I had the privilege of reviewing the very first gig undertaken by the gifted ladies of DivaLicious. It was at the Ellington Jazz Club, Perth, whose monthly Chamber Jam sessions have launched the careers of many talented performers, or, as in the case of DivaLicious, given already experienced artists an opportunity to try out fresh approaches.
What can a reviewer write when she goes to a show knowing from prior experience that the performers are matchless artists? I have already used all possible superlatives in my first review of this incredibly talented duo’s work. In late 2011, Penny Shaw and Fiona Cooper Smyth were established opera singers; members of the WA Opera looking to try something a bit different by adding comedy to their operatic repertoire. They were brilliant then, and how does one improve on brilliance? By trying out new repertoire, new gags, and new approaches to old material, of course, and DivaLicious has been doing this with a vengeance. They have reached the semi-finals of Australia’s Got Talent; they have performed at corporate events, big and small; they have done the usual run of charity fundraisers; performed at the opening of the Hopman Cup and at the Fremantle Festival – and they’ve impressed their audiences at every appearance. There is a bouquet of testimonials and critiques on their website that many performers who’ve been doing the round for decades might envy.
From the moment they walk on in stunning gowns with loads of sparkling bling, the pair have the audience in the palms of their collective hands. DivaLicious has a knack for shifting an audience’s feelings from laughter to deeper emotions and back again, often in the course of single aria. This is obvious from the third number on the program, ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ from Puccini’s Gianni Schicci, later borrowed for the film A Room with a View. Yes, this song is hackneyed and has been sung a million times or more, but works of art become hackneyed because at heart they are beautiful and uplifting, and at many points during this program, DivaLicious reminds us of this fact.
But just as we are drying our eyes after Babbino, they launch into the screamingly funny, ever-popular Cat Duet, a concert piece that was put together sometime in the 1820s from a medley of tunes plagiarised from works by Rossini and a Danish contemporary, CEF Weyse. I have never heard a better, funnier rendition of this long-time favourite.
An Intimate Evening with DivaLicious rocks on with arias, songs from musicals, a selection of songs from James Bond films, and as a closing number, ‘Amigos Para Siempre’, the beautiful Lloyd-Webber number that concluded the Barcelona Olympics and has been popular ever since. Of course, there is an encore, and what better rousing finale than the Drinking Song from La Traviata? Somewhere along the line we get ‘Ebben Lontana’ from Catalini’s La Walley. It’s a lovely song, but the title of the opera alone gives rise to puns and jokes that keep us giggling.
Smyth and Shaw have selected twenty songs as varied as Jule Styne’s ‘Little Rock’ from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and the Flower Duet from Delibes’s opera Lakmé. (I‘d like to see what the duo could do with this opera’s other favourite – the Bell Song. I have a feeling they could turn it into a ding-dong ripper.) Many of the songs are deliberately chosen because they are included in films as well as operas or musicals. In some cases, the film is simply a filmed version of the original vehicle, while in others the song has been borrowed and adapted, sometimes more than once. This information is slipped in, very subtly, so we are being educated as well as entertained. Maybe a schools’ show might form another string for the DivaLicious multi-purpose bow?
Each performer has two solo spots (giving the other singer time to change into still another fabulous gown!) but the bulk of the program is made up of duets. While each is a wonderful singer in her own right, there is a rare magic in the way their voices blend and complement each other. What’s more, Shaw and Smyth bounce off each other like a pair of billiard balls in the hands of a master player – and that’s the amazing chemistry that makes this duo unique and memorable.
Rating: Five stars out of five
An Intimate Evening with DivaLicious
Perth Festival Fringe, Cultural Centre, Perth
www.fringeworld.com.au
January 23-26
