|
Publicity for the concert promised that the roof of the Royal Albert Hall would be raised, and the massed choir of 1,000 voices drawn from Noda members throughout the UK certainly saw to that!
For those who don't already know, Noda is the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, and has just celebrated it's Centenary - 100 years of service to amateur theatre - in a series of events across London. The Night of 1000 Voices spectacular, directed by Hugh Wooldridge who specialises in such concerts and produced the Andrew Lloyd Webber 50th Birthday celebration at the same venue last year, must surely have been the crowning glory of a memorable weekend for the Association.
Gloria Hunniford, charming, witty and informative, introduced us to an impressive selection of international soloists who together with the choir treated us to a well thought out collection of songs from over 20 musicals, ranging from Showboat which first saw the light of day way back in 1927 to Disney's brand new offering The Lion King. With so many fine performances to choose from it's no easy task to select favourites, but here are some of my own.
David Michael Johnson from the German cast of Rent opened both acts in sensational style, the first with 'It Ain't Necessarily So' from Porgy and Bess, the second with 'Superstar' from the well-known Rice/Lloyd Webber musical. 'Luck Be A Lady' and 'Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat' from Guys and Dolls were both made extra special by very spirited and enthusiastic performances from the men in the choir. Patricia Nessy literally shone in the aria 'Glitter and Be Gay' from Candide. And from the same show one of the most beautiful songs ever written, 'Make Our Garden Grow', currently being brilliantly performed at the National theatre by a far smaller company, here simply stunning performed as it was by over 1,000 unaccompanied voices.
The huge choir was little short of sensational and deserves special mention, especially for 'You'll Never Walk Alone' where the male voices were particularly evident, 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina', 'The Rhythm of Life', 'Anthem' from Chess, and 'Sail on Titanic', not forgetting a marvellous rendition of 'Do You Hear The People Sing?' from Les Misérables. Hard to believe they had only rehearsed together for the first time that very morning!
The first ever British musical theatre Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Cy Coleman, Elaine Paige, Howard Keel and Michael Crawford. These awards had been voted for by thousands of Noda members nationwide and were very gratefully received, Elaine Paige who was in New York and unable to attend, even sang Happy Birthday to Noda live on the telephone link!
With such a terrific array of talent performing a wonderful selection of show tunes it couldn't help but be a memorable evening. But of course I and many others were there mainly to see "the man who, as Javert, stopped the Les Misérables Tenth Anniversary Concert" and with almost a year having passed by since Hey, Mr. Producer! it was a thrill to see Philip Quast on stage once more. Great speculation as to what Philip would sing naturally included the inevitable 'Stars', so it came as quite a surprise to discover this wasn't to be the case! His first number was 'Oklahoma!', which also gave the audience their first chance to participate. Hearing the excellent singing from the Noda members sitting around me I decided to keep quiet and let the experts get on with it! Philip looked smartly casual in a dark blue open-necked shirt and gave a lovely wave to the choir as he made his way off stage.
For the 'Tonight Quintet' from West Side Story performed with fellow soloists Teri Bibb, Connie Kunkle and Leo Andrew, Philip wore a black suit with open-necked white shirt and perched on a stool. Singing beautifully, his voice was sweetly romantic. My favourite however was the combination of two Sondheim songs from Merrily We Roll Along, enhanced by a very evocative solo cello. Philip's voice seems ideally suited to Sondheim's material and I couldn't help feeling rather sad not to have witnessed his award-winning performance in Sunday in the Park with George. 'The Circle of Life' from The Lion King saw Philip and the whole company bring this wonderful concert to an end, aided by youngsters from a well-known local theatre school. Philip moved slowly amongst the children, his white shirt gleaming in the spotlights, softly touching one raised hand, then another. Truly sensational.
So came to an end an evening of beautiful music and fine performances, and a timely reminder of why we regard Philip Quast as being so very special. Once again I feel privileged to have attended such a unique event on the London stage - a veritable "roof-raising" extravaganza!
