Singapore National Youth Orchestra
Esplanade Concert Hall
Thursday (20 January 2011)
The Musical Olympus Festival is an international platform showcasing top young musical talents of the world, including winners of international music competitions, performing in the world’s great concert venues. Founded in St Petersburg, Russia in 1996, Musical Olympus has made its mark in celebrated locales such as Berlin’s Philharmonie and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Singapore’s debut in this prestigious series was to be no less auspicious or rewarding.
Supporting this concert was the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) led by its newly appointed Music Director Darrell Ang. Considering the age of its musicians, the orchestra did a fine job accompanying five excellent soloists, rising young artists all, in various concertos and concertante works.
The audience’s favourite was most probably Korean tenor Jaesig Lee, who sang three popular operatic arias. His compactly-built frame belied the booming quality of his voice, which was as fresh and youthful as they come. He evinced genuine nostalgia and regret in Lensky’s Aria (Kuda kuda) from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, followed by the flush of young love in Rodolfo’s Che gelida manina from Puccini’s La Boheme. His is a totally believable and likeable portrayal of opera’s heroes and anti-heroes. Verdi’s La donna e mobile (Rigoletto) brought on the cheers, which was amply rewarded with an encore - a heroic Nessun dorma (Puccini’s Turandot), one that is ripe for any of the world’s top opera houses.