Classical musicians are perfectionists. When there’s a false start or a fluff they find it stressful. Yet accidental blemishes merely reflect the nature of live music-making during which anything can happen from a conductor giving a wrong cue or a singer forgetting their words.

Fleeting mishaps only make the performance more authentic, especially when a concert is of such a high standard and enjoyable as this was. All seven soloists on Saturday night sang with a deep emotional investment in the music.

Brad Daley works the crowd at Festival of Outback Opera. Photos © Pete Wallis & Murray Summerville

Brad Daley began the program with “Mattinata” from Pagliacchi’s Leoncavallo. From the same opera, tenor Nick Kirkup’s rousing “Serenade” in the character of Beppe was a triumph. He set the bar high.

As the compere, Daley was a hoot. Soprano Eleanor Greenwood was on stage poised to sing when Daley forgot to introduce her, but when he quipped, “this is why you can never trust a tenor,” everyone laughed and tension dissolved.

Unfazed, Greenwood excelled with a sincere and heartfelt, richly-imagined and lyrical shaping of “Io son l’umile ancella” from Adriana Lecouvreur by Cilea.

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