When I saw the announcements for the “Lyric Opera Ensemble,” performing over the weekend at Thompson Chamber Music Hall, I was a little hesitant at first.
But while I expected it to be a boring night, I left feeling the complete opposite. It was a lively evening full of so much comic relief I sometimes forgot it was an opera.
When I arrived inside the hall, young women dressed in mismatched clothes welcomed me. I looked around and saw there were more people dressed in these wacky clothes. When the concert started, I was surprised to find these people were actually the opera singers themselves, dressed this way in honor of April Fool’s Day. These silly outfits captured the eyes of the audience, but what kept us in awe was their voices.
The concert was divided into three parts: Oratorio, twosomes and threesomes. The singers performed classics from Mozart’s opera “Die Zauberflöte: Zu hilfe” (“The Magic Flute”) and Bach’s “The Seasonings,” as well as the song “Brimstone and Treacle” from the Broadway adaptation of “Mary Poppins.”
The most fascinating aspect of this opera was the way it was executed, with comedy often interrupting the hauntingly beautiful music. The pianists, Jeffrey Price and Michael Leavitt, never missed a key, except when they were in their goofy characters. The director, Robert Breault, performed similarly.
The physicality of the performance added another layer to the music. While all of these performers were funny, two of the funniest were those performing Mozart’s “La Ci Darem La Mano,” (“There We Will Give Each Other Our Hands”) Dana Wirth and Keanu Netzler. The performance begins with Wirth chasing Netzler’s character around. He is uninterested in her, but she persists. At this point, she takes off her coat, revealing a sexy corset, and began to whip Netzler’s character, which made the audience burst into laughter.
Another hilarious moment came when the male singers came out dressed in all-black suits. But instead of singing old school classical music, they sang popular titles such as “Hello” by Adele and “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd. Then came “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake and an argument about which ‘90s boy band was better, N’Sync or the Backstreet Boys, while singing “Bye Bye Bye.” All of this in an operatic style.
Even during these modern pieces, I was very impressed with the voices of the singers, which echoed throughout the room without the help of a microphone.
When the show finally came to an end, I felt sad. I was hoping it would go on for at least another hour or two, even though the show flowed nicely and was perfectly timed.
The next Lyric Opera Ensemble is taking place on April 22 and 23 at Kingsbury Hall at 7:30 p.m.