© Anthony Kearns, March 17, 2002-2010, All Rights Reserved, All Copyright Laws Apply...lynnco.lc
Review: Nearly seamless opening for Redlands Bowl season
By SHERLI LEONARD
Special to The Press-Enterprise
©
The Press-Enterprise
In its 87th season, the Festival made two significant changes in their staging: first, they eliminated Fetta's time-consuming departures from and returns to the stage between sets; second, they eliminated Fetta's convivial chatter between pieces. The first smoothed and shortened the transitions, while the second sterilized a normally friendly affair, with faceless announcements from off-stage welcoming tenor Kearns to the stage for his songs. I missed Fetta's easy banter with the audience.
Kearns, generally unknown to Redlands yet coming with outstanding credentials as one of the three Irish Tenors, sang his way into the audience's heart with a few seriously tired old songs - "With a Song in My Heart," "Younger than Springtime," "Serenade" - a few friendly opera arias, a few Broadway songs, and possibly the most captivating rendering of "O Danny Boy" ever offered.
Orchestra members in white dinner jackets, moonlit summer sky, classy picnics on the grassy banks of the outdoor amphitheater, standing room only - the scene was primed for a consummate pops concert, and the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival's season-opening event on Friday night did not disappoint as the San Bernardino Symphony presented a concert titled "Symphony, Songs, and Cinema." Frank Fetta conducted the orchestra and Irish tenor Anthony Kearns in the polished, well-timed concert of pleasant musical fare.
David Bauman/Special to The Press-Enterprise
Frank Paul Fetta, conductor of The San Bernardino Symphony, performs at the Redlands Bowl on Friday evening on the first night of the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival.
Kearns sang every piece with a pitch-perfect, easy, light and pure tenor voice, and still delivered significant power for "The Impossible Dream." Technically precise, with impeccable and easy octave leaps in "Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables" and vocal acrobatics in "La Donna E Mobile" from "Rigoletto," he sensitively interpreted each piece, shaping lines and phrases carefully.
His singing of "O Danny Boy" as an encore, with simple, elegant piano accompaniment from Fetta, reminded us how lovely the human instrument can be when delivered with extraordinary control and artistry. What a treat!
After a disorderly morphing from the opening lines of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" into the "Star Wars Medley," the San Bernardino Symphony proved its mettle in two major works, including the John Williams' medley and Gershwin's "American in Paris." With lush, full strings and outstanding solo work from concertmaster Todor Pelev, principal horn Kristin Morrison, principal clarinet John Gates, and principal trumpet David Scott, the orchestra delivered a fun Williams' piece, full of the movies' thrills, with thoughtful shifts in dynamics from driven and furious to mysterious and poignant.
The orchestra's performance of "American in Paris" captured the excitement of the big-city chaos of Paris, with perky, edgy clarinet solos, gloriously bright brass, and percussive clinking of the marimba, right-on despite percussionist Gary Long having to play almost in complete darkness. Well-miked to send a balanced sound, even to the banks, the orchestra demonstrated its depth and musicality for a completely satisfying Festival opening night.
