Light opera’s talent get chance to shine
TO QUOTE the vernacular, it was some enchanted evening at Clayton Whites Hotel last week when Wexford Light Opera Society staged their eagerly anticipated Hits From The Musicals 2017 show.
And to quote the Late Late Show, there was something for everybody in the audience in an eclectic programme that showed just how good this opera society is.
My personal favourite on the night was the famous duet, Léo Delibes’s ‘Sous le dôme épais’ sung, not by a duo, but by the uber-talented trio of Aileen Donohoe, Deirdre Masterson and Kelli-Ann Masterson, and it was probably as near to vocal perfection as you can get, a real spine-tingling performance.
The ubiquitous Des Whelan reprised his past award-winning performances from Fiddler on the Roof, with his peerless rendition of ‘If I were a Rich Man’ very well received.
‘The Circle of Life’ from The Lion King, sung by Joanne Flood, James McDermott and the chorus, was beautifully performed as was ‘The Valjean Quartet’ with Tony Carty, James McDermott, Eric Hayes and yes, Des Whelan.
And while we’re talking about Tony Carty, his highly-individual performance by ‘Ol’ Man River’ from Showboat was a show stopper!
With more than 30 numbers on the programme, with hits drawn from hit musicals ranging from The Wizard Of Oz to Chess, the WLOS singers were given ample rein to display their formidable talents, with Sharon Clancy’s performance of ‘Girl in the Mirror’ from Grand Hotel and Aileen Donohoe’s ‘Don’t Cry for me Argentina’ from Evita among the best on the night.
And our local Jersey Boys proved that you don’t have to import talent to perform when you it right here on your doorstep.
The evening was more than ably MC’d by Catherine ‘Biddy’ Walsh, who, dressed as Donald Trump, brought the house down when she said that those who wanted to see Kim Jong-un’s ‘rocket man’ display would have to get tickets to Wexford Quays to watch it.
She has an impeccable sense of timing and often there was more said with a nudge and a wink than words could convey when some of the leads – did I mention Tony Carty? – were about to take to the stage.
The programme ended with a tribute to the late WLOS stalwart Larry Roche in the form of two beautifully performed numbers that were among his favourites, ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ from South Pacific, featuring Des Whelan and the Chorus, and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ from Carousel, sung by the company.
The tribute was a fitting conclusion to a superb evening’s music.
(by David Tucker)