Nick wows the crowds at Congleton Park

There’s nothing quite like an open air concert on a lovely British Bank Holiday weekend afternoon – sadly, it was more of a typical British Bank Holiday afternoon as the heavens kept opening and the cloud cover made it quite a cool day. Nevertheless, my fellow Garrett Girls and I were determined not to let this dampen our spirits or stop us from supporting the guy who we had come to see - Nick Garrett!

Nick was appearing with the Manchester Camerata, conducted by Tim Redmond and Soprano Sophie Louise Dann. Roman Marek, provided the warm up act by singing songs made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby.

The 64 piece Orchestra started the main proceedings with Music by John Williams; The Star Wars Theme and the Imperial March, followed by the Harry Potter theme to which they were accompanied by an aerial acrobatic display.

They then played the opening to Carmen’s Bizet and were joined on stage by Nick who was looking very suave and sophisticated in his white bow tie and black tails. Nick’s first number was the Toreador song from Carmen and it was simply spectacular. I had heard him sing this when he was still part of Amici Forever and had been accompanied by his fellow tenor band members. It had sounded good then, but hearing it live and sung solo was incredible. Nick sang with such power in his voice and was thoroughly expressive throughout; it really was a most remarkable thing to experience. He then sang Rodrigo’s “Aranjuez” which again was filled with such passion and emotion and yet also combined with such gentleness and reverence, it sent shivers up and down your spine.
Nick then left the stage and the Orchestra played Vaughan Williams Folk Song Suite before being joined on stage by Sophie Louise Dann who sang three numbers by Gershwin.

The Orchestra completed the first half by playing the theme to Raiders of the Lost Ark by John Williams.

Nick reappeared for the second half to sing Some Enchanted Evening from the musical South Pacific. This had to be one of my favourite songs of the evening. His voice was ideally suited for this song and he sang with great feeling and passion in his voice. I actually think this sounded better than the film version and with the night drawing in around the park, Nick’s voice really made it an enchanting experience. Showing his versatility, his next two numbers were upbeat songs; Irvine Berlin’s “Let face the music and dance” which he performed wonderfully and all he was missing was the top hat and cane to go with the tails he was wearing and he could quite easily have performed his own song and dance routine! The other song was “If I could write a book” which has been previously performed by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Harry Connick Jnr. Nick was joined by Sophie who sang a duet with him for this. I had not really heard Nick sing music of this style before but again, he showed how adaptable his voice is and both this song and the following “Old Black Magic called Love” were sung with great style and swing. I believe he even added a few dance steps of his own! The final song in this section was the duet “All I Ask of You” from Andrew Lloyd-Webbers Phantom of the Opera. Having spoken to Nick’s manager before the event, I had known this song was due to be on the programme and had heard Nick rehearsing this in his sound check earlier in the day, but was not quite prepared to be blown away by the power in his voice as his sang this song. His voice would be tender and gentle one minute and then full of power and passion the next, the result was absolutely breathtaking and the audience seemed to agree as this received the biggest applause of the evening – at least until that point!

For the final part of the evening, the Orchestra led the audience in a Proms Style Concert, similar to the Last Night of the Proms held at the Albert Hall every year. They started with Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs and had the audience bobbing and clapping in time to the music. They were then joined on stage by Nick and Sophie who sang “Rule Britannia”. This is a traditional part of the Last Night of the Proms and usually sung by a soprano voice. I was therefore surprised when Nick sang a verse on his own and then joined in the chorus. I have to admit though, that his rich powerful bass-baritone voice blended superbly with the Orchestra and Sophie’s soprano voice and really added to the overall feel of the music. The audience joined in enthusiastically with the chorus, encouraged by Nick and Sophie and there was a wonderfully cheerful atmosphere around.

Nick’s final piece was Parry’s “Jerusalem” a piece which every year at the Proms concert makes me emotional and tonight made no exception. There is a clip on Nick’s website of him singing this at a football championship this year and I had thought it sounded great then. However, nothing could compare to the experience of seeing him perform it live. He encouraged the audience to sing along but his voice was still prominent over everyone else’s. He sang this with such force but so full of feeling that it brought tears to my eyes and I found I was unable to sing along after the first verse. The orchestra complimented him perfectly and he received a well deserved standing ovation for his brilliant performance. This was followed by the Orchestra playing Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance No 1 which the audience joined in with the singing of “Land of Hope and Glory”

The Orchestra closed the evening’s performance with the theme tune from Superman which was accompanied by quite an impressive display of fireworks. For me though, the star of the evening was Nick. There are not sufficient adjectives to adequately describe how tremendous his performance was, it literally swept you off your feet and carried you blissfully away.

His performance on stage was not the only impressive thing about him that evening. He came and spoke to his fans before, during and after the performance and whilst being thoroughly professional during his performance, he also showed his great sense of humour whilst spending time with us in the interval. He even donned a pair of pink bunny ears to be photographed in as part of a long running joke between him and his VIPs on his website!

I also managed to put a few questions to Nick before the concert about recent events on his website, the concert and I couldn’t resist a cheeky question at the end!

What did you think to the virtual birthday party on your site last week? It went into meltdown didn’t it? ...very surprised and delighted at the number of people who dropped in.

You gave us some good tips for going to see Operas and how to get more enjoyment from them. Do you ever go to the Opera yourself to watch for enjoyment or do you find yourself looking at it from a technical / performer’s point of view? I certainly do go just for pleasure but you can’t help watching the show with a critical eye. I try to go to other mediums instead like the Ballet where I can watch without criticizing

Onto your concert tonight, do you enjoy these open air, picnic style concerts, given the unreliable British weather? It’s always a bit of a shame when the heavens open but I am always impressed by the resilience of the audience members who seem to be determined to enjoy themselves whatever the weather. As performers we can’t really complain – we have a roof over our heads!

Your choice of songs is interesting tonight, some of your previous work mixed with new numbers and duets; will any of these be included on the new album? It looks unlikely – I did not choose the repertoire for this concert but I very much liked the choices. They were great fun to do but no, they won’t make it onto the album.

A certain holiday photo of you in Crete has been causing quite a sensation on your own website and anywhere it is posted! What do you think of all the attention it has received and the fact that you are a bit of a sex symbol amongst your fans? I am deeply flattered of course and am glad that people like it! Couldn’t possibly comment on the “sex symbol” bit……

Other than seeing Nick in an opera earlier this year, this was my first experience of hearing him perform live. It was a truly wonderful evening and I would like to thank Nick for his brilliant performance and for being so attentive and considerate to his fans.

Added: August 31st 2006
Reviewer: Sarah Fahey
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