|
 |
Symphony In The Serengeti Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Deborah Caddy Monarto Zoological, Sat 10 Dec  I'd
been pondering the relevance of the Serengeti for most of the day,
so I was glad to have the mystery cleared up... Monarto is Monarto
and is many thousands of miles away from the legendary African game
park, so what what this concert all about? To raise funds for the
continued work at Monarto in opening a large open grasslands habitat
for their African mammals collection, to be known as the 'Serengeti'
enclosure. If you've not visited Monarto, I urge you to do so, it's quite spectacular. If it takes a concert performance from the ASO to inspire you to get there (I hang my head in shame) you'll be waiting another two years. A crowd which I estimated as being between 3,500 and 4,000 were ensconced on the gentle valley slope facing the modest enclosed stage area on a perfect Saturday afternoon. By 6.30pm, it was just past the hottest part of the day, the convivial groups clustered around eskys and travel rugs had settled into easy expectation, and on the hill slope to our near left a group of Oryx shuffled their feet and watched the crowd. Near them, a male ostrich shimmied with outspread wings in display for his mate - it looked like he was doing a haka for one. Under the baton of an animated Timothy Sexton the ASO began with the overture from Mendelssohn's 'Midsummer Night's Dream', and whilst pleasant enough the sound was still being sorted out. Particularly in the mid range their wasn't really much to report, it didn't really get much better through the night, there being an unsettling crackle and distortion to proceedings as the orchestra cranked it up. In the event it was more about the atmosphere, and hosts Keith Conlon and Jane Reilly bluffed their way through proceedings. Conlon's a ham and Reilly really can't do it without a teleprompter, but it was Timothy Sexton who saved the evening - telling a joke and adding some fine tenor during a shared rendition of his arrangement of Bricusse' Talk To The Animals. As you may have guessed (I certainly had), there was to be an obvious 'animal' theme in the music to the second half of this concert, and I figured the Baby Elephant Walk would make an appearance. In the first half of what seemed an all too brief concert, the orchestra had successfully navigated through Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, some Puccini and Bizet, and were helped by soprano Deborah Caddy in Sexton's arrangements of Gershwin's Summertime and Mancini's Moon River. Personally, I could have done without the reading of Summertime, which I found twee rather than appealing. With that out of the way, the orchestra took aim at the 'animal' part of the evening, beginning with the overture from Strauss' Fliedermaus. It was very satisfying, even if the programme began to resemble that of a light prom... Mancini's Pink Panther Theme made and appearance, as did Teddy Bear's Picnic, and my concluding memory of the entertainment is of the ASOs technical crew (who thought they were hidden at the side of stage) bouncing up and down as the robust and rounded bassoonery of Grieg's In The Hall Of The Mountain King (Peer Gynt Suite No. 1) blurted into the cooling air. It was all great fun, enhanced by the setting and the relative informality of the whole event. Monarto Zoological Park (along with the Adelaide Zoo) is one of the few privately run (that is, non-government) zoological gardens in Australia. The Royal Zoological Society of SA Inc is a 125 year old not for profit organization. The Future Zoo Foundation was established in 2001 to raise funds to assist the Society in its conservation, education and research programs. Donations for the Serengeti Project (which incorporates a new lion habitat) can be made by using the donation form on www.adelaidezoo.com Or consider sponsoring an animal! Call 08 82673255 for details on how you can contribute to the RZS of SA.  |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine