Last night at The Proms! A silly soprano perspective

Last Night was The Proms, with our very own City Choir and the Southern Sinfonia.

I had a blast!

This is the second year in which I've done the Proms. I've been in Dunedin almost exactly two years now (does that make me a Dunedinite?)

I've settled in and am making friends. I'm starting to feel like I belong in City Choir - and I felt a lot more relaxed and ready to cut loose and cause mischief last night.

Who? Me? :-)

This year, I decided to wear blue, as I'd done the red thing last year. It's nice to be able to dress up a bit on stage, and wear something other than uniforms. I just wish we were allowed to wear a bit more bling! Hey, why not? It is The Proms, after all!


A prior performance of Aida in which, naturally, I played the Empress. I'm in the front row of this photo, paying no attention whatsoever to my multitude of minions.

City Choir's piece de resistance for the evening was the wonderful Grand March from Aida. I didn't recognise it at all from our rehearsals, but once I had a snoop at a Youtube of the piece, I recognised it instantly, from the orchestral stuff.

I guess I should berate my parents for not bringing me up "proper", but the truth is, I was too busy listening to dodgy popular music to show any interest in Opera.

Yep, I'm a musical heathen, who listened to Madness and Icehouse, and spent my time admiring Chrysler Valiants and the long, wavy mullets who drove them (my first boyfriend had both) instead of listening to Verdi in her youth.


Verdi - or cruising the beaches in my boyfriend's Charger. How can you blame me!

So shoot me.

Regardless, I had a great time singing the Verdster, pounding it out in best operatic style absolutely fortisissssisisisisisimo!

The top B didn't faze me, either - I just blasted it out full voice, with the rest of the sops! Go us! I swear the walls of the Town Hall vibrated with the sound we made!

Of the individual acts, I'd say that the highlights of the evening were the Doll Song and the Cat Duet, which was staged rather amusingly.

Of the orchestral pieces, I most enjoyed the prizewinning composition, Foreigner in Africa, by Otago student Kathryn Roy, although timing was an issue for the orchestra. I'm really looking forward to hearing more music from her - the piece was so refreshingly alive and rhythmic.

Half time, change sides!

In the first half, we'd sung in standard SATB sections, as we had the Aida to deal with. But in the second half, we did our usual neat trick of switching into colour formation - across the stage in three sections of red, white and blue.

I think we looked pretty specky. As long as you're not colorblind.

The second half, for anyone reading this who isn't familiar with The Proms, is where we traditionally let our hair down a bit. And we did! We hammed it up in "Land of 'Ope and Gloireee" and "Rule Brittania" and other rather stodgy British musical porridge, and we variously tapped, swayed, sniffed and wept at other points of the evening, as is deemed appropriately silly.

We also had fun with the streamers - I'm proud to say the ones I threw landed right in the brass section! Go me! I always was a good shot.

We had fun bobbing our balloons along with the music, and I only wish I'd had enough time to unravel the neck of mine just before "Rule Britannia", so that I could have sung it inhaling on helium!

I guess now I've given away next year's plan. So - who is with me?



In all, it was a lot of fun. I had a ball. By the end of the evening I was covered in pink streamers, wearing a Kiwi flag that didn't belong to me, and slightly inebratiated on the joy of singing. What more could anyone ask for?

So here's to this year's Proms! And here's to next year's, too.

See you there!