Christmas in the City Sol3 Mio with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Bic Runga and vocalists from Burnside High School. Hagley Park Entertainment Triangle, December 16.
A fabulous, festive night as Sol3 delivers again
What a fantastic way to round off the musical year.
Sol3 Mio always deliver, providing a great night’s entertainment whenever they step out on stage. They have amassed a large following, but it was interesting to see, from the overwhelming show of hands, that the majority of this audience were first-timers at a Sol3 Mio gig.
Perhaps it was the time of year, or the expectation that a concert in Hagley Park would be free or, at least, not the rather steep ticket price that it was, but I did see some families walking away and a number of people did listen from outside the gates.
The trio of Pene and Amitai Pati and Moses Mackay relish being in front of a crowd and their distinctive blend of light-hearted banter provides a chemistry that shifts the show easily through memorable musical moments that make two-and-a-half hours fly by.
Musically, they are equally at ease tackling the big operatic arias as they are knocking out Christmas tunes. They can even make flogging their Christmas album fun and many of the tunes performed here are on that disc.
For the sheer power of the combined voices and quality of ensemble between them, my musical picks for the night were Marechiare, La Donna e Mobile and O Holy Night. Working in close harmony and with that understanding that performing together brings, the trio are welloiled machines with this stuff. Volare and Delilah were definite crowd pleasers that got the audience up on their feet, and the clowning in Blue Bayou, Mele Kilikimaka and Return to Santa was warm, endearing and of the gentlest kind. Return to Santa isa Mackay original and full marks to him – it is really, really good and a worthy addition to those songs that celebrate being a Kiwi.
Guests Bic Runga and a choir from Burnside High School added to the mix. I’m not convinced that Fairytale of New York is the ideal vehicle for Runga, but It was nice to see her on stage again in her home town.
The BHS choir backed for much of the second-half and also sang confidently in their solo slot, getting right into the swing of things. Sophie Gilmore deserves a special mention, holding her own in All I Want for Christmas Is You.
The orchestra opened each half with Strauss’ Radetzky March in the first and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No.5 in the second, both standard fare and convincing, given the reduced numbers.For an open-air gig this was pretty good and we got everything we wanted from the three performers we had all come to see.