Alex Theatre
Glendale, CA
June 23, 2006
The Glendale, CA concert, "God Bless America, A Musical Salute" at the Alex
Theater was wonderful and special, but hard to report because it was full of
surprises and lasted almost three hours. It featured the Pasadena Community
Orchestra conducted by Wayne Reinecke and the Ukrainian National Choir
"Kobzar" of Los Angeles. (I have no idea what "Kobzar" means.) The choir
women all wore brightly embroidered white blouses, and the men had
embroidery on the front of their shirts. Anthony was the featured guest,
but there was also a Bass soloist, Stefan Szkafarovsky, an older gentleman
and my guess is that his heritage is Ukrainian (he had an embroidered shirt,
too). When Anthony came out for his first solo set, he joked that everyone
in the show was Ukrainian and "there's a Paddy stuck in the middle,"
referring to himself. The audience laughed and I think from that moment
were smitten by his charm. Anthony was in magnificent voice, seemed relaxed
and in high good humor.
I'll try to give a concise rundown of the extensive program. The orchestra
opened with The Star Spangled Banner with the choir. They followed with The
American Frontier by Calvin Custer. Anthony appeared and joined the
orchestra and choir with his solo voice in O Lord, Thine is the Greatness,
by Dmitri Bortniansky. I'd never heard this piece before, but it was
impressive.
Anthony was formally introduced and came out with his accompanist, Mairead
Hurley, who was dressed in black. She wore a jacket that was cut like
Anthony's tails in the back, so she and he looked like they matched. I've
never seen an outfit like it before, but it was very attractive on her and
suitable for the occasion. She sat at the piano and he sang, Kitty Me Love,
Love Thee Dearest, At the Ball, and Girls Were Made to Love and Kiss. The
audience readily appreciated his rich, agile voice, and his whimsical charm.
Next the Orchestra played Variations on a Shaker Melody--Appalachian Spring
by Aaron Copeland. Then Mr. Szkafarovsky, the bass, sang Hamaliya by
Dankevych accompanied by his pianist, Matthew Bergey. He went on to sing
The Eagles are Flying by Stetsenko with the orchestra and choir.
Anthony and Mairead came back out with five more solo songs: The first I
don't know the name of, but it's a fast song sung in German (I think). He
continued with Bird Songs at Eventide, Macushla, and Off to Philadelphia.
His interpretation of the last one was a bit different this time--slower and
poignant, especially toward the end when he sings of leaving home and
friends.
The orchestra followed with American Salute by Morton Gould. George
Dzundza, an actor and the MC for the evening, read a portion of The
Gettysburg Address. The first half ended with orchestra, choir, and Anthony
performing Battle Hymn of the Republic. It was just magnificent, especially
hearing Anthony's voice soaring above the rest.
After Intermission, the orchestra played a medley of Broadway Show Stoppers.
Mr. Szkafarovsky returned to sing In the Field by Fomenko.
Anthony returned with Mairead and sang four songs, the first two of which I
don't know. The first had a refrain of "I'll Walk Beside You", so maybe
that's the title. I don't think I've heard it before, but I enjoyed it.
Then Anthony sang another song in a foreign language (Italian perhaps). He
followed with As I Sit Here. Next he sang O Sole Mio, and the audience
began clapping simply at hearing the introduction. Toward the end when the
piano played a few solo measures, they started to clap again, apparently
thinking Anthony was finished. Anthony held up his forefinger with an
impish expression, cueing them to wait, and then sang the last part, after
which he received spirited applause.
The orchestra and choir performed Glory by Rimsky-Korsakov. Then Anthony
returned for his final set of solos: Because You're Mine, She Is Far From
The Land, another Italian song that sounded familiar but I don't know the
title, and Danny Boy, which he joked that he can't escape without singing.
The audience loved it.
The orchestra played a rousing Stars & Stripes Forever. Mr. Dzundza read
the poem, The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. Anthony returned, along with
the bass singer, to add their solo voices to America the Beautiful with the
orchestra and choir. According to the program, this was the end of the
concert. But then they had a little awards ceremony, among which was one
given to Anthony: The "Honorary Son of Ukraine" Award for participating in
the concert. He graciously accepted it with some words in Irish. He may
have translated it---can't remember as I was trying to snap photos.
Next came a few more surprises. The MC came out and said we had to get
Anthony Kearns back out to sing one more song and urged the audience to do
what they could to accomplish that. The audience enthusiastically obliged
with applause and cheers. It took a little while, but Anthony did come back
out with Mairead, crossing himself and looking heavenward as he reached the
piano. This seemed to be a genuinely unexpected encore and he said he hoped
he and Mairead could manage it, or words to that effect. She began to play
and he said, "Stick with me, Mairead, you'll be wearing diamonds!" The
audience applauded as soon as they recognized the introduction to La Donna e
Mobile. He sang it brilliantly.
The MC came back out and said, to honor our veterans, the orchestra would
play a medley of the anthems of each branch of our armed forces. He asked
all the veterans present to stand as their anthem was played and remain
standing till the finish. This was a really beautiful tribute, I thought,
especially when my husband stood at hearing the Army anthem.
Then Anthony, the bass singer, the two piano accompanists and, at Anthony's
behest, the MC, all came out on stage for God Bless America. The conductor
was so pleased, he said he wanted to do it twice. Anthony laughed heartily
with surprise, but they did indeed sing it again. And that was the finale
of a wonderful, patriotic evening performed by a chorus of Ukrainians and
one glorious Irishman!
Lori Herter
