Image credit: Matt Loxton (pictured Hilary Bruer Violin & Harley Gray)
The inimitable music legend Barbra Streisand turned 80 over the weekend and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is celebrating this monumental occasion with two stunning performances of To Barbra with Love: An 80th Birthday Celebration, 2 & 3 December in the Festival Theatre.
Under the baton of Vanessa Scammell, Australia’s own musical theatre royalty Caroline O’Connor will be joined by multi-talented, genre-hopping vocalist Katie Noonan, and rising stars, Elise McCann and Ryan Gonzalez for an extraordinary tribute to one of the greatest musical talents in modern history.
With songs including People, The Way We Were, Don’t Rain on My Parade, Woman in Love, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, No More Tears, Evergreen, Send in the Clowns, Guilty, A Piece of Sky and many more, this will be a concert like no other.
With an unparalleled career spanning six decades, Barbra Streisand is a multi-award-winning performer, director and producer of stage and screen, and one of only a few elite artists to hold the rare EGOT (Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar and Tony).
Streisand has worked with legendary composers including Alan and Marilyn Bergman and the late great Stephen Sondheim. Their combined catalogues of memorable compositions are timeless treasures of the canon.
Australia’s own star of Broadway and West End, Caroline O’Connor (Chicago, West Side Story, Anything Goes), said Streisand has had an unparalleled influence on musical theatre.
“As a young aspiring singer, I would sing along to Barbra Streisand recordings hoping to figure out the secret to her magnificent voice. It’s unfathomable. A unique, magnificent instrument that can stir all your emotions. A superstar singer, actress and film director whose legacy of work will never be matched,” said Caroline.
One of the best-selling female music artists of all time, Streisand’s record-breaking 52 gold and 31 platinum albums feature some of the world’s most loved songs from The Way We Were and Evergreen to Send in the Clowns, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers and Guilty.
Acclaimed Aussie songstress Katie Noonan, whose remarkable musicality has produced stunning reinterpretations of timeless classics, also paid tribute to Streisand and her living legacy.
“Barbra Streisand is one of the greatest musical interpreters of all time. I believe her ability to bring a song to life is unparalleled. Her phrasing, her pitch, her tone, her dynamics, her sense of storytelling and her overall artistry is awe inspiring. I am deeply honoured to join the magnificent Adelaide Symphony Orchestra to celebrate her extraordinary artistry and contribution to culture,” said Katie.
Joining O’Connor and Noonan, Elise McCann will make her ASO debut in this incredible birthday celebration. Elise is one of Australia’s most versatile performers with a long list of leading credits across stage, screen and production. She is most well-known for originating the role of Miss Honey in the Australian production of Matilda the Musical for which she won the 2016 Helpmann Award, the 2015 Sydney Theatre Award and was nominated for the 2016 Green Room Award.
Alongside Elise will be Ryan Gonzalez, a true triple threat performer with a career in cabaret, film and theatre. Ryan is currently starring as Santiago in Moulin Rouge! The Musical Australia. In 2019 Ryan starred as Frankie Valli in the national tour of international blockbuster musical, Jersey Boys, receiving a Greenroom Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.
The evening’s musical program will be arranged by conductor, composer and avid film-buff Nicholas Buc and directed by one of Australia’s most versatile choreographers and exciting new directors, Cameron Mitchell.
Find out more here.
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