Oh my gosh guys, I couldn't tell you how excited I was when I saw that this was up! I was DEVASTATED (Well, the world wasn't over, but you know how what I mean!) when I found out I could have listened to this live concert, but I had missed it. Anyway, this concert was truly lovely and brought much of what Kelli does best, although I wish she had done more songs that I hadn't heard before. Still, this leaves me excited for Kelli's new solo concert act as well as the possibility of a new album. Here's a link to the concert: http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/listen-live-kelli-ohara-headlines-caramoors-opening-night-gala/?utm_source=local&utm_medium=treatment&utm_campaign=carousel&utm_content=item0.
My Review: The show starts out with the pleasant, beautiful overture for Of Thee I Sing by George and Ira Gershwin played by the Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by famed music director Rob Fisher . The show is a divided into sections dedicated to honoring lyricists/composers who also are lyricists. So, it starts out by honoring Ira Gershwin. The first song that Kelli sang was My Ship which has lyrics by Ira and music by the amazing Kurt Weill. Kelli's beautifully warm, spinning soprano fits the song perfectly and her phrasing was immaculate and beautifully detailed. She followed up with the classic Someone To Watch Over Me which as always she performed wonderfully.
The next composer honored was Stephen Sondheim. After a terrific rendition of Send In The Clown's by the orchestra, Kelli delivers an amazingly expressive, highly enjoyable version of What More Do I Need, a song from one of the lesser known Sondheim shows Saturday Night(I love Sondheim, and I don't know it!). Now, I was a bit disappointed we weren't treated with something like Moments In The Woods or better yet Green Finch And Linnet Bird (Wouldn't that suit Kelli's amazing soprano?!), but the wonderfully different choices she made with the lyrics as well as the brilliant sprinkles by the orchestra made this one a really great number. Still, make sure to sing both of the above mentioned songs at some point Kelli, especially Green Finch! Next, Kelli sang the Cole Porter classic So In Love and she aced it beautifully. It was more speech like and less operatic on the bottom notes then how she has sang it previously which was unexpected, but the beauty of her voice and her way with the words made this one ravishing.
Afterwards, we switch over to composers/lyricists who Kelli has performed with over the years, Adam Guetel and Ricky Ian Gordon. First up was the haunting and powerful Is It Too Late? from Gordon's My Life With Albertine, a show based off the novel In Search Of Lost Time by Marcell Proust. This is a really great song and an excellent show that I'm pretty sure you can still hear all of on Youtube. The emotional journey of the song was acted perfectly by Kelli and the high notes were powerful and beautifully spun. She followed with a rendition of the title song from The Light In The Piazza, which was wonderful as always although the mix belt aspect of the song made me wish Kelli had sang all the notes in her head voice because although it was never that serious, I was a little nervous for her a couple of times. And the way the orchestra played the climax of the song was too slow for me, taking out the beautiful soaring quality of the music that is usually present. Still, it was gorgeous as always.
Of course, the next lyricist honored was Oscar Hammerstein the second and Kelli turned in great interpretations of songs that she's sung in many of the shows she's been in, which was proceeded by a great rendition of The Carousel Waltz, Kelli's favorite piece of music. The first was A Wonderful Guy, which she dedicated to her husband Greg Naughton and her son Owen at the end. Next was a wonderful sing along of Getting To Know You from The King And I with a very talented audience singing along. She then sang a great arrangement of I Have Dreamed from The King And I which was wonderfully honest and beautiful. Next up was My Favorite Things from The Sound Of Music, the one role that got away from her, although I think she still can do it! I was hoping to hear the title song instead, but this was quite a treat. She then finished the show with a great rendition of If I Loved You which she dedicated to her dad. She then did an encore presentation of I Could Danced All Night, one of the very best songs in her repertoire. Perfectly sung with a gorgeous high G at the end which she held forever!
Overall, this was such a great treat to hear this concert- Athough I've seen Kelli live twice in The King And I and met her in person, it's a bummer that I've never seen her in concert nor heard/seen a full version of them online and this ended that fact, which I'm grateful for. I'm highly excited to see what Kelli does next in her career, especially her new album which I'll make a post about soon! If you click on the line, I hope you enjoy the concert!
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