Peekskillrev09 - Page: 1 of 1

Anthony Kearns sang his first solo concert in the northeast since
November 2007, Sunday afternooon, at the Paramount Centre for
the Arts in Peekskill, NY. It was a benefit concert for the Franciscan
Sisters of Atonement, Graymoor, and judging by the delight of the
audience at large, as well as the good Sisters, it was a resounding
success.

This was a really beautiful, well thought out concert-one of the best
I've heard him do. There was a mix of wonderful new pieces, and
some of the best songs Anthony has previously sung. He began
the concert with "Du Bist wie eine Blume" by Robert Schumann.
To start a program with a German lied is a calculated risk, until the
singer is sure of how the voice is responding. But Anthony was in
great voice from top to bottom throughout, and the song was
absolutely lovely. The words mean "you are like a flower, so lovely,
and fair, and pure," and he artfully conveyed the lover's words, as
he described his sweetheart. Then followed some extraordinary pieces,
including an exquisite, ethereal "Apres Un Reve" by Gabriel Faure, and a
lovely, evocative "Sous les ponts de Paris" (Under the Bridges of Paris),
also sung successfully by Eartha Kitt! This was followed by a
magnificent song by Rachmaninov, "O Cease Thy Singing, Maiden Fair."
It was a great favorite of John McCormack and as many Russian songs
are, it was in a melancholy vein, as the singer asks the maiden not
to sing of his homeland, because it makes him so unhappy.
Anthony truly conveyed the inherent sadness of the song, while
singing gorgeously. And because he's such a fine soloist, he was
able to switch from the steppes of Russia, to the pastures of Ireland,
for a wonderfully funny patter song, "McBreen's Heifer." It's a terrific
song, and in it, as well as in other comic songs, such as "Kitty of Coleraine"
and "The Palatine's Daughter" Anthony manages to play up their
humor, and they are always audience favorites. Patrick has said
many times that operetta suits Anthony's voice "from the ground up."
So it's no surprise that Victor Herbert's "Falling in Love with Someone"
from "Naughty Marietta" was so vibrant and lilting, and brought a great
response from the audience. Also from operetta, Anthony sang
" Play Gypsy, Play" from Emmerich Kalman's "Countess Maritza."
It was beautiful, and as more and more operetta pieces show up in
his concerts, I'm more convinced that Anthony can take his place
among the foremost operetta stars of the past, such as the great
Richard Tauber, Nicolai Gedda, and Rudolf Shock.

Of the songs Anthony has sung before, the pickings were prime,
such as "The Old Refrain" by the great violinist Fritz Kreisler,
which was nostalgically and lovingly sung, and one of my favorites,
"Down by the Salley Gardens." There was also a lovely Thomas
Moore piece called "I Saw from the Beach" again with all its
sadness and the regret of old age. Anthony Kearns is a young
man, but he must have an old soul, to be able to sing so beautifully
and knowingly about the sadness of growing older. And not to
leave out another genre with which Anthony is quite familiar,
that of Broadway musicals, he sang a memorable song from
"Les Miserables." But not the familiar "Bring Him Home"
which he does so poignantly. He sang "Empty Chairs at Empty
Tables" and it too was magnificent. Together, he and Patrick
sang "The Bould Gendarmes" and "Friendship." The audience
was absolutely enchanted with both duets, and when I mentioned
to one of the Sisters that Patrick had written "Friendship," she
said, "I thought so. It's so specific to both of them. And so brilliant."
Anthony also dedicated a flawless Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria" to
the Sisters, and they were thrilled. He didn't leave his high notes
home, either. He sang a glorious "Mattinata" which is fast
becoming a signature piece for him, and closed the concert
with a spectacular "Granada" as an encore. The cheering
audience was on its feet immediately, and gave both men a huge ovation.

As for Mr. Healy, he looks wonderful, and is such a consummate
performer, whether playing the difficult accompaniment to
"Granada" without sheet music, entertaining us with the very
funny story about a performance of "Samson and Dalila" in
which the Samson left a little bit to be desired, or singing a
moving "Galway Bay." Patrick also made a loving speech
about being raised by the Jesuits, and how sad it was that
these days, priests and nuns are getting a bad rap, when
the majority of the clergy are so good and caring. This
brought much applause from all.

I do hope the Graymoor Sisters realized their goal Sunday
afternoon. It was a mutual admiration society all around.
I think Anthony and Patrick were very happy to have
performed in Peekskill, and I know that the Sisters adored
both men. They spent quite a bit of time at the Meet & Greet
table, talking to the men about Ireland, and things Irish. So
Anthony and Patrick........please don't let so much time elapse
between concerts in the northeast. You were missed!

Berta Calechman