Opera Otago is definitely alive and well, at present in the ideal venue of Nations Church in South Dunedin, cooking up a potpourri of arias and choruses entitled Potluck — an Operatic Feast! in which MC chef extraordinaire Harriet Moir presents a menu, with outstanding improvisational skill and original "ad lib" humorous dialogue for each course of tasty, delectable musical fare.
An original concept by Judy Bellingham has given local singers the opportunity to perform an amusing vocal carte du jour to please the most discerning musical palate.
Blended, battered and boiled by musical director Cameron Monteath, director Esther Smith, production manager Linda Brewster and stage manager Christine Wilson, this is a unique musical meal in which to indulge.
Nothing was past its shelf life. Erin Connelly-Whyte and Kieran Kelly opened with Libiamo ne’ lieti calici, a duet from Verdi’s La traviata, which was followed by Monteath’s arrangement for chorus of The Coffee Song, by Hilliard and Miles. Cathy Highton-Sim delighted with Gloria’s Shopping List (Philip Norman) while wildly unpacking bags of groceries.
An amusing entree about eating sausages was dished up as Kelly sang Ludwig’s aria By the Mystic Regulation from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Grand Duke. He later excelled as an Italian waiter delivering a pasta dish, singing Pasta Master, by John Drummond.
An omelette was mixed and sampled to accompany Bizet’s Omelette Quartet featuring Highton-Sim, Eva Stein, Teddy Finney Waters and Kelly, and Claire Barton provided a boozy aperitif, portraying the hilarity of Tipsy Waltz, a famous aria by Offenbach.
Connelly-Whyte contributed Tale of the Oyster, by Cole Porter, and a flavoursome Just Desserts (David Hamilton) by the Dunedin Children’s Choir (director Natasha Manowitz) showed choral purity and acting ability, especially in the combined finale Food Glorious Food, by Lionel Bart.
Nine classical singers (Kathryn Gardner, Penelope Muir, Eva Stein, Ameera Woods, Teddy Finney Waters, Mike Gibbs, Mauricio Iozzo, Grant Paris and Rhys Thorn) whisked up batches of chorus fare as required.
Overall, Potluck is 90 minutes of great fun, culinary chuckles and music, and I definitely recommend booking for tonight or tomorrow’s matinee.
Review by Elizabeth Bouman
