Polished song recital

Press, 13 August 1986, Page 8

Polished song recital

Christopher Doig (tenor) and Paul Neal (baritone) with Colleen Rae-Ger-rard (piano) in a song recital at the Great Hall, Arts Centre, August 12, 8 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman. With three successful innings in four days, the Christchurch concert batting average appears healthier thanit has been for a time. The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra concert on Saturday evening and the University chamber music recital on Monday evening were capped by an equally high-quality song recital at the Great Hall last evening. Christopher Doig (tenor) and the Welling-ton-born, Brisbane-based Paul Neal (baritone) presented a polished programme of mainly operatic arias. With taste buds still tingling from the recent production of "The Magic Hute," this further bite offered of the operatic apple was eagerly accepted by con-cert-goers. Ably assisted by Colleen Rae-Gerrard’s sensitive accompaniments, the two singers gave a sparkling account of arias by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Thomas, Donizetti, and

Bizet. Two duets were also presented —• Puccini’s “0 Mimi tu piu non tomi” from “La Boheme” and Bizet's "In the depths of the temple” from “The Pearlfishers.” The latter was especially moving, the two voices admirably complementing each other. While the cultured, animated tones of Christopher Doig’s voice is well known to Christchurch audiences, the voice of Paul Neal came as something of a surprise. He has a large, well modulated sound at his disposal, one that is capable of telling expression particularly in the handling of dramatic material. At first, he misjudged the acoustic of the venue, opening his performance with full-throated deliveries of the Catalogue aria from “Don Giovanni” and the Count's aria from “The Marriage of Hgaro.” The sonic boom of climatic phrases shattering against all four walls of the venue tended to undercut the emotional impact of the music. The purposefully restrained sounds that followed in Christopher Doig’s delivery of Schubert’s "Die Schoene

Mullerin” (first seven songs) came as something of a relief for the eardrums. Later, Paul Neal settled upon a dynamic level more suited to the resonance of the venue. Verdi’s "Cortigiani, vil razza” from “Rigoletto” in particular was given a finely crafted performance. Throughout the recital it was apparent that Paul Neal is a singer of considerable stage experience. His movements were fluid, his presence commanding, and his facial expressions ' reflected clearly the meaning of each text Of Christopher Doig’s contributions, his account of the excerpts from the Schubert song cycle appealed for its sincerity and accurate musicianship. His performance of Puccini’s "Your tiny hand is frozen,” from “La Boheme,” was marshalled to an intense, spinetingling climax. In all, apart from a niggling tendency by both singers to force their sound occasionally above a true pitch at moments of high amplitude, the concert was a most satisfying one. Let us hope for a similar recital by these top-flight musicians.