Above: Artistic and Music Director of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and conductor for this concert, Brett Weymark with members of the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra, baritone Leon Vitogiannis and mezzo soprano Ahslyn Tymms during the performance of Act highlights from Rossini’s opera, ‘Guillaume Tell’. Photo Credit : Keith Saunders.
A massed choir from Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ amateur ranks-the Festival Chorus, their collaborating singers from Opera Australia Chorus, large orchestral forces and a very full Sydney Opera House Concert Hall audience all contributed to an electric afternoon of Rossini music on Saturday May 17.
This exciting event with huge forces celebrated Rossini’s last opera, Guillaume Tell (1829- composed in Paris and in French). Excerpts from Act 1 of this powerful opera were here commandingly displayed, as one expects from Opera Australia Chorus and Philharmonia in numbers exceeding 400 choristers.
The master stroke for this concert was the inclusion of Rossini’s late-career sacred work, his exquisitie Petite messe solennelle. These works, important to the repertoire expansion of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, also were significant is exposing another side to this expat, immensely successful opera composer of the nineteenth century. By presenting one of Rossini’s key attempts at sacred music, the brilliant and mostly Italian operas we know him for, written in his early life – including La Cenerentola, and Il Barbiere Di Siviglia by the chance to hear this Mass and the composer’s last oprera, in the grand French opera mode and language.
Above: Sydney Festival Choir, Opera Australia Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra members and concert soloists, performed highlights from Rossini’s ‘Guillaume Tell’ in the first half of this concert. Photo credit: Simon Crossley-Meates.
And who better to bring us this experience than Opera Australia, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Orchestra on a grand scale, plus six soloists comfortable in the realm of opera, some of which easily made the shift from French to Latin, from stage history to sacred text and from Rossini’s typical banlieue to a transportation of his melodic and dramatic genius to a totally different place and musical format.
Celeste Lazarenko soprano (William Tell’s son Jemmy and Messe soprano), Ashlyn Tymms mezzo-soprano (Tell’s wife Hedwige anxd Messe mezzo), Shanul Sharma tenor (Arnold Melchthal in the William Tell excerpt and tenor soloist for the Messe), Nathan Lay, baritone (in the role of Swiss archer and hero Guillaume Tell plus baritone in the Messe) were joined in the opera highlights only by Opera Australia Young Artists exhibiting fine operatic ensemble and character work. These rising stars were namely Elias Wilson tenor (Captain Rodolphe and shepherd Luthold) plus Leon Vitogiannis, baritone (Arnold Melchthal’s father).
The collaboration between the 69 year Opera Australia and 105 year old Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in non-professional community singers mode was a thrilling, joyous union with which to celebrate the different hues to Rossini’s character and compositional output. It is one many would wish to see continue to strengthen and enrich the Arts palette in this country.
Above: (l-r) Celeste Lazarenko and Ashlyn Tymms perform in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. Photo credit: Simon Crossley-Meates.
By the time this concert’s first half blew us away with the first section of the Guillaume Tell story the audience was totally impressed by the sheer power, colourisation and dramatic momentum of the forces on stage. The audible audience reaction to the familiar, much -borrowed brass energies from the overture to Rossini’s last opera was repeated at regular intervals throughout the selected highlights- whether they were from soloists, duets, ensembles various or full vocal forces such as villagers, countrymen, soldiers and other important parts of they story.
The massed choir was flexible, brilliantly articulated and attacked the operatic excerpts with enviable verve. Operas in fragments are not always easy to deliver, but the conclusion to this work’s opening act, with its turbulent and meaty exposition was so well handled dhere that it survived a slicing to the stage performamnce. This fine performance flèche was a celebration of Rossini, the opera master that went straight to our hearts and safely to our drama-hungry heads.
By the time the choir, the precise and impactful gesturing of the orchestra and the quartet of operatic soloists completed Rossini’s dynamic setting, the audience were justifiably in awe. Ashlyn Tymms’ beautifully controlled Agnus Dei with Chorus was a stunning exercise in stillness, and the thirteen-movement advertisement for Rossini, the inimitable Church Music composer was truly complete.
Above: Elias Wilsongavwe a powerful performance in the Highlights from ‘Guillaume Tell’ section of this concert. Photo credit: Simon Crossley-Meates.
There were so many fine moments in the Petite Messe, but a few are worth mentioning. Tymms and Lazarenko showed expert blend and shaping during theit Qui Tollis duet. Shanal Sharma- who delighted regardless of language, text story or genre, exhibited great poise and phrasing in his Domine Deus solo and Nathan Lay’s Quoniam tu solus sanctus moment was perfectly placed. Celeste Lazarenko’s delivery of the seldom included O Salutaris and the Crucifixus was a seamless testament to her experience and Rossini’s successful crossover into liturgical text setting.
The choristers once more worked well with the soloists in more than one movement (the Sanctus was well blended and the Gloria quite roof raising) and many Credo moments had superb impact. The choral Cum sancto spiritu / Amen was both a brilliant setting by Rossini and a jewel in the combined chorus crown.
I instantly wanted to listen to the Rossini Mass and more of his sacred music following this substantial and reliable performance with which the late-career Messe was introduced to me. The stunning Sydney Harbour vistas at interval and enthusiastic crowd also enhance the excitement of this impressively curated programme, morceaux of musicology and performance instalment for the artistic groups and soloists involved.
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (VOX) are led by legendary choral composer Eric Whitacre in their next concert this June- performing his new work, Eternity In An Hour.
