Music
RSNO Viennese Gala, Perth Concert Hall
Michael Tumelty
four stars
JEAN-Claude Picard, the RSNO's Assistant Conductor, is an interesting chap. He's the third conductor, after Austrian David Danzmayr and the Dane Christian Kluxen, to work under the assistant's scheme, which, if it hasn't changed radically, offers a mentored, structured approach into the business of conducting a symphony orchestra.
Picard's an extremely personable bloke, but I don't think I've actually seen him at work until Wednesday night, when he brought the RSNO's traditional Viennese Gala, which he has been supervising on a regional tour, to Perth Concert Hall and a warm, good-sized and responsive audience.
I was very impressed with the confidence of the programme, straight in at the deep end with the iconic Blue Danube, with the Thunder and Lightning and Pizzicato Polkas hard on its heels, and not held back as second half firecrackers. That gave it a strength, enhanced by the RSNO's current performance levels and Picard's style-not-froth method with the push-me-pull-you rubato, which needs to acquire just a little more suppleness.
Great waltzes and Polkas then, good presentation by Picard, with a double dollop of Tchaikovsky giving it a peasant stomp in the Russian Dance and some intensity in Swan Lake. But a very good night turned into a terrific show as Welsh soprano Natalya Romaniw, with a Queen-sized personality, a wicked sense of fun, and a voice that would shatter granite (Brunnhilde would have fled) erupted and pretty-much tore the place apart in a series of numbers by Lehar in which Picard got twirled, or Tango'ed, by the soprano, who also came on to leader Bill Chandler and assistant leader Tamas Fejes. Saucy stuff. Great fun.
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