It was an evening that one wanted to remain forever young. Opera artistes Greer Davis and Michael Lawrence Brown from the United States who performed at the ‘Evening at the Opera and Broadway’ at Guru Nanak Bhavan last week, left the audience yearning for more.

The couple sung and enacted scenes from Mozart’s Arias and selected excerpts from Puccini’s songs. In a clear soprano and baritone with perfect expression to match the song, Greer and Michael sung the tale of a bride and groom who were plotting to oppose a Count who vowed to bed the bride.

In Reese’s song titled, `Sweet peas’ they talk of a lover comparing sweet peas to his beloved. `Food for love’  was a song about people who love food.  Mozart’s `Magic Flute’ was a song about a man looking for his sweetheart who goes missing, recalling their life together, of how many children they’d have and comparing his love to the four seasons of the year.

Puccini’s `Quando men vo’ was particularly lively and impressive. Greer and Michael sang of this beautiful dame trying to poke fun at her boyfriend. She would go out into the streets and flirt around with the other men only to make her boyfriend jealous. She would have people staring at her and praising her good looks. The two would then patch up and come together again.

Another song was about a man who sings of his younger days when he was free and wild. Of the days he had lots of fun. 

Opera concerts are indeed a rarity in the City. The evening was delightful and entertaining. Young people, and those young at heart came trooping in, dressed in their best, accessorised with jewellery to a very satisfying effect. Some of them in the audience were seen snapping their fingers and tapping their toes to keep to the beat of the song.
NCG