South Pacific..
Jo sang an aria from Tosca... 'Vissi d'arte' that was absolutely exquisite...
Geoff talked about this being his last tour and autism... then sang 'My Way'.. and that was very emotional...
then Steve brought on a birthday cake for Tsak and we all sang Happy Birthday..
Poor
Tsak had to get up and sing after that and it was a Puccini aria, from
Manon Lescaut, whose name escapes me.. but not one I'd heard her sing
before.
Then as a treat they sang a Maori love song.
I
think it was at this point that they all went off to change while the
orchestra played 'Ocean Heart' with the MD playing the piano... and
gorgeous ocean vision on the stage backdrop.
Next came the down and dirty part... with the girls in those outfits that have the legs up to here!!!!!
They
sang the new sensuous song...Aaja Re.. with accompanying
choreography... a pure treat... ladies... not going to reveal
all...just be prepared for a rise in blood pressure!!!! :D
Then came Habanera... with our guys once again being used as sex objects!!
As Geoff said afterwards... "I feel so used"... and David said "I feel dirty....and I like it!"
Aranjuez was in there as well... again love this version.....they do it so well.
Then we had So Far Away, with the beautiful images of New Zealand.
Let's see.... Power of Love....Senza Catane....and the thank yous...
huge applause and stamping of feet.... Our Amici came back and did
Nessun Dorma.. with just the most gorgeous back drop of images of Venice.
More VERY loud applause.. stamping of feet... this crowd was NOT going home.....
so back they came for another rendition of 'Finicule Finicula'
(PS: Would score them 10 stars but 5 is the highest rating!!)
