A SWINGIN' CHRISTMAS PROMS

The Adelaide Festival Centre and director Catherine Fitzgerald invite you to a night of sing-alongs and stunning solos, harmonising and heavenly praise, with a healthy helping of the spirituality that the season was built on, and the kind of electricity that only live music can generate...plus a couple of kooky clowns!

The Adelaide Art Orchestra does a sterling job of providing a supportive musical bed on which to carry the evening. Conductor Timothy Sexton assumes hosting duties, and does a decent job. The renowned Rachael Beck is a visually resplendent and vocally sumptuous talent, and she delivers a high-quality performance throughout. The persona of singer Michael Falzon has something of an acquired taste about it, seeming to consist of equal parts charm and smarm. 'Feeling Good', though a great song and well performed (particularly by the accompanying fan dancers), tends to transform the evening from a celebration of the season to an inappropriately gaudy celebration of Mr Falzon. To the credit of this performer, he brings all the passion of delivery and beauty of tone to 'O Holy Night' that this magnificent hymn both demands and deserves.
 
Miss Beck's rendition of 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend', while delivered with an expert blend of sass and class, strikes a somewhat sour note of disappointing, incongruous materialism. (Then again, if the Bible deems gold to be a worthy gift for the Messiah, who's to say the Almighty would have disapproved of diamonds?) The inclusion of this and other non-directly-Christmas-related songs, performed in a relatively intimate and understated style that is closer to cabaret than carolling, tends to result in diminished connection with the audience in the spacious venue of the Festival Theatre. 'I've Got You Under My Skin' will remain an eternal masterpiece of popular music, but does it really belong here, rather than at, say, the Cab Fest?
 
One could also qualm at maintaining the long tradition of citizens of the Southern Hemisphere singing songs about sleigh bells and sleigh rides and snow, as if this had anything to do with their experience of Christmas time. The closest we get to a piece of truly Australian storytelling on this occasion is a version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'My Favourite Things' with mildly amusing rewritten lyrics that reflect the typically unglamorous suburban reality of Christmas in this country.
 
Fortunately, the satisfying moments of the concert outnumber those that fall short. The upbeat, jazzy (indeed, swingin') arrangement of 'We Three Kings' is a rip-roaring (and delightfully surprising) success, an especially enjoyable one to join in with. The other impressive musical highlights of the evening are two intriguing medleys, each combining the familiar songs ‘Silent Night’ and ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ with a less well-known counterpoint; both achieve striking results.
 
Visual aspects of the presentation are simple but powerful. The Christmas tree backdrop being gradually introduced is a lovely, striking touch, as is the electric version of a starry night sky behind the performers. Designer Kathryn Sproul deserves applause for her well-judged contribution. By the end, a rousing rendition of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' has buried any lingering quibbles about the success of the evening, and we're left with smiles all around!
 
Despite some questionable or tired choices of musical material, this is still an eminently civilised way for Adelaidians to commemorate the holiday, as well as a nice night out for the family. There are creative chances still waiting to be taken within this fairly conventional format, and while Fitzgerald and her team have made some steps in the right direction this year, more should be encouraged.
 
Anthony Vawser