In the middle of the second act of Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s concert Together something magical happened. Ball stood still at the front of the stage and sang Gethsemane from Jesus Christ Superstar. For the first time in the concert the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. Tears started to slide down the face of the lady next to me.
As he built the song dramatically and musically, plumbing every emotion, you could feel an electrical surge around the theatre and that shared shiver-down-the-spine moment of ecstasy as he soared to the money note. It was sublime. Ball showed why he’s a star and the audience went wild.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe. Photograph taken in Brisbane © Mitch Lowe
Until that point, both men had sung impressively enough but without generating much emotion, while many of the musical arrangements had done little for the songs. Funnily enough, the songs that had fared best were pop and rock numbers, notably John Farnham’s anthemic You’re the Voice – though Boe had raised the bar just before Gethsemane with a moving version of Snow Patrol’s Run. But it was with...
Continue reading
Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month
Already a subscriber?
Log in
Comments
Log in to join the conversation.