(seen at the performance on 6th November 2023)
In the “Golden Age” of the Hollywood Musical, the major studios had multiple orchestras plus the best composing and orchestrating talent money could lure from Broadway back east.
Conductor John Wilson has always had a fascination for re-creating that age, shared often in the BBC Proms series and now on a tour with the Sinfonia.
The obvious start was the “MGM Jubilee Overture” written in 1954 to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the studio. Mouthwatering snippets of “Singin’ In The Rain,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “The Trolley Song” and “Over The Rainbow” set a stylish tone for the evening.
The brilliant “Stereophonic Sound” vocal from “Silk Stockings” was a little lost in the Albert Hall’s own dodgy system; but the audio came back into focus as Kim Criswell broke out “Secret Love” from “Calamity Jane.” The highlight of the evening, the hall mesmerised by a simple tune with deep lyric, sung to perfection.
“I Wish I Were In Love Again” was a success before a solo “The Heather On The Hill” from “Brigadoon,” John Wilson reminding us of the song’s fantasy origins. A break for the singers to allow us to hear the overture from “High Society” – so many great songs without time to perform them.
Matt Ford and Jamie Parker came into their own with the first of two duets. Bemoaning a gambler’s loss of freedom, the title number from “Guys and Dolls” elicited banter from the pair before Ford slipped in a change to the published programme with a magical “Pure Imagination” from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Uncannily sounding like Gene Wilder, in a good way.
Criswell returned to deliver a “People” from “Funny Girl” which demanded an instant encore. Wisely choosing her own interpretation, the strings soared in a way a regular theatre pit orchestra can no longer provide.
All three singers united for “I Got Rhythm” – the versatile number from “Girl Crazy” that pops up in every Gershwin tribute... but always leaves the audience knowing they need not ask for anything more.
The bright “Good Morning” from “Singin’ In The Rain” kicked off the second half before Jamie Parker listed everything he would cling to in “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” from “The Berkleys of Broadway,” another Gershwin classic.
Back with Ford for another duet, this time on “S Wonderful” from (Gershwin again) “An American In Paris” we find out that Ford can whistle up a round of applause, literally.
A rarity from the archive next, Jerry Herman’s “Love Is Only Love” written for the film version of “Hello, Dolly!” Kim Criswell’s vocal discovering it all over again as a special ballad.
Celebrating the skill of orchestrator Conrad Salinger whom, we learn, was responsible for creating the richest sounds of the era, the “Waltz at Maxim’s” from “Gigi” allowed the orchestra to demonstrate the skill in his art as sound appeared out of all proportion to the number of musicians present.
Another genius has his work recognised by Kim Criswell’s rendition of “Love” from “Ziegfeld Follies.”
Putting the male viewpoint, Ford scored his personal best with “If Ever I Would Leave You” from the Lerner and Loewe terrific score (terrible book) “Camelot.”
To slip in an extra bit of fun, he then partnered with Criswell for a very British “It’s A Jolly Holiday With Mary” from “Mary Poppins,” the orchestra on kazoos and relaxing when given the opportunity.
Not to be outdone, Jamie Parker made an outstanding Professor Higgins cursing Eliza and his own misfortune in “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” from “My Fair Lady.” Perfect accent and characterisation, and a wonderful violin solo of “I Could Have Danced All Night” interpolated.
With all three singers back on stage, Hollywood’s hymn to itself “That’s Entertainment” from “The Band Wagon” summed up how their skills still capture the world.
Encore, “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from “Annie Get Your Gun” seemed almost superfluous, but really was not, to round off quite an event.
Overcoming the acoustic limitations of the Royal Albert Hall, this was quite an achievement and shared Wilson’s passion for a craft we are in danger of forgetting. Perhaps there is scope for a concert of later work, bringing Williams, Menken and others to the fore.
Where there is also scope is to pull back a little on the relentless marketing message. The monkey has never been to an event anywhere where the public address system was used repeatedly before the show and at the interval to direct patrons to purchase merchandise.
Only at the tackiest poetry readings and pub concerts has it had the artistes trying to sell directly from the stage and beg for mailing list subscriptions. Wilson may think it a light-hearted joke, but having already been rinsed for £90 on a ticket and £10 more for a (turns out to be inaccurate – unforgivable for that price) programme, there were more than a few resentful remarks made.
Rather a pall over an event with three top singers backed by an orchestra MGM and the rest would have recognised and been proud to call their own.
4 stars.