The Manchester Camerata conducted by Tim Redmond, have performed with guest artists Sophie-Louise Dann and Nick Garrett many times, but their concert of Broadway Classics in Leeds proved to one of show-stopping proportions and introduced us to another side of the singing talents of Nick Garrett.
At the start of the concert, Tim promised the audience that they would be smiling from start to finish and indeed, he was not wrong. The orchestra played hit after hit by composers such as Rodgers, Bernstein, Berlin and Gershwin with such enthusiasm and vigour that it was hard not to sing along with them at times.
Sophie-Louise Dann was enchanting in her performance of some of the well-known favourites featured throughout the evening.She sang with such great expression and feeling that she really captured the essence of each piece, whether it was the lively, 'Favourite Things' from The Sound of Music or the wistful, 'Someone to Watch Over Me'. She performed each piece articulately and with a natural ease.
Nick Garrett also excelled in his solo pieces; 'Angel Eyes' and 'That Old Black Magic' which he performed with great power and greatly enhanced by Nick's wonderfully rich bass-baritone voice.
One of the hi-lights of the evening however, proved to be in the duets that Nick and Sophie performed.Many people are familiar with Nick's work as a professional opera singer and would appreciate the power and passion that his voice could bring to a piece like "All I Ask of You" from Lloyd-Webbers Phantom of the Opera. However, they may have been surprised in some of the other songs he performed. The choice however, showed the great versatility in Nick's voice and also his humour, as he playfully competed with Sophie in the hit "Anything you can do, I can do better" and also whistled and sang his way through the fast paced "There is Nothing like a Dame" which proved extremely popular with the audience and earned him huge applause.
The surprise for the evening was in the song, "A Whole New World" From Disney's Aladdin. I would never have expected to hear Nick perform a song from Disney but I have to admit that the result was incredible. His rich bass-baritone voice combined with the Sophie's soprano produced some wonderful harmonies and gave the piece a touch of class.
The whole evening was one of pure enjoyment and seemed to be over all too quickly, despite the fact that we had been treated to over twenty different pieces. I do hope that they will repeat this kind of programme again in the future as it really was a joy from start to finish - and there's still plenty more material for them to choose from!
Programme:
Rodgers - South Pacific Overture
Rodgers - I Could Write a Book
Berlin - Let's Face The Music & Dance
Rodgers - There is Nothing Like a Dame
Sherman - Mary Poppins Symphonic Fantasy
Rodgers - Favourite Things
Rodgers - Edelweiss
Rodgers - Something Good
Berlin - Anything You Can Do
Bernstein - West Side Story Selection
Interval
Gershwin - Strike Up the Band
Menken - A Whole New World
Gershwin - Someone to Watch Over Me
Lloyd-Webber - All I Ask of You
Goodwin - Music of Mancini
Arlen - That Old Black Magic
Arr. Tanner - Angel Eyes
Arr. Goodwin - Songs of Sinatra.
