Adelaide Fringe. Presented by Mark De Raad. Elder Hall. 21 Feb 2014
Sally Whitwell is an ARIA award-winning pianist, and it is plain to see why. Not only is she a talented musician who plays the piano extremely well, she also has a persona that gives her an additional dimension – she is an actress, but not in the conventional sense.
On a stage filled with pianos and more than two dozen standard lamps (lighting by the acclaimed Nigel Levings), Whitwell ‘pipes’ herself slowly onto the stage playing a melodica. She sits at the piano and delivers up Philip Glass superbly. She is never tempted to over pedal and her forearm strength is beautifully controlled yielding sensitive dynamics. The warm acoustic of the Elder Hall is used to perfection. The music of Elena Kats-Chernin follows and then Yann Tierswen which is punctuated with majestic arm crossovers – almost arrogant but pregnant with understanding. Whitwell is a joy to watch. In between pieces, an unseen voice expressively recites extracts from Alison Croggon’s poem ‘Divinations’. The readings fit hand in glove with the music, and demand attention, and Whitwell also plays miniatures on a toy piano and the melodica.
This is a musical event, but it doesn’t get close to preparing you for the program that follows the interval, when Whitwell is joined by acclaimed South Australian born dramatic soprano Marie Angel in an Australian premier performance of Michael Nyman’s ‘8 Lust Songs: I Sonetti Lussuriosi’, which he wrote for her. The songs are settings of 16th century poems that were banned at the time by the Catholic Church because of their eroticism. Sung in Italian, the songs tell of the sexual desires of a man and a woman, and Angel’s demonstrable acting skills bring them to life. She is at times lude, lurid, voyeuristic and always uninhibited. Initially many audience members did not know how to react and clearly felt uncomfortable and squirmed in their seats. Mission accomplished. Whitwell, who was now dressed in a petite black dress and a scarlet red corset, played Nyman’s score with authority but never detracted from Angel. They were partners, not competitors. The first three songs almost seemed not to suit Angel’s tessitura, but she was truly impressive in the fourth and fifth songs with their contrasting percussive and legato effects. In a stroke of directorial genius, the Stage Manger was located on stage and assumed the (silent) role of the man. Throughout the cycle he was looking at a laptop and viewing images of what one assumes were of her. One’s attention was increasingly drawn to him as he reacted to the songs – a subtle but captivating performance.
At the conclusion the large audience were deservedly generous in their applause. It was an intriguing event. If you are into minimalist piano music and art songs, then this one is for you.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Elder Hall
Bookings: Closed
