Karine White

Yesterday afternoon I went to see the UoT Opera program’s show Brush Up Your Shakespeare.  It was substantially the same as the program they gave six months ago in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre so I ‘m just going to comment on changes of one kind or another.

There were a few extra numbers.  Danika Lorèn sang the Poison Aria from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.  It’s an interesting voice.  There’s lots of power but maybe isn’t quite fully under control yet.  Still, easier to refine a powerful basic instrument than get anywhere with a small one.  One to watch.  William Ford sang Macduff’s O figli mie! from Verdi’s Macbeth.  That’s a pretty bold call for a student and he wasn’t bad at all.  This time we also got a sort of catalogue raisonnée of the program from director Michael Patrick Albano with contextual information on each number.

The biggest voice change over the six months might just be Karine White.  In the RBA she sounded light compared to Charles Sy in their two duets.  In the larger space of Walter Hall yesterday not so much.  The voice seems to be changing and showed other signs of being in transition.  Previously, while I admired Ms. White’s stage presence, I wondered whether she had the chops for a big opera stage.  Maybe now that’s starting to show.  I still think Andrea Lett is very cute, very funny and a great mover.  FWIW.

So, a fun program again but really not so very different from the version first seen.