Evening of Bel Conto Music Concert and Supper

“Opera Viva” once again gave us a wonderful evening’s entertainment which more than met their usual high standard with their” Evening of Bel Conto Music Concert and Supper. Bel Conto music( Italian for “beautiful singing”) is a style of operatic solo singing that originated in Italian courts during the late 16th century and was used and  developed within Italian opera in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. The singers use a relatively small dynamic range with an exact control of the intensity of vocal tone, composers were able to use it to enhance the drama and comedy of their operas.

The evening began with an enjoyable Italian themed meal which was followed by an excellent friendly atmospheric concert in two halves. All the women in the company wore colourful evening gowns and the men wore black tie and evening suit which also added to the pleasant ambiance. The company performed a mixture of arias, duets, small ensemble pieces and full chorus numbers penned by well-known composers such as Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini and Verdi. The program included some very popular well known pieces and also some not so well known. It would be very difficult to name all the musical numbers included in  the concert  but to give a flavor of the type of music performed I will name some of the pieces included the programme, they were “Largo al Factotum” and “Una Voce Poco Fa” from “The Barber of Seville” by Rossini, “Vaga Luna Che Inargenti” by Bellini,“The Willow Song” from “Otello” by Verdi, the duet “The Barcarolle” from “Elixir of Love” by Donizetti, “The Rigoletto Quartet” by Verdi, the full chorus numbers included “Brindisi” from “La Traviata” by Verdi and “Chorus of Wedding Guests” from “Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti. All the solos, ensembles and choruses were without exception performed very well, with lots of enthusiasm and confidence meaning the audience were treated to some lovely delightful singing with excellent technique, it was also noticeable that the company were very supportive of each other as they sang their solos.

There was an outstanding performance from guest singer, Soprano Lorna Rushton who performed “Qui la Voce” I Puritani by Bellini in the first half and the “Casta Diva” from “Norma” also by Bellini in the second half.

All the Musical numbers were excellently accompanied by Robert Chesters at the piano and choruses were expertly conducted by Musical Director Marco Bellasi.

Well done to all involved in organizing and producing this delightful entertaining concert we had a very enjoyable evening. Thank you for inviting us we look forward to seeing you for your next production.

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