Witnessing Opera Australia’s rousing performance of The Verdi Gala Concert at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on Wednesday evening might’ve raised the thought, “How could one not be totally enamoured by the phenomenal art of opera?”
After weeks and weeks of what seemed an operatic drought in the city, a fabulous showcase of not only Verdi’s extraordinary compositional talent but of the drama of life and achievements of the human spirit illuminated both hall and hearts.
An exhilarating sounding Orchestra Victoria (OV) under the command of conductor Alexander Briger provided the lush musical canvas while the artistry of heartfelt singing rang through with acclaimed Australian soprano Nicole Car, her talented Canadian baritone husband Étienne Dupuis and Australian tenor Paul O’Neill sharing the stage.
What was clearly evident in this concert program was the immense love shared by all for Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901), an influential figure who remains one of opera’s most esteemed composers. With a catalogue of 26 opera titles that also includes revisions made to many of them, his works are performed regularly year after year.
Excerpts from seven of Verdi’s operas made up the program while snippets from his two most popularly performed works, La traviata and Aida, were conspicuously absent – up to a point. Avoiding a list of opera’s greatest hits was a refreshing tick.
The mercurial Overture to The Force of Destiny opened the concert, demonstrating Briger’s dramatic vision in harnessing the energy and moods within and eliciting expert playing in all sections of OV. Through to the concert’s conclusion, that temperament and commitment continued.
Then, as the evening’s avid host, ABC Classic presenter and soprano Greta Bradman primed the audience with excellent and engaging commentary, guiding the evening with bottomless charisma.
After introductions to Il Trovatore, Car’s enigmatic and coruscating rendition of Leonora’s Tacea la notte signalled a world class night ahead. It wouldn’t have mattered if the Italian text was foreign to the listener or not because Car conveyed a penetrating emotivity that shone with utter purity of sound.
Strikingly dressed in a chartreuse taffeta strapless gown, Car appeared relaxed and poised, underlining the broad strength of her instrument. From the dark and shaded tones in the lower register to her soaring and radiant top notes, together with crescendos of effortless sounding dynamism, Car was a magical force.
Dupuis followed with immediate and effective stage presence as the deluded Count di Luna, his authoritative, smokey and muscular baritone an impressive combination of beauty and purpose. As it turned out, Depuis was only warming up for some later vocal painting in which the furnace within opened up with profound magnificence.
Off stage, as the titular troubadour, O’Neill captured the moment with a lucidly sung Deserto sulla terra to Will Nichols’ gentle harp accompaniment. On stage, there was much to admire in O’Neill’s performance but he seemed held back by a tightness in the voice that restricted deeper connection to the chest voice and struggled against the full weight of the orchestra, apparent in the impassioned aria, Di quella pira.
Thereon, a score of arias and duets – as part of an array of dramatic episodes efficiently and powerfully directed by Shaun Rennie – yielded many a highlight.
As Amelia, Car’s mellifluousness and unforced, naturalistic lines were a treasure in Come in quest’ora bruna from Simon Boccanegra.
O’Neill brought appealing swagger to the misogynistic but melodic tenor aria and only popular piece of the program, La donna è mobile, from Rigoletto. Still, issues with projection over the orchestra persisted but O’Neill seemed especially at ease and in strident form in duet with Depuis for Invano Alvaro from The Force of Destiny.
Closing the first part with a formidable Pace, pace mio dio from The Force of Destiny – in a change of outfit to a body-fitting black velvet gown with diamantine highlights – Car gave much to revel in while the audience took time out, not least being in awe of the manner in which her breathing was entirely unforced and almost undetectable.
From the Overture to Nabucco, onto three pieces from A Masked Ball and finishing with scenes from the dark intrigue of Verdi’s grand opera of Don Carlo, set during the Spanish Inquisition, the evening continued with pumping dramatic and emotional musicality.
Depuis left an indelible mark with two marvellous arias in which the voice oozed, dripped and coagulated with affecting pent up emotion – Renato’s Eri tu che macchiavi quell’anima from A Masked Ball and as Rodrigo in Per me giunto è il di supremo … O Carlo, ascolta from Don Carlo.
Also from Don Carlo, Depuis and O’Neill shared the duet, É lui! Desso, l’infante!, singing in wonderful unison the duet’s snappy militaristic beat with unflinching sturdiness.
Car’s two highlights in the second part came with the aching pleas of a mother to see her child in Morrò, ma prima in grazia from A Masked Ball before crowning the evening with a devastatingly sublime performance of the tragic aria Tu che le vanita from Don Carlo in her desire for the grave.
I confess I had desires of my own, including straying thoughts of happily spending the foreseeable future following Car’s every note and every performance on her journey from one famed house to another. It was one of life’s luxuries meeting her in the art again.
An encore there was, too! Bradman joined the trio for the much-loved Brindisi from La traviata. I’d hoped for something different but Bradman was such a joy all night that it’s sparking, celebratory rendition put a smile on my face.
Bravi to all at Opera Australia. Done well and well-considered, concert opera can be a truly transformative experience. One more performance of The Verdi Gala Concert remains and a ticket is highly recommended. Failing that, look out for a chance to hear it on ABC Classic.
The Verdi Gala Concert
Hamer Hall – Arts Centre Melbourne, St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Performance: Wednesday 30 April 2025
The Verdi Gala Concert will also be presented on Saturday 3 May 2025. For more Information visit: www.opera.org.au for details.
Images: The Verdi Gala Concert – photos by Jeff Busby
Review: Paul Selar