In piece after piece, the singers and the orchestra outdid themselves, hitting one high note after another.
SPRINGFIELD - Bugs Bunny and Groucho Marx would have felt right at home Saturday night at Springfield Symphony Hall.
So would Niles and Frasier Crane.
That's because it was a night at the opera, where murder, mayhem and exquisite singing took center stage at the Springfield Symphony Orchestra's "Opera Gala."
Five professional opera singers - sopranos Mary Wilson and Amy Johnson, mezzo soprano Stacey Rishoi, tenor Eric Ashcraft and bass Gustav Andreassen - performed 14 different arias or duets and one trio. The orchestra also performed an overture.
In piece after piece, the singers and the orchestra outdid themselves, hitting one high note after another. And in between each work, conductor Kevin Rhodes provided the audience with information about each of the pieces being performed.
Many of Rhodes' comments were whimsical and amusing. That's because Rhodes clearly knows these operas inside out and feels passionately about them. The same could be said about the orchestra. While most people will surely remember the five singers who performed many of the pieces to perfection, none of that would have been possible without the orchestra itself.
It's one thing to play an entire symphony by a single composer for 45 minutes. It's quite another to switch from one composer or century to another on a dime. But the Springfield Symphony Orchestra did just that time and time again Saturday, demonstrating their virtuosity and versatility.
The program began on an eerie, haunting note as Ms. Johnson sang an aria from Richard Wagner's "Tannhauser," in which Ms. Johnson's character wonders if her returning lover will still love her after his long absence.
The music then completely shifted gears as Ms. Wilson sang a playful aria from Giacchino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," prompting a rousing cheer from the audience after her extended high notes.
Mr. Ashcraft then sang a tender love aria from Amilcare Ponchielli's "La Gionconda," followed by Ms. Rishoi's bold solo piece from George Bizet's beloved "Carmen." But it wasn't the aria you're probably thinking of from "Carnem," the "Habanera." That's because while the program did feature some of the best loved operas, it wasn't strictly a Greatest Hits show. None of Puccini's best-known arias ("Vissi d'arte" from "Tosca," duets from "La Boheme," "Nessun Dorma" from "Turandot" and "Un Bel Di" from "Madama Butterfly") were on the program. Some opera fans might have been disappointed. Instead, Rhodes deserves credit for selecting other, beloved works that might not be as well known.
For example, Ms. Johnson and Mr. Ashcraft sang the moving "Bimba dagli occhi" duet from "Madama Butterfly," which showed off the orchestra's sharp horn section.
And one of the highlights of the first half was Mr. Andreassen's "Vous qui faites" aria from Charles Gounod's "Faust." Andreassen has one of those big, booming, rich bass voices that effortlessly fill an entire concert hall. That's probably partly why the crowd was so delighted with the duet he sang with his wife, Ms. Rishoi. It also probably helped that the song was "Some Enchanted Evening" from the popular musical "South Pacific."
The second half of the program was just as exciting, from the driving rhythms in the overture to Giuseppe Verdi's "La Forza del Destino" (played with passion by the orchestra's string section) to the closing trio featuring all three female singers in Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavelier."
Rhodes put aside the wisecracks as he introduced the trio from "Rosenkavelier," describing the work as "one of the most beautiful collection of notes ever put on paper."
The same could be said about many of the pieces performed Saturday night. No matter how many times we hear recordings of such works, there's just nothing like listening to such masterpieces performed live by skilled, passionate musicians who clearly love the music they're performing.