The Famous Spiegeltent, Sydney Festival Village
January 21, 2015

The uniquely eccentric violin-playing Czech songstress Iva Bittová has had two outings at this year’s Sydney Festival. The first performance, an evening of Bartók duets, took place in the cool, controlled environment of the City Recital Hall, Angel Place. For her second consecutive evening at the Festival, this time presenting a selection of her own eclectic arrangements, Bittová was relocated to the Famous Spiegeltent, situated in the make-shift festival village in Hyde Park.

This intimate, informal venue, which was packed for this performance, has largely been reserved for cabaret acts, and perhaps superficially Bittová’s oeuvre seems to fall into this category. However while this quirky and sumptuously decorated venue makes for a fun festival space, it is acoustically inert, far from soundproofed and after a swelteringly sunny Sydney summer day, unbearably warm – all issues that unfortunately conspired to undermine this otherwise engaging show.

Bittová is an infectiously charming performer, bounding onto the stage with a very persuasive energy. After a few friendly words of welcome she launched unceremoniously into her first arrangement, which contained a characteristically diverse range of influences, knitted together in Bittová’s indefatigable style. Although sometimes making use of a...