"Now Santa is a busy man, he has no time to play........"
But he did find time to leave a special Christmas present in Red Bank,
NJ on Friday night, when The Irish Tenors presented the first show of
their 2009 Christmas Tour. The area surrounding the Count Basie Theatre
was splendidly lit up for the holiday, and despite the fact that a parade
and a tree-lighting effectively did away with all the available parking
spaces, it was a wonderful evening!
On the podium we had Maestro Eric Stern, who is well-known in the opera
and concert world. The orchestra was made up of musicians who had
accompanied the Tenors before, and they are very, very good.
I remember their concertmaster, who played
his solo parts beautifully. My only caveat of the evening, is that Maestro
Stern is a very enthusiastic and exuberent conductor, and in his
exuberence, he sometimes allowed the orchestra to play too loudly.
At times it was a little difficult to hear some of the mens' low notes.
In the orchestra's solo pieces, they were marvelous! The evening opened
with a beautifully performed Mise Eire. In one of the new bits of the show,
Maestro Stern asked the audience to imagine that the great Russian
composer Tchaikovsky was Irish. Then the orchestra played the Russian
Dance from The Nutcracker Suite, as if it were an Irish jig. It was a terrific
premise, and done extremely well.
The evening showcased some of the most beautiful solos, duets, and trios
that the Tenors do. And this brings up my argument to people who ask
- .."How can you see the same show so often during a season?" And
my weary answer always begins with the fact that first and foremost, these
men have three of the most beautiful voices in the world. Once you
understand that, it doesn't much matter how many times you hear the
same song. When it's beautiful......it's beautiful. That being said, there
were some highlights which stood out. The men came out onstage to
sing "Be Thou My Vision," one of my favorite pieces. They sounded in
great voice, and looked very handsome in their white dinner jackets
and red boutonnieres. "Red is the Rose" followed, and then the very
funny "Golden Jubilee." Finbar has such a great time being Kate McGee,
with his falsetto "....and here's what you must do." I think Kate had an
identity crisis, because I could have sworn that for a brief moment, Karl
was Kate. I could be wrong but in any case, everyone had a good time,
and the audience loved it! Karl's first solo, "Lagan Love" was beautifully
done, and Finbar roused the audience with "When You Were Sweet Sixteen."
Anthony's first solo was "a special request" for one of the longtime fans,
"The Pallatine's Daughter." The inside joke, known only to the other
longtime fans, was that she doesn't like the song! So although Anthony
sang it marvelously, it must have been somewhat of a bittersweet
experience. The rest of the "regulars" though, thought it was hilarious!
The mens' other solos were truly magnificent. Anthony sang the
exquisite "Ave Maria" by Gounod, and brought the house down. Finbar
sang a lovely, lilting "Mary's Boychild." Before he began, he joked with
the audience that if they could imagine Tchaikovsky as an Irishman,
maybe they could imagine him being Jamaican! And Karl sang a beautiful
"I'll Be Home For Christmas" which he does better each time I hear him.
He prefaced it with the news that for the first time in many years, all
his family would be together in one place, at Christmas, so he was
really anxious to get home. Finbar and Karl sang the very famous
"Little Drummer Boy" and they did an excellent job. And Anthony
made "I Heard The Bells" into a perfect jewel of a song.
There was a medley of songs which included roof-raising versions of
"Amazing Grace," and "Go Tell it On The Mountain." There was a
gorgeous "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" which the men sang like
a Bach fugue, and the ethereal "Silent Night" which Finbar began in
Spanish as "Noche de Paz", Karl continued in German, as "Stille
Nacht" and Anthony ended in English. It's always one of the highlights
of the Tenors' Christmas program.
"O Holy Night" also is always one of the most beautiful parts of the
show, and this night it was magnificently done. Anthony began it in
French, as "Minuit Chretien." During this piece, the men did some of
the most beautiful singing of the evening. Earlier, I had the sense
that Karl was saving his voice. But he soared into some splendid high
A's and B-flats. The encores were pure fun. We heard "Jingle Bell
Rock," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." and Leroy Anderson's
famous "Sleigh Ride." And whoever decided to put "Feliz Navidad" into
the show is brilliant! It was just perfect, and someone added the words
"Buon Natale," so the men got to wish each other, and the audience,
Merry Christmas in yet another language! All too soon, the evening
ended with "Danny Boy," and it was time to say good night, as
the men wished us all a Very Happy Christmas.
It was the perfect start to the holiday season, and to our Tenors and
Maestro Stern, I can only end by saying "FELIZ NAVIDAD, BUON NATALE,
PROSPERO ANO Y FELICIDAD!"
Berta Calechman
