Melbourne Recital Centre 5th Birthday

Perhaps as we were the first booking at the new Melbourne Recital Centre on 28 February 2009 to fill the 1000-seater Dame Elisabeth Murdoch auditorium, we were very happy to accept their invitation to take part in their fifth anniversary celebrations on 8 February 2014.

On a very hot day our first bracket at 11.00 am was under a marquee in the Centre’s back garden which had been set up with stalls and market umbrellas and a plethora of scatter cushions. Acoustically challenged as we were, the audience was treated to favourites Men of Harlech and Cwm Rhondda followed by the beautiful Anfonaf Angel and the musically difficult Pemulwuy. Some relief with the a cappella version of Si Hei Lwli ‘Mabi was followed by Geoff Serpell as animated soloist on Working Man and the mellifluous bass-baritone of Roger Bartlett on Bring Him Home as the bracket finished with the rousing choruses of Les Mis.

Thankfully, the 1.00 pm bracket was in the cool of the Centre’s foyer where a very large crowd gathered in expectation, many relaxing on the deep dragon-red carpet (photo by Bernard Peasley). The audience burst into spontaneous applause when the Welsh flag was enthusiastically waved during Harlech and they happily joined in with the chorus of Cwm Rhondda. They swooned over Anfonaf Angel and were captivated by Pemulwuy. The foyer hushed itself for a lovely example of soft singing with Si Hei Lwli and wondered if it could get any better. And it did. Released from the outdoor difficulties but not blessed with a microphone, Geoff Serpell rose to the occasion with a thundering Working Man, even astonishing the Musical Director who, to the background of thumbsup-derous applause, felt moved to jump down from the rostrum to give the soloist a well-deserved kiss of congratulation. Wow!

The finale of Les Mis was this time led by the honeyed tenor of Rushan Hewawasam who brilliantly caught the mood of the audience in absolute sympathy with the young revolutionaries, and left many patrons crying with the power of the music as the choir soared to the final choruses. This was a wonderful mini-concert thanks to the choice of songs by Faleiry and the musical artistry and flexibility of Lorna.

And then, as we had earlier, we sang Happy Birthday to MRC – in Welsh of course – “Penblwydd Hapus i Melbourne Recital Centre!”