Saturday evening, the Eurovision Song Contest. It had been building towards a climax over the past weeks and days. Our representative Gustaph did his best. The man can sing and secured a nice seventh place. However, this festival has become a circus with lots of bells and whistles and outdoing each other in extravagance in a mix of fashion, dance and performance. So that it ultimately becomes a bland mix!
Less is more
Then I prefer Bellissama, belcanto & bella musica with authenticity and charm. This concert under the banner 'Freunde en Freundjes'. The already experienced performers invited two final-year students of classical singing, Anaïs Simon and Isis Van Ginneken, to perform some songs from their exam repertoire for a live audience and thus gain experience… Intention: support beginners.The quartet of 'Ode an die Freunde': soprano Lissa Meyvis, pianist Lester Van Loock, baritone Jokke Martens and contralto Alexandra Franck ultimately had to deal with bad luck. Alexandra fell ill on Saturday and had to withdraw. Quick thinking is then a requirement. In a rush, the programme was adapted. This speaks to the flexibility, adaptability and professionalism of seasoned artists. Although with two sopranos, a contralto, a baritone and a singing pianist you often have to think outside the box. They do it with verve, uninhibited and exuberant. They move at the intersection of virtuosity and creativity. Their approach tends towards fusion with an ingenious collection of songs that seeks connection with each other and the audience. A programme with a broad approach: romantic, emancipatory, poetic, comic, pamphleteering… Music in all moods and feelings. Even within the scope of a single aria or song, contrasting emotions alternate quickly. They capture sounds in words and words in sound. Not a trace of monotony to be found. Moreover, everything is linked together with wit so that the whole sparkles. A successful formula with a contagious vibe.
The whole group starts with the spirited 'Good Morning'. It was sung by Gene Kelly in the musical film 'Singin' in the Rain' from 1952 and thus became world famous.
Young Anaïs reveals herself as a comedienne in the song 'Yes' by Maurice Yvain, linguistic complications with one foot in the opéra comique. Her fellow student Isis brings the emotional song 'Le jour le soleil béni' from André Messager's opera Madame Chrysanthème. She sings beautifully but still lacks some stage presence. A sensitive point for all beginning singers and actors… where do I leave my hands!? A small point to note.
Following a duet between the two conservatory students 'Ah guarda sorella' from Cosi fan tutte by W.A. Mozart. The sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella are desperate over the infidelity of their beloved. Experienced Lissa Meyvis also looks back to her student days and performs a song from her graduation project 'Peregrina I' by Hugo Wolf, with complex content and structure. Wolf, together with Gustav Mahler, was one of the great masters of the late-romantic song.
Lester Van Loock & Lissa Meyvis
Anaïs Simon
Jokke Martens, Lissa Meyvis, Lester Van Loock
Isis Van Ginneken
Lester Van Loock
Keyboard wizard Lester Van Loock is on the same wavelength and looks back to his master's thesis with a 'Selection from A gyermekeknek' by Béla Bartók. Spielerei with notes. Jokke Martens literally and figuratively steps back in time with the song 'When I was One And Twenty' by Arthur Somervell. Youthful arrogance versus maturity. Variety is key.
Anaïs and Isis join in with the duet 'Some Things Are Meant To Be' from the musical 'Little Woman', music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, based on Louisa Alcott's novel about the March sisters growing up under their mother's wings during the Civil War. Also particularly impressive is their rendition of the gossip song 'Echt bestaat' from the musical Goodbye Norma Jane about the life of Marilyn Monroe, composer Sam Verhoeven. The parts deploy their fighting spirit against the conspiratorial whispers.
The first part ends with the beautiful flower duet 'Viens, Mallika … dôme épais' from Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé for soprano and mezzo-soprano. Perhaps one of the most famous opera duets ever. It is a joy to hear the lively pure tone and seemingly boundless breath of Lissa and Anaïs and subsequently of Anaïs and Isis.
After the interval, Isis starts with 'J'ai deux amants' from André Messager's musical comedy L'amour masqué. An emancipated woman lets slip "Mon Dieu, que c'est bête les hommes!". Delightful lyrics and skilfully performed by young Isis. In her incomparable own way, Lissa Meyvis performs 'J'ai deux amours', the signature song of the legendary Josephine Baker. George Gershwin once wrote a parody on the clichés of love songs 'Blah, blah, blah'. At a loss for words, Anaïs solves the difficulties with a sexy body language. An impressive interpretation and rendition. Baritone Jokke Martens knows how to move to tears with the beautiful aria 'Nessum Dorma' from Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot.
Lester Van Loock plays with schwung 'Etude op. 10 nr.5' by one of his beloved composers Frédéric Chopin.
Subsequently a love duet from the musical 'All I Ask Of You' from The Phantom Of The Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber sung by Anaïs and Jokke. The whole thing takes on a double meaning as Anaïs shifts her attention and exchanges flirtatious glances with the pianist. Hilarious! The quartet of Ode an die Freunde eagerly engages in the game where opera and theatre meet each other with the necessary dose of humour. That tenor is continued in the duet between Isis and Jokke 'Lippen schweigen' from Die lustige Witwe by Franz Léhar. In the third duet 'So muss allein ich bleiben' from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss the man's love is finally reciprocated. Third time's the charm. As a point final -and tutti at hand- follows 'Ode an die Freude' by Beethoven and the audience can sing along to their heart's content.
Talents of the new generation were given a fine opportunity to stand before an audience here. Five performers with a passion for music, pure technique and a classy, inspiring performance. They pour their heart and soul into singing and playing. Freunde & Freundjes: inspiring and relished to the full by the audience.
WHO: Lissa Meyvis, Lester Van Loock, Jokke Martens, Anaïs Simon, Isis Van Ginneken
WHAT: Freunde & Freundjes
WHERE: TheaterCafé Fakkeltheater
WHEN: Sunday 14 May