Ariane Cossette, sop., Wesley Harrison, ten., Alex Hetherington, mezz., Queen Hezumuryango, mezzo., Karoline Podolak, sop., Korin Thomas Smith, bar., Brian Cho, piano, Mattia Senesi, piano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, December 14, 2023.
We are now in mid-December, and Christmas music is ubiquitous, in venues large and small. Die-hard voice fans, me included, were looking forward to the annual
Holiday Season noon hour concert given by the COC Ensemble Studio members. I already had a sneak preview last week, in the Holiday Carols evening for members of the COC President’s Council. It whetted my appetite for more!
I got my fill at Winter Celebrations, a noon-hour concert given by the Ensemble Studio. The program was like the PC’s Holiday Carols, but longer, with a larger audience. The RBA was jammed to the rafters, Standing Room Only. The Ensemble Studio singers, minus soprano Charlotte Siegel, were joined by the two pianists, in a delectable program of Holiday chestnuts.
Pianist Brian Cho and Mattia Senesi kicked off the proceedings with a piano four hands version of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies. I confess I was half expecting dancers to come out to entertain us — after all, the RBA has beautiful wood floors! Wishing thinking…
It was followed by two selections from “Messiah” — Queen Hezumuryango sang “O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion,” followed by Wesley Harrison in “Every Valley,” which he also sang in the President’s Council concert, beautifully I might add, with excellent coloratura and long breath-line.
Karoline Podolak and Alex Hetherington followed up with “Gesu Bambino,” their voices blending beautifully. Baritone Korin Thomas Smith, who wasn’t at the PC Carols evening, contributed a beautiful rendition of that chestnut, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Yes, it was a string of easy listening holiday favourites, and the audience loved it.
The only piece that was less familiar to me was the “Wexford Carol,” a traditional Irish sung, here sung beautifully by mezzo Alex Hetherington. I also hugely enjoyed the beautiful, pure timbre of soprano Karoline Podolak in “O Holy Night.” Also very lovely was the rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” by soprano Ariane Cossette. I must say that to me, it’s a piece more associated with New Year’s Eve than Christmas, but I am not complaining.
The program ended with all the singers in “Silent Night” and “White Christmas.” I was just thinking that there was no audience singalong. Well, not so fast! A huge surprise — mezzo Queen Hezumuryango told the audience that it was her sister’s birthday, so everyone joined in for a round of “Happy Birthday”. We got to exercise our vocal cords before going out into the cold air in a good mood.
Bring on the Messiahs!
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