- PATRICK'S CHURCH
BAY SHORE, NY
May 8, 2009
Anthony Kearns' penultimate concert of the 2009 Spring tour took place
Friday night, in St. Patrick's Church, Bay Shore, NY. It was an incredibly
beautiful concert....the best of the tour. To say Anthony was in magnificent
voice would be the understatement of the year! I honestly don't think he
could have sung any better. But I'm certain I'll be proven wrong at a
future concert!
The program was the same as in the previous concerts, with a few
changes, because we were lucky enough to also have The Hibernian
Singers joining Anthony and Patrick. To me, the highlight of the program
was the incomparably beautiful Rachmaninov piece, "O Cease Thy Singing,
Maiden Fair." The beauty of Anthony's voice, with its skillful changes
from trumpeting "fortes" to the softest of "pianissimi" conveyed all
the sadness and yearning for a homeland he would not see again.
Lovely too, were the operetta arias, and as Anthony and Patrick are
"championing" the music of Victor Herbert, hopefully we'll hear
more of his pieces in future concerts. Again, "Empty Chairs at
Empty Tables was wonderfully and movingly sung. And again, Anthony
brought the audience to its feet with a showstopping "Mattinata." As
much as his audiences love the beautiful Irish songs he sings, it's
the arias and Italian songs, sung with ringing top notes and great
flair, that bring the house down.
Messers Kearns and Healy delighted the audience with "The Bould
Gendarmes," and especially "Friendship." Patrick was full of little
tricks to catch Anthony off guard, and funny facial expressions,
which he stopped as soon as Anthony looked over. The piece
is more broadly sung each time they do it, and it's funnier each
time. At one point when Patrick made the audience laugh, Anthony
said, "don't indulge him." But the friendship and love between
them is real, and spontaneous, and was shown when Patrick turned
quickly to the side to bow to that part of the audience. Anthony
quickly reached out to grasp Patrick's shoulders, in case he was
too close to the edge of the stage. Once he realized that Paddy was
okay, Anthony stepped back and let Patrick accept his applause.
Feelings such as those cannot be faked. For his part of this evening's
entertainment, Patrick regaled the audience with two hilarious
stories, one about an overweight soprano who got stuck in her
chair, and couldn't get up to dance The Merry Widow Waltz with
the tenor. So she danced with the chair stuck to her rear end,
as the wheels kept on spinning. Patrick swears this really
happened, but I don't know...... The other story was my absolute
favorite, The Donkey Serenade story, about a young, "very green"
Patrick Healy, who accompanied the piece without sheet music,
and started in the wrong key. The original audience, he said, was
rolling in the aisles. Just as we were, when he told the story. He
also sang two songs, "The Spinning Wheel," which he hasn't
done in quite awhile, because someone had asked him to do it,
and "Galway Bay." They were wonderful, and yes indeed, Patrick,
you have enormous value.....to Anthony, and to us.
Normally, I don't care very much, for having anyone else besides
Patrick, share the stage with Anthony. The only exception would
be The Hibernian Singers. Conducted marvelously by Christopher
Bilella, they always add immeasurably to the program. I know
Anthony and Patrick like to perform with them, and Maestro
Bilella told me Anthony was their favorite singer to work with.
They began their selections with "Ireland's Call" and "Steal
Away." Their other pieces included a song which combined
"Down By the Salley Gardens" with "Red, Red Rose." It was
really beautiful. They sang a very interesting arrangement of
"Lord of the Dance," and my favorite piece that they do....
"I Believe/"Ave Maria" (the Schubert one). Those two pieces
work together so well, and the Hibernians' voices blend so well, it
was terrific Their excellent violinist was a young lady named
Christina Mendolia, who coaxed a lovely tone from her instrument.
The singers also did "You Raise Me Up," with Kathy LaSpina as the
fine soloist. One more word about Maestro Bilella. Having watched
him conduct several times now, I know that he is a great conductor.
Passionate about the music, and sensitive to his singers, he's the
kind of conductor a singer prays for!
Anthony, Patrick, and The Hibernians ended the concert with
a spectacular "Jerusalem, the Holy City," wherein Ireland's
Best Tenor unfurled a High C which was absolutely stunning!
And then they sang a stirring "God Bless America" ending with
another fabulous High C. Come to think of it, I believe I heard
Irving Berlin cheering along with the rest of us.
I have to send my love and thanks to Ronnie Allen who always
takes such good care of us when we come to his concerts.
There were 3 rows of seats reserved for Anthony's fans.
But that would have included everyone who was there Friday night.
I can't resist ending this with Patrick Healy's own words.
"We are the stars that shine, we are the best of wine......."
No truer words were ever sung.
Berta Calechman
Genevieve