evening (and the following) were billed as Western Australia Symphony Orchestra’s 2010 Grand Gala and labelled a “black tie” event; some attendees at the well-filled concert hall did actually rise to that challenge. Special chandeliers were installed above the stage - this was never going to be some arcane recital but an all-stops-out crowd-pleaser, as indicated by the not exactly unfamiliar repertoire. The audience, including an obvious core of Sumi Jo acolytes, was primed for an excursion into the showy and well-loved. Alas, Ms Jo was suffering an ailment and from the first note it was clear that her voice was not its usual full-bodied self. She carried on gamely however and despite struggling vocally provided an enjoyable evening of well-honed diva display.Kicking off the overture to Offenbach’s La vie parisienne, the WASO was at its sleekest, playing with an immaculate light touch. Ms Jo then made a characteristic entrance in a glittering red fishtail gown, garnering an enthusiastic welcome, which she acknowledged with a cat-walk twirl so everyone could get a good look. As indicated however the first notes of ‘Je veux vivre” (from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliettte) showed all was not well voice wise; while singing accurately with her light rapid vibrato, the audience was straining to hear her. She then made a fulsome if not totally audible apology, asking the audience’s indulgence for her indisposition, and left the stage for the next item on the program, Offenbach’s “Barcarolle” (Les contes d’Hoffmann). This was a choral version in which the WASO was joined by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra Chorus, a rather ordinary contribution it must be said, and was followed by a jolly selection from Orfée aux enfers (Choeur Infernal: Vive le vin” and “Galop- infernal: Ce bal est infernal”).
Ms Jo returned to the stage for one of her signature numbers, Adam’s “A vous dirais-je maman”. The opening part was fine, although she was obviously holding off on the high notes. In a pause before launching into the variations, she made a deprecatory flutter with her hands. What ensued was not as agile as previously heard from her, but it was still a skilful and polished delivery. After she left the stage again, the orchestra gave a spirited rendition of Bernstein’s overture to Candide. Conductor Tom Woods then announced that Ms Jo would take an extended interval while some treatment was applied to her throat, and that the scheduled “Glitter and Be Gay” would not be sung. While there was clearly some disappointment over this, most took it in good part, hoping things would pick up after the interval.
Part two was introduced by Berlioz’s overture to Le carnaval romain, an excellent rendition with notable contributions from the brass, and a nice sensitivity in the slow parts. Ms Jo rematerialised in an equally glittering bright yellow fishtail which almost made one reach for one’s sunglasses. ‘Il faut partir’ (Donizetti, La fille du regiment) displayed her voice closer to its usual refulgent self, although again with a noticeable easing off on the upper register at first, but with a splendid finale with long-held glittering high notes. This was followed by a choral interlude, Offenbach’s “Non aucun hôte” and “Elle a de très beaux yeux” from Les contes d’Hoffmann. Then Ms Jo was back for - oh what a surprise - Air d’Olympia (“Les oiseaux dans la charmille”) (did I mention this was not exactly obscure repertoire territory?). She seemed to be gaining in confidence as her voice came more under her control, and this was a first-rate performance in anyone’s terms - gorgeous tone, accuracy and excellent pacing, if a little underpowered by her usual standards. Ms Jo also acted out the part nicely, doing the mechanical jerkiness and winding down stuff with good comic timing, aided and abetted by Tom Woods with a large key to wind her up as required.
The last part of the official program was an extended selection from Verdi’s La traviata, beginning with a nicely judged version of the overture, which was followed by another frock change - blue this time, equally glittering, but with a huge layered skirt. For these selections - “Parigi, o cara”, “E strano” and “Sempre libera”, Ms Jo was accompanied by young local tenor Roberto Abate, probably the pick of the current WA Opera Young Artists. This seemed rather more of a challenging workout for Ms Jo who showed some intonation problems but otherwise soared through her part with plush velvety sound. Abate sang confidently, with fresh Italianate tone, looking rather like a young Rossini. Ms Jo generously included him in her first two encores, the waltz duet from Die lustige Witwe (of course, one sighed) and then the Brindisi from Traviata. For a third encore, she addressed her ethnic fan base and launched a capella into a traditional Korean song, rather lost on the rest of us musically. While it is unlikely anyone thought this was Sumi Jo at her best, the audience seemed to take her infirmity in good part, and applauded her sporting spirit in soldiering on in the best professional tradition. It was never going to be a night of refined high art, and Ms Jo provided a night of solid entertainment with excellent support from young Abate, Tom Woods and the excellent WASO.
Sandra Bowdler
Opera Britannia
invited to join composer Anna Meredith, sound designer Sam Godin and the classically trained Indian singer Falu, in an evening where they can record Satyagraha-inspired loops that will form part of the “Remix”. 
even as warmly as they did to Thomas Adès’ The Tempest. Both these works were broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, and each of these broadcasts has been cleaned up and recently issued on double CD (Adès on EMI, 2009; MacMillan on Chandos, 2010). Both operas also have composers who enjoy successful careers as conductors, but while Adès conducted The Royal Opera House forces at Covent Garden, it was unfortunate that on the night when The Sacrifice was broadcast from the Wales Millennium Theatre with Welsh National Opera, MacMillan was unwell and was therefore forced to hand over the reins to Anthony Negus.
of recession by the magnificent margin of point squit of a zillionth, it was nice actually to encounter something quite so uncomplicatedly positive as her recital. Opera singers, in the up-close and personal context of a recital room, fall into extremely contrasting categories, ranging from the all-singing, all-dancing Ethel Merman-esque firecrackers (Cecilia Bartoli) to the half-barmy and catatonic (um, better exercise some discretion here, I suppose) by way of sassy, sweet ‘n simple, straightforward or sepulchral, the raunchy or the reverential, the bullish or the businesslike. 
Covent Garden, the Metropolitan and, as preserved on this DVD, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, each of the original directors was no longer around to supervise his show's latest outing. This matters less, of course, in stagings that cleave close to the scenic and theatrical givens of the work as conceived by Hofmannsthal and Strauss in microscopic detail, than in ones like that under consideration here that avail themselves of varying degrees of liberty and licence.
