29 Nov Review: Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra comes alive with ‘Porgy and Bess,’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Irrepressible Porgy, the crippled character who gives his name to Gershwin’s folk opera “Porgy and Bess,” delights in life despite his difficult circumstances. In his most famous tune from the opera, “I got plenty o’ nuttin,” he proudly announces “Got my song” — in other words, at least he can take pleasure in making music.
Everyone at Sunday afternoon’s Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra concert gratefully “got his song,” too — and delighted in all the music of that wonderful program. Never has the orchestra sounded so alive and exciting, and the two wonderful soloists were well supported by a lively EPO Chorus, so carefully prepared by Andrea Drury.
The concert began, quite literally, with a bang. In his score for the ballet “Romeo and Juliet,” composer Sergei Prokofiev announces the arrival of the two warring families, the Montagues and the Capulets, with two frightening dissonant chords that seem to scream out of the instruments — and perhaps portend the couple’s death later in the play.
From that moment, audience members knew that the orchestra and conductor Roger Kalia were really “on” for the concert.
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