Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Centre Sydney
April 14, 2018

The Sydney-based Metropolitan Orchestra is an ensemble that tends to punch above its weight – and it’s certainly one of the most agile ensembles on the scene. Founded by conductor Sarah-Grace Williams, the orchestra is now in its tenth year of performance and has made a name for itself as a hard-gigging band, performing with soloists across classical, pop and jazz genres, taking to the seas as resident orchestra aboard the Bravo! Cruise of the Performing Arts and maintaining its own concert season, with a penchant for hefty Russian repertoire. The TMO’s second Met Concert for this year, Passion, saw the orchestra tackle an ambitious program spanning Rossini and Bizet to Arutunian and Ligeti.

From Ezmi Pepper’s opening earthy cello solo, the Overture to Rossini’s William Tell showed off the vitality the orchestra is known for, deftly shaped under Williams’ precise baton. If there were some intonation issues in the wind section, the duet between Kate Mostert on cor anglais and Svetlana Yaroslavskaya on flute – the alpine horn-inspired Ranz des vaches – was magical. The brass were immaculate in the blistering finale, the strings showing off a remarkable depth of sound and...