THE

NATIONAL TOUR

STARRING ROBERT BARBARO AND ANNALISA KERRIGAN

Produced by Annalisa Kerrigan

Critics:

The Canberra Times  Weekend Arts Section May 15 2010

By Alanna Maclean

With understudy Robert Barbaro replacing tenor Roger Leme at two days' notice, one might have expected this tribute to end up on the rocky side.

Instead, with the assured presence of soprano Annalisa Kerrigan providing a narration and Trevor Jones steady in support on the piano the evening turns into a lovely night of nostalgia for those who remember Lanza with affection.

I have to confess to being trained to be pretty immune to his charms back in the 1950s.

However, the tunes of childhood have a way of calling up the times.  Kerrigan as Kathryn Grayson and Barbaro as Lanza certainly recreate the romance of songs such as Be My Love, Lanza's Italian musical heritage and the lushness of the  musical films of the 1950s.

It's as much Grayson's story as Lanza's.  Both trained for opera but were pulled into Hollywood. 

Kerrigan, tiny in stature but powerfully voiced, glides in and out of the spotlight in a couple of those long frothy dresses that were one of the marks of the MGM musical and talks affectionately about Grayson being cast in musicals for her singing rather than her acting.

She made only two films with Lanza, 1949's That Midnight Kiss and a year later, The Toast of New Orleans.

This show, however, puts their repertoire side by side in a way that brings the style of that particular era vividly to life and shows how much they seemed to belong together.

As for the details of Lanza's sometimes troubled career, Kerrigan treads with a light and affectionate touch, describing a man with a big and generous heart who was always prepared to argue for what he believed in.

The disaster that overtook The Student Prince is put down to creative differences rather than Lanza having a weight problem.

Lanza was certainly replaced in the film, not altogether successfully, by English actor, Edmund Purdom, but it was Lanza's voice in the songs and it is Lanza's interpretation of them that is celebrated here.

Kerrigan and Barbaro give the audience a poignant reminder of all of this in a well judged romantic medley from the show and Barbaro does a rich rendition of I'll Walk With God.

The audience on opening night clearly were there to remember, and knew their way around Lanza and his career, being rewarded by a number of encores and a brief opportunity to sing along.

It's an excellent show that challenges the audience to think about the relationship between popular culture and so-called "high culture" such as opera.

Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre  Season 12-15 May 2010.

About the Show:

THE FAVOURITE SONGS OF MARIO LANZA, are set in this ravishingly beautiful presentation of the music of Mario Lanza and Kathryn Grayson, starring ROBERT BARBARO and ANNALISA KERRIGAN.

Critics say Robert Barbaro "simply has one the most beautiful voices of his generation, not just in Australia, but in the world".  (Dr David Kram, Conductor, Former Head of VCA Opera Studio).

Robert Barbaro is an Australian-Italian tenor whose extraordinary, Lanza like - Italianate voice has just come onto the national and international radar.  He has earned his singing stripes both with the'More Than Opera' Company, and singing on the festival circuit including the Castlemaine Festival, the Coolart Jazz Festival, the Italian Cultural Festival and more.

Winning the illustrious Australian Youth Aria Competition as well as the Bendigo Bank Aria Competition, Robert has an easy, joyous style, bringing to life the music of Mario Lanza like no-one else can.

"He started to sing," producer Annalisa Kerrigan says "and my jaw dropped to the floor.  He's that good."

Annalisa's fine, silvery tone and graceful presence is the perfect fit for Kathryn Grayson's songs - she one of ABC Classic's star artists, with two best selling albums, one going straight to the top of the Australian classical charts and remaining there for an unprecedented six weeks.

Annalisa has appeared on all major television networks and has just finished an international tour of her ABC release “Ireland”.

Mario Lanza - The Loveliest Night of the Year, is for everyone who loved the Hollywood 50s and wants to be a part of this beautiful revival.

With Make Believe, Torna A Surriento, With a Song in My Heart, Ave Maria, Be My Love, Golden Days, The Loveliest Night of the Year, They Didn't Believe Me, I'll Walk with God from This Day On, If You Were Mine - and many more, this is a stunning taste of Lanza's finest hits with two of Australia's leading artists, Robert Barbaro and Annalisa Kerrigan.

Two extraordinary singers portrayed by two extraordinary Australian artists – this is a concert that will leave you with a song truly in your heart.

For more information please see www.annalisakerrigan.com or call 0412 907 879.

LISTEN TO ROBERT BARBARO AND ANNALISA KERRIGAN TOGETHER BY CLICKING HERE!