Mario Lanza Tribute at UCH with Jablokov

Tenor Sean Costello with Mrs Hanrahan and pals at UCH

We had heard good things about this tribute show to iconic singing star of the silver screen.  The format consisted of a  prerecorded narrative   relating the singer's life story  punctuated with solos and duets  from soloists Sean Costello, Niall Morris and Sandra Oman accompanied by a chamber ensemble lead by violinist  Vladimir Jablokov.  A slide show of photographs were digitally projected onto a screen backdrop and added an interesting dimension  to the vocals


All in all, this was a very entertaining  and slick presentation. Of the voices, Sean Costello most  successfully caught the spirit of the star and cut a handsome figure on stage.   I was baffled as to why any of the voices were amplified as all three voices were competent operatic voices used to projecting in concert hall spaces. We sat downstairs for the first half and the balance was awful . We moved to the choir balcony for the second half and the amplification was less noticeable and it  was also a better position to view Jablokov's emphatic  leadership style,  a key feature of which  involves standing on his tippy toes in his  patent leather concert shoes and placing the down beat with his heels,

The hall was 90 % full  and the audience age range was mostly in the 50-70 year bracket.  I met two people from Ennis who were delighted to be out  of hospital in time for the gig and  while not a 'singa long' type of crowd, clearly the repertoire  was associated with many memories for the listeners.

Little things mean a lot and I was delighted to see Sean and Vladimir in the foyer to meet and greet.  Artists don't bother sometimes and having a photo with Sean meant a lot to  a group of widows from the local Active and Retired Association .