Toronto Opera Repretoire — Hanny Djuwati

Toronto Opera Repretoire — Hanny Djuwati

I had heard of the Toronto Opera Repertoire for some time.  I had always wanted to go but I never managed to find the time.  Finally I made it this year to the very last free (pay what you can, donation) concert of the season.

The Repretoire is made up of local talent with many performers having diverse day jobs ranging from physicists to journalists.  I walked into the unassuming theatre with no expectations.  It’s always such a delight when an event with no expectations exceeds even one’s wildest expectations.

All of the talent, conducting and accompaniment was top notch.  The range of music covered and the calibre of the performance was above or beyond most of the paid concerts I’ve attended.  With all due deference to the terrific talent that was there that night, there was one performer who outshone the others by several levels of brightness.

The performance of Hanny Djuwati was a pure joy to listen to.  She announced the name of the piece with such a soft voice I had to lean forward in my chair to make it out.  She had a somewhat heavy Asian accent which made the task even more difficult.   The piece was by Puccini, I never did catch the exact title.  I reclined back in my chair curious to see how this performance would turn out.

The next thing I knew, the room was filled with crisp clear ‘Bel Canto’ singing, all the words clearly audible with an authentic Italian accent.  I’m not often a fan of sopranos in opera as they tend towards being shrill with notes resonating painfully in my sinuses.  Not so with Hanny Djuwati.  The Bel Canto style of singing is a style which emphasizes ‘head voice’ which in turn focuses on clarity without pushing or straining.

After her performance, when I returned to earth, I double checked my surroundings to make sure I wasn’t at the Metropolitan Opera in $500 a seat chairs.  Djuwati certainly belongs there and I was glad to have been given a chance to hear her.

More information on Hanny Djuwati can be found here:

http://www.toronto-opera.com/2009_season/Carmen/djuwati_hanny.html

and the Toronto Opera Repertoire can be found at:

http://www.toronto-opera.com/

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