Natasha Marsh in concert
Dec 15, 2011 19:54:51 GMT
Post by John on Dec 15, 2011 19:54:51 GMT
Copied from the old forum:
Natasha Marsh at RAH Elgar Room 29 November 2011
Natasha Marsh first came to my attention early last year, round about the same time I found my way to this website. Credit for her discovery must go to Amazon, but I read Nicola’s artist profile before ordering Natasha’s album ‘Amour’. Her second, self-titled, album soon followed.
With a background in opera, Natasha understandably leans towards the operatic end of the CC spectrum. To me, that’s not the greatest of recommendations but any misgivings I have about her material are more than compensated for by Natasha’s voice. Smooth as honey, it wraps itself around me and holds me enthralled. And that’s just her albums; in a live performance Natasha’s power, range and subtlety leave me floored.
My first live experience of Natasha was in an open-air concert in July last year. It was actually All Angels that attracted me to that event but I was more than happy that Natasha would also be performing there. She has since had a break from performing for family reasons but I was delighted to see a showcase event advertised a few weeks ago for the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall and had no hesitation in booking. That event was last night.
The concert opened with ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’. This aria has become something of a CC standard and there can be few female artists who haven’t covered it. Some are unremarkable, some are great, but Natasha’s performance last night was simply the best I have ever heard it sung.
The second number was ‘Ai Giochi Addio’, a beautiful song which is on both of Natasha’s albums.
Next came two which were new to me – ‘What Good Would the Moon Be’ and ‘It Never Was You’. To my shame, I can’t remember much about these to tell you, but I loved everything.
The string quartet which had been accompanying Natasha then played a couple of light hearted pieces while she took a breather.
Natasha returned to the stage with a friend from her college days to accompany her on the piano to ‘If I Loved You’ which she sang beautifully (of course).
All too soon, we reached the end of the first half with ‘Somewhere’. Again, this was maybe the best performance I have ever heard of this wonderful song from West Side Story.
Natasha’s patter between the songs was friendly and chatty. She spoke a lot about her children; she has three boys under the age of two. Her voice when she speaks is almost as gorgeous as when she sings. She was distinctly slimmer than last time I saw her (when she was pregnant with twins) and looked stunning in both dresses she wore. It was purple for the first half (which unfortunately wasn’t the best combination with the bright red piano); black and silver for the second.
The first song of the second half was ‘Evergreen’. I felt that this was perhaps the weakest of the evening with even Natasha’s voice being somewhat lost against the combination of recorded and live accompaniment. It probably didn’t help that I was in the front row right by the quartet whereas Natasha was at least ten or twelve feet from me.
This was followed by the beautiful and moving ‘Candle’ from Schindler’s List.
‘Autumn Leaves’ is one of my favourites from Natasha’s albums and was the only one which she sang seated. It brought tears to my eyes and I thought at the time that surely this must be my highlight of the evening. I wasn’t reckoning on what was to follow.
The string quartet then played another couple of entertaining pieces, including the Beatles’ ‘When I’m 64’ which I think they enjoyed as much as the audience.
Natasha returned for ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, sung with such power and passion that I just sat there stunned.
The final number on the programme was ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ - another powerful and moving performance.
After thunderous and lengthy applause, Natasha returned for an encore – ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’. More enthusiastic applause and that was it………
……… apart from the signing. Natasha stayed afterwards to sign CDs etc for those that wanted. She had a friendly word for everyone, asking their name, and was happy to pose for photos.
It was all over by 9pm but I had a fantastic evening. When can I go again?
Natasha Marsh at RAH Elgar Room 29 November 2011
Natasha Marsh first came to my attention early last year, round about the same time I found my way to this website. Credit for her discovery must go to Amazon, but I read Nicola’s artist profile before ordering Natasha’s album ‘Amour’. Her second, self-titled, album soon followed.
With a background in opera, Natasha understandably leans towards the operatic end of the CC spectrum. To me, that’s not the greatest of recommendations but any misgivings I have about her material are more than compensated for by Natasha’s voice. Smooth as honey, it wraps itself around me and holds me enthralled. And that’s just her albums; in a live performance Natasha’s power, range and subtlety leave me floored.
My first live experience of Natasha was in an open-air concert in July last year. It was actually All Angels that attracted me to that event but I was more than happy that Natasha would also be performing there. She has since had a break from performing for family reasons but I was delighted to see a showcase event advertised a few weeks ago for the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall and had no hesitation in booking. That event was last night.
The concert opened with ‘O Mio Babbino Caro’. This aria has become something of a CC standard and there can be few female artists who haven’t covered it. Some are unremarkable, some are great, but Natasha’s performance last night was simply the best I have ever heard it sung.
The second number was ‘Ai Giochi Addio’, a beautiful song which is on both of Natasha’s albums.
Next came two which were new to me – ‘What Good Would the Moon Be’ and ‘It Never Was You’. To my shame, I can’t remember much about these to tell you, but I loved everything.
The string quartet which had been accompanying Natasha then played a couple of light hearted pieces while she took a breather.
Natasha returned to the stage with a friend from her college days to accompany her on the piano to ‘If I Loved You’ which she sang beautifully (of course).
All too soon, we reached the end of the first half with ‘Somewhere’. Again, this was maybe the best performance I have ever heard of this wonderful song from West Side Story.
Natasha’s patter between the songs was friendly and chatty. She spoke a lot about her children; she has three boys under the age of two. Her voice when she speaks is almost as gorgeous as when she sings. She was distinctly slimmer than last time I saw her (when she was pregnant with twins) and looked stunning in both dresses she wore. It was purple for the first half (which unfortunately wasn’t the best combination with the bright red piano); black and silver for the second.
The first song of the second half was ‘Evergreen’. I felt that this was perhaps the weakest of the evening with even Natasha’s voice being somewhat lost against the combination of recorded and live accompaniment. It probably didn’t help that I was in the front row right by the quartet whereas Natasha was at least ten or twelve feet from me.
This was followed by the beautiful and moving ‘Candle’ from Schindler’s List.
‘Autumn Leaves’ is one of my favourites from Natasha’s albums and was the only one which she sang seated. It brought tears to my eyes and I thought at the time that surely this must be my highlight of the evening. I wasn’t reckoning on what was to follow.
The string quartet then played another couple of entertaining pieces, including the Beatles’ ‘When I’m 64’ which I think they enjoyed as much as the audience.
Natasha returned for ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, sung with such power and passion that I just sat there stunned.
The final number on the programme was ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ - another powerful and moving performance.
After thunderous and lengthy applause, Natasha returned for an encore – ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’. More enthusiastic applause and that was it………
……… apart from the signing. Natasha stayed afterwards to sign CDs etc for those that wanted. She had a friendly word for everyone, asking their name, and was happy to pose for photos.
It was all over by 9pm but I had a fantastic evening. When can I go again?