Thanks for the memories, Tony DeSare
When 70 musicians, a guest conductor and a featured artist all come together for a long-planned subscription concert, it’s easy for things to go askew when one part of the puzzle doesn’t fall carefully into place.
Music director Joel Levine had been scheduled to conduct the recent pops concert pair, titled “Sinatra and Beyond,” an evening with Tony DeSare.
But Levine took ill just as rehearsals were ready to begin and a guest conductor had to be quickly located.
And while things would have improved with additional rehearsal time, the resulting concert, despite a few ragged spots that would have benefited from Levine’s expertise, proved to be an enjoyable evening.
The opening half featured a completely different program than what Levine had planned and the limited rehearsal time often left the orchestra sounding unpolished at times. But guest conductor Michael Krajewski’s disarming sense of stage humor made up for a lot.
The opening half was an orchestral grab bag: Offenbach’s “Can-Can,” Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March,” Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” and a condensed version of Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.”
John Williams’ “Music from “Superman,” which capped the first half, could have benefited from a stronger podium presence.
But things changed dramatically with the appearance of DeSare, an immensely talented singer whose professionalism and easygoing style made his every selection a marvel.
That was immediately apparent with his opening “Come Fly With Me,” a Sinatra classic.
DeSare’s venture into the musical theater world included “Luck Be a Lady,” a song from “Guys and Dolls” that the singer invested with great care.
“I Have Dreamed,” one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most poignant creations, and Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn’s “Just In Time” showed contrasting musical styles that DeSare handled effortlessly.
And while Sinatra never had a chance to explore Prince’s “Kiss” or the Gibb Brothers’ “How Deep Is Your Love,” DeSare used both to show off how Sinatra might have approached these contemporary favorites.
In both, the singer’s remarkable intelligence and careful diction made these standards fascinating to revisit.
The highly rhythmic “Something’s Gotta Give” and the wistfulness of “It Was a Very Good Year” further endeared DeSare to the audience with his well-prepared but fresh-sounding delivery.
DeSare delighted the audience with “Fly Me to the Moon,” another Sinatra standard that rightfully earned a lengthy ovation. DeSare’s pianistic skills informed the wistful “One For My Baby” and the concluding “My Way” with many magical moments.
DeSare is a singer whose professionalism, sensitivity and commitment to his craft have earned him the love and respect of contemporary audiences. I’m happy to add my name to his long list of devotees by extending a heartfelt thanks for the memories he shared.