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| Eric von Nida & Chorus - 'We're Gonna Put on a Show' |
They sang it with style. They matched it with flare. They ‘put on a show’ with ‘LOVE IS IN THE
AIR’. It happened at the Alexandra Hall,
Toogoolawah on Sunday May 6th and following Alexis FitzGerald’s heart-felt
welcome to an expectant audience of ESK COMMUNITY CHOIR friends and followers, Eric
von Nida, top hatted and tailed, strutted to the stage, eager to entertain. Backed by an equally energised chorus, it was
obvious from the outset that this showcase of talent by choir members was not
going to be an exercise in restraint. And
so it was on a glorious Sunday afternoon when that beloved old hall came to life
with a kaleidoscope of musical genres from Broadway to Bizet; Arias to ‘Oliver;
Evergreens to Elvis and lots in between.
Loaded with lashings of sass, a colourful
chorus line of vivacious choir vamps strutted on stage singing All That Jazz followed by a distinct
change of pace with the magical sounds of Caccini’s Amarilli, Mia Bella beautifully sung in trio by Gail, Ruth and
Marina. Georges Bizet may have flipped
had he heard Oscar Hammerstein had hijacked his music to give life to the
lyrics for the musical Carmen Jones
but surely would have approved of Alexis’s stunning accompaniment when Sue
Walker and Chorus kept the day’s theme alive with Dat’s Love.
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| 'Amarilli' - Marina, Ruth and Gail |
It wasn’t Hello Dolly but hello Carolyn
and Lloyd King when they tugged at heart-strings with It Only Takes a Moment from Jerry Herman’s acclaimed 1964 musical
and Eric and Gail Webster cleverly brought the satirical wit and whimsy of
Gilbert and Sullivan back to the stage with their stunning duet ‘So Go To Him and Say To Him’ from ‘Patience’.
If concert goers were not already loved up enough by then, the tenderness
of Ruth Skippen’s ‘As Long as He Needs Me’
would surely have had heartstrings at full stretch.
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| 'It Only Takes a Moment' - Lloyd and Carolyn |
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| Tosca - Kathleen |
All the passion prescribed by
Puccini for his operatic aria
Vissi
d’Arte, from Tosca was delivered by
Kathleen Watts in a truly sublime
performance and equally emotive was the plea for God’s forgiveness in Gounod’s ‘
Final Trio from Faust’ in a sensitive
performance by Susie, Bob Hardy and Roger Woodman.
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| Final Trio from Faust - Susan, Roger and Bob |
The drama and pathos on stage
soon gave way to the Ladies’ Ensemble with their glorious melody Evergreen putting ‘love’ back in the air
and to add to the atmosphere, Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love With You by a harmony of mixed voices
from the choir certainly sealed the fate.
What be a theme of ‘love is in
the air’ without the George Young/Harry Vander song ‘Love Is In the Air’ and so to the backing of John Paul Young, the
hall rang out in a chorus of audience and a conga line of choir members for
this glorious finale to a fabulous afternoon of musical entertainment.
By: Sue Walker
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| Gail and Eric - 'So Go To Him and Say To Him' |
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| 'Dat's Love' - Susan Walker and Chorus |
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| 'All That Jazz' - Carolyn, Grace, Sue, Joann, Desma, Jan, Caitlin, Kathleen |
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| Doing the Bunny Hug - Carolyn & Grace |
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