A week ago tonight, Kathy and I and Kate Potter Barrow (who drove on down to Salt Lake City to meet us) were sitting in Maurice Abravanel Hall (the city’s major downtown concert hall) . . . but more than sitting, we were actually floating on air. That was thanks to the magnificent Kelli O’Hara. Kathy and I had seen her on Broadway in the wonderful music “Light in the Piazza” and were blown away by both her singing and acting- and we had also heard the CD of her most recent Broadway triumph in the current revival of “South Pacific” – so we came to the concert with high expectations. But we also had no idea of exactly what songs she was going to sing – and because her solo CD was such an unexpected mix of styles, we knew there was at least the possibility that she would go very heavily in the pop direction, which would have been a disappointment (at least for us. . . and probably for most of the 575 voice teachers in the audience!)
But we need not have worried. She took the stage right on time and launched into an absolutely gorgeous rendition of “I’m Home” from Maury Yeston’s “Phantom,” in which she portrays the young aspiring opera singer Christine, who is thrilled to be back on the stage of the Paris Opera. O’Hara studied opera in college and clearly has not forgotten how to produce that kind of sound, but beyond the pretty sound was crystal clear diction, consummate musicality, and a vivid but natural expressiveness. In short, she’s got it all – and had that audience in the palm of her hands from the first word!
And then . . . as if we hadn’t already fallen in love with her. . . her first greeting to the audience was a very honest confession that she was scared to death to be singing for us – since her audience pretty much consisted of hundreds of voice teachers. Moreover, she confessed that most of her memories of NATS competitions were rather unpleasant ones. (She didn’t go into specifics.) It was so endearing to have her own up to her own nervousness- although I have to say that she didn’t seem the least bit nervous to us!
From there, the concert proceeded from one beautiful performance after another. . . including “Wonderful Guy” from South Pacific, “This is how I say goodbye” by Marvin Hamlisch, and an amazing song written for her by some friends which combine her country music roots with her aspirations for opera. (In the course of the song, she auditions for the Met to no avail, but then she ends up giving birth while attending a performance at the Met- and the shrieks she emits as she goes into labor echo up to the Met’s management, who invite her to join the company after all. It was a riot!) She also sang a tender song of her own called “I love you the world” . . . another composed by her husband. . . and we were so glad that she also treated us to an excerpt from “Light in the Piazza,” the show which made her a star. The evening was one joy after another, and the last note had scarcely died away before this crowd of voice teachers was giving her a cheering standing ovation. That’s really all you need to know about how beautifully she sang.
But that isn’t the end of the story . . . We hurried back to the hotel so Kate could retrieve her golden retriever Pete (they are vacationing together out West) and then Kathy & I rendezvoused with our friend Dan Ihasz to grab a quick drink and catch up. The lounge at our hotel was way too crowded – and in Utah, you are only served alcohol if you are seated and have ordered food – so we decided to go across the street to the Grand America, one of the ritzier places in town – and settled into some comfortable seats in their lounge. Maybe fifteen minutes later, in walks Kelli O’Hara and her pianist – and they settle in on the other side of the room to get something to eat and drink. It was I who came up with the idea that we would pay for whatever they ordered, and we asked the waitress to explain to them that we wanted to do so in gratitude for the amazing concert we had just experienced. Just a few moments later, Kelli O’Hara had come over to our table to thank us in person – as sweet as could be- and we had a wonderful little chat. I can’t imagine a nice way to end the evening.
My third and final encounter with Kelli O’Hara came the next afternoon, when she led a master class at the NATS convention. Here is someone who, as far as I know, has done almost no teaching at all – and I think most of us thought that she would be sweet and encouraging and maybe say one or two worthwhile things, but otherwise had fairly low expectations for the master class. (It’s hard enough for an experienced teacher to make master classes work.) But Wow! She really blew us away with her great insights . . . and beyond that, she could not have been more encouraging and supportive, even of the young soprano who had the guts to sing “Where the Beauty is” from “Light in the Piazza.” Far from being miffed, Kelli O’hara seemed genuinely delighted and impressed and helped her deliver a very fine performance of this very intricate and challenging song. But from each of the young singers with which she worked, she helped them find ways to be far more expressive and more emotionally connected to their singing- and once again, Kelli O’Hara earned a heartfelt ovation from this notoriously tough audience of voice teachers. So she may still be waiting for her first Tony Award (after several nominations) but she has already earned the respect and admiration of several hundred voice teachers who had the great pleasure of encountering her in Salt Lake City.
pictured above: Kelli O’Hara signing CD’s after her concert. She stayed as long as there were people in line, and could not have been more patient and gracious.