Gaulitana Festival
The Gaulitanus choir and soloists; Stephen Attard, piano; Colin Attard, director
Hotel Kempinski
This edition of Gaulitana, with 14 concerts spread over more than five weeks came to an end with selections from two well-known musicals. Composed by Americans neither one of them is set in the US: Loewe’s Camelot is set in a mythical location somewhere in Britain, while Fiddler on the Roof is set in a poor, early 20th century Russian village and follows the vicissitudes of a Jewish family.
The programme was presented by Rob Ricards who at various intervals provided links in the respective plots as both the latter unfolded by means of selections of choruses and solos as well as in various combinations. Gaulitanus is a small, compact but very well-trained choir and the hard work put into this effort produced the desired results. The singers were all very well-prepared and the choir was balanced and on cue all the time.
Various soloists took part, with Paul Barnes performing the role of King Arthur, projecting very well the idealism behind what he wanted Camelot to stand for. At the same time dealing with Guinevere was a major preoccupation of his. In a lighter moment he interacted very well with soprano Emma Darling’s Guinevere in the duet What Do The Simple Folk Do? Ms Darling is a great communicator and sings with great assurance, elements very obvious as she proved in her solo recital some days earlier.
She has the technique required by the professional singer that she is and her solos The Simple Joys Of Maidenhood, Before I Gaze At You Again and with chorus, The Lusty Month Of May, were very well executed.
Terry Shaw has the experience of a professional singer behind him and he made a superb if mature Lancelot.
His voice is strong, still fresh, has a glorious timbre and he is a veritable singing actor as in the rather brash C’est moi and the very moving If Ever I Would Leave You. Soprano Patricia Buttigieg, as Nimue, acquitted herself well in the number Follow Me, with choir. In the number Guinevere, one was pleased to notice the improvement in baritone Joseph Buttigieg’s voice as ballad singer, with good backing from the chorus. A reprise of Camelot by King Arthur and chorus brought this selection to an end.
The role of the Fiddler was performed by young Pierre-Louis Attard, a fine violinist in the making who had the first and the last word in the selection from Bock’s Fiddler on the Roof, a work much easier to relate to than Camelot.
The chorus retained its good form in all numbers in which it took part. The trio of sisters, Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava (Marthese Borg, Annabelle Zammit and Josianne Callus) gave a charming rendering of Matchmaker and as expected Mr Shaw’s If I Were A Rich Man, Tevye’s famous solo proved to be, as expected, a showstopper. His duet with Ms Darling’s Golde was sung with great tenderness on his part and the expected, understated, reciprocal and almost feisty manner by the soprano.
The Sabbath Prayer involving Tevye, Golde and the chorus sailed very smoothly as did the boisterous To life, With Tevye, Lazar Wolf (Mr Buttigieg) and chorus and Anatevka (Golde, Tevye and chorus). Two fine solos came from tenor Fabian Galea at his extroverted best with Miracle of Miracles, and the poignant Far From The Home I Love with Ms Zammit.
Another highpoint was the nostalgic Sunrise, Sunset with Tevye, Golde, Hodel, Perchik (Paul Sultana) and chorus. The Epilogue featuring the Fiddler brought this concert to a satisfactory end. Stephen Attard was his usual reliable self as pianist, busy from beginning to end of the concert as was Colin Attard, who with his energetic conducting and drive brought alive the two selections.