Forty Years on Forty Stages: From Coolangatta to Covent Garden

Seasoned Opera Queensland performer, bass vocalist, Conal Coad has enjoyed an international career that has seen him perform in most major cities around the globe. As well as singing, he made his directing debut for Opera New Zealand in 2006 and enjoys a career with the national and state companies that represent his three nationalities: his country of birth, New Zealand, and his adopted homes of Australia and Belgium. As well as being a seasoned performer (that rich bass tone could melt caramel), Conal is a superb raconteur, and he introduces each song with a personal story as well as the context of the composition. As Conal tells it, his time in Belgium began with an audacious move that simply would not be possible today – he knocked on the front door of the Opera House and asked to sing for them! It landed him a supporting role, and began his love affair with the country he now calls home for part of the year.

Forty Years on Forty Stages is a chocolate-box choice of Conal’s ‘best-of’ repertoire – and if it doesn’t seem like 40 years, it’s because the singer retains a youthful enthusiasm for his art and obviously takes great pleasure in sharing his gift of song with an audience. The recital included songs from career-defining roles across the decades, accompanied by accomplished pianist Sarka Budinska from the University of Queensland’s School of Music. Fittingly, the pieces encompassed global treasures, and a colourful mix of styles and ages, including ‘Diggi Daggi’ from Bastien und Bastienne (composed by Mozart when he was merely 12  years old!), Prince Gremin’s Aria from Tchaikovsky and Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, ‘La vendetta’ from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, poetic pieces by Apollinaire and the emotive grandeur of Richard Strauss – ‘Ach weh mir ungluckhaftem Mann’ from Schlichte Weisen, and a dramatic ‘Zueignung’ to end the show. But the crowd simply wanted more. And so, Sarka returned to her piano and played the lilting opener to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ before concluding with ‘Danny Boy’. These two finales fit Conal’s vocal range like a glove and leave you wanting more from the canons of musical theatre and popular songbook. Perhaps among his directing and mentoring and touring Conal will allow time for such a showcase in the future. Opera Q’s recital programme allows audiences to see performers up very close and personal, and it was wonderful to spend an hour or so in Conal’s enthusiastic and talented company.

Find out more: www.oq.com.au/whats-on/

Beth Keehn