Gardens setting for Merchant

JOAN: The Merchant of Venice wittily abridged and finely directed by our courageous Karen Craig will play in the setting of the beautiful Bason Botanical Gardens from February 27 to March 1. We can book now for this special event.
Last Saturday at Patrick's Bookshop in Ridgway St an appetiser was offered by the cast. It was, in fact, so eagerly attended that a second performance was added later in the afternoon. Mike and I loved every minute of it!

We walked into the intimate but welcoming space to see a cast made up of the best of our local actors, young and old. (I have to regret here the absence of the wonderful Chris McKenzie who is recovering from a grotty time of illness). It was like getting together with family and the smiles of cast members sent our way before the excerpts began reminded us of the joy of being part of Whanganui theatre.

The Merchant of Venice, condensed, at Patrick's Bookshop. PICTURE / JOAN STREET

The scenes chosen were perfect. Delivered with humour and aplomb they made the packed audience laugh and listen, intrigued and wanting more. This production is going to be a "beaut". Karen's hard work and enthusiasm is to be hugely respected, the cast to be admired and cherished. You would be mad not to book your seats and start getting excited about this special occasion. I came away from Patrick's premises wishing there was less time to wait for the opening. Fantastic stuff!

MIKE: The major event of the past fortnight has been the Whanganui Opera School. The second Masterclass was yet another example of how a talented tutor can extract qualities from students' voices which they themselves did not realise they possessed. Nuccia Focile was a delightful presence on the stage at the Prince Edward Auditorium, bouncing around, full of energy, hands waving excitedly in support of her remarks, gently encouraging the four students in the spotlight. Specific advice was offered on breathing techniques, opening of vowels, relaxation of the body, clarity of diction — she explained them all. In addition she placed emphasis on the acting element, since, after all, opera is a dramatic performance, with speeches set to music. An excellent example of this was when Katie Trigg's male character from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette was searching high and low for his master. "Depuis hier" (since yesterday) were his first words. "Shout it out," said the tutor, "Let everybody know that Romeo has been missing for 24 hours! Ask if anyone has seen him!" Her advice added a new intensity to Katie's delivery.

Along with Glenn Winslade and Somi Kim, Nuccia formed the panel for a Platform Talk on Friday, Talking about Singing. Under the guidance of, and with the participation of Jonathan Alver, the audience was treated to an entertaining and humorous hour, in which we learnt about their careers and highlights of their professional lives.

Before moving to the final Opera concert, I feel I must comment on the sensational Saturday in our city. So much to do, see, listen to and eat! The Caboodle, offering 12 hours of music on two stages; the Opera House concert; the Vintage weekend, with all its marvellous machines, captivating clothing, ancient automobiles, fascinating food, convenient cafes ….ad infinitum! And let's not forget the Classic at Cooks Gardens. The weather smiled on us, and several friends have commented on the sheer number of people out and about , especially on Victoria Ave. Wasn't it bliss to wander down a car-free main street? It's probably too much to ask for that to be a permanent fixture, but it would be so relaxing. Adelaide does it with Rundle Mall and many other cities in the world, but they are much bigger, with the space to afford a pedestrian area. On crossing the road though, we still tended to veer towards the zebras! Old habits ...

We strolled through Majestic Square, past the vintage cars and motorbikes, and round to Patrick's, as Joan described earlier. Thence for a pleasant coffee al fresco at Orange. (Is Orange the new black?) From there we drifted, in stately fashion, up the Avenue to Majestic Square, for a 4pm session by the Transistors. Two of the group were performing as a duo when we claimed our seats in the shade well before then. Great voices, great guitars, great music! Add a third guitar, drums and keyboard, and you have the Transistors, who delighted the crowd with their bouncy numbers from the '60s and '70s, music at its best.

Finally, the Opera School's farewell concert. Having booked rather late, we found ourselves on the very back row of the Circle. I swear I could hear the pigeons on the roof twittering along! At the interval, however, a smiling Sheena came bounding up the stairs to say there were seats vacant in Row E of the Circle, a far more desirable viewpoint. We were extremely grateful.
To attempt to list all the singers would be impossible, and to select a few could seem unfair. I am opting for the latter, however, for the simple reason that we attended the first Masterclass, with Glenn Winslade as tutor, which was the subject of last week's column. In it I described how there was a marked improvement in performance after just 20 minutes' tuition.

All four students reprised their chosen arias from that Masterclass. They were, without exception, quite stunning! Their progress in a single week was breathtaking! Exuding confidence, singing with both clarity and passion, hitting with apparent disdain notes which had seemed a little uncomfortable only a few days earlier, they were a dynamic proof of the value of the Whanganui Opera School. Congratulations to Carla Camilleri, Michaela Cadwgan, Samuel Downes and Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono, plus all the other young participants. To the tutors, repetiteurs and organisers of the fortnight, our sincere thanks. 2021 awaits!