Review: A Festive Box of Delights, Leeds Town Hall, Saturday, December 9, 2017

LEEDS Festival Chorus and the Orchestra of Opera North conducted by Simon Wright, delighted a full house with their smorgasbord of popular seasonal classics. Three numbers from Bach's Christmas Oratorio began with a bright and crisp rendering of the festive opening chorale. The famous Shepherds' Farewell from Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ was lovingly shaped by the Orchestra and Chorus.

Act 1 of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ends with the enchanting Waltz of the Snowflakes. On this occasion, the ethereal vocal line was sung with childlike purity of tone by the Chorus ladies. The Nutcracker highlights ended with the grand Pas de Deux. Its rolling harp arpeggios and incandescent brass climaxes are guaranteed to send a shiver down the spine.

The versatility of the Festival Chorus was showcased in a stylish performance of Another Openin', Another Show - from Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate. Then came the Brindisi from Verdi's La Traviata, with Victoria Sharp as Violetta and Stuart Laing as Alfredo. Both singers are members of the Opera North Chorus and so too is soprano Lorna James. Her immaculately placed top notes crowned a lovely performance of Vilja from Franz Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow. The Waltz from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin was effectively dramatised by the clear diction of the Festival Chorus. Mascagni's Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana - beefed up by the Town Hall organ - virtually raised the roof.

The official programme ended with Make Our Garden Grow - the final ensemble from Leonard Bernstein's operetta Candide. Our three soloists with the Chorus and Orchestra infused this wonderful scene with remarkable emotional power.

The evening might have seemed incomplete without a spectacular orchestral and choral arrangement of The Twelve Days of Christmas - with additional sound effects provided by the audience.

by Geoffrey Mogridge