The Beatles go Classical concert was a resounding success! What an amazing night of music and fun. The highlight of the evening being the performance by the incomparable Shirley Bassey, she was absolutely spectacular. But before I go there, let me re-cap the week of rehearsals for you!
Tuesday evening was the first choir rehearsal for me. This choir, dubbed 'The Mediterranean Voices", had been assembled especially for this concert and had been rehearsing in Malta for weeks. The singers auditioned for spots, bought plane tickets and booked hotel rooms for the opportunity to sing at the Royal Albert Hall in this one special concert. They rehearsed for weeks in Malta and perfected their harmonies and dynamics. So Tuesday, in waltzes a Canadian Diva; un-rehearsed, unknown, and, most noticeably, un-Maltese. Yes, it turns out that a tall, fair-skinned blond sticks out in a room full of Maltesers, who are mostly olive-toned and where the average height is 5'5". Not to mention that Malta is not a big island, so everyone pretty much knows everyone else. Nonetheless, I jumped in feet first and quickly proved my worth to the 110 voice choir by knocking my high 'c' solo out of the park. (If you listen to this track, you can hear me at the very end. It also shows you a bit of what the concert was like: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZLuC6YXtag at 3:35)
This first rehearsal was really just a run through of all the music with the conductor, before putting it together with the orchestra. We touched up a few things and made a couple of last minute changes, then called it a night; the Maltesers had been up since 5am to catch planes and were completely exhausted.
Wednesday found us in the Trinity Hall, the London Philharmonic Orchestra's regular rehearsal space. In there, they crammed 110 singers, the entire orchestra, and about 20 production assistants, personal assistants, sound techs and spectators for an intense rehearsal of all the pieces for Thursday evening's performance. It really is a thrill to be in an orchestral rehearsal. The sound is massive, and watching the musicians work out problem spots and tweek sections reminds me that we all have to work at it to make beautiful music, even the Queen's own! We went through each piece twice. Once, just the conductor and orchestra, the second time we added the choir into the mix. Throughout, Maestro was setting tempi and deciding how he wanted this to sound. Then came the soloists! The organizers of the concert had enlisted several "celebrity" acts to perform in the concert. I use quotation marks because, while apparently these soloists have had hit songs in Britain and are rather well know, I had never heard of any of them before in my life! There was a girl group called Candy Rock, someone formerly of the band Atomic Kitten, someone formerly of the band Blue, Darius something, the runner up in the first ever x-factor competition... you see where I'm going here. So these soloists came and ran through their pieces as well and we were treated to a preview of what Thursday night was going to be like. Some of the acts were terrific, some not so much. Some were still reading the lyrics off sheets of paper, or the more high-tech Kindle, and even then making mistakes. Others were so strong and well prepared, they blew my socks off... and it was only rehearsal. What was clear was that the 'old timers' were going to make the 'kids' look like just that, kids.
And then THE DIVA walked in...
First came her music director, because she didn't want to work with Maestro, so she brought her own. He introduced himself to the orchestra and talked through her piece with them. Following the music director, the lady's personal assistant came in, ensuring that the path was clear and that everything was just as it was expected to be. Then came Dame Shirley Bassey, decked in a brown fur coat and matching fur hat (which I mistook to be her hair) with big sunglasses on her face, and the biggest smile. Now, I must confess; until this moment, I had no clue who Dame Shirley was... never heard of her, but it only took her walking in the room for me to know that I was in the presence of someone special. She was magnetic. Everyone sat up taller and smiled broader and waited for her to open her mouth. And when she did, everyone got chills. This is a woman probably in her 70s, but her voice was solid. It was as if she were still 30 and starting out her career. So much strengthand character, it was a real treat. She sang 'Something', a Beatles hit, ran through it twice, and then glided out just as she had come in. After that, we all knew that Thursday evening's concert was going to be absolutely thrilling!
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