The orchestra opened with There’s No Business Like Show Business in a very promising way. Displaying skill and enthusiasm in a short but explosive overture the night had begun. In came the conductor Anders Eljas. Setting the atmosphere for the evening he cracked a few jokes with moderate success.
So the singing began. From the side a delicate creature came in the shape of Helen Sjöholm. Playing with her reputation as a nice small town gal she wore a discrete brown dress. She started up the singing with Whenever He Ain’t. Her singing most certainly lived up to the expectations and especially in the chorus she showed the strength in her voice. Her presence in the room was undoubtedly great and made the impression even more gripping. In the chattier parts of the song she couldn’t really keep up articulating the words. By any other standards a superb start but for Sjöholm a slight remark in the record.
After a few words from Sjöholm, she left the stage and in came Tommy Körberg. In a shining vest under the suit he opened the satirical song By Strauss. Both things were an obvious game with reputation as a snobbish, critical loud mouth. In the same manner he told off a few in the audience coming in late. And off we went with the voice of Körberg. With a distinct voice he drew out every meaning of the lyrics. He has a strong voice that impressed but you could feel that he was holding back just that little extra that makes a performance stunning.
Next came a lady in a stunning bluish gala dress. It was the diva of divas, Myrra Malmberg. Without hesitation she took tone with the song Meadowlark. Just like Sjöholm she had some problems with the chattier beginning of the song but as soon as the song came into the singing part, not many was left untouched. It was without a doubt the strongest performance so far in the concert. Singing with endless delicacy and strength she demonstrated the best way to sing the song. Holding back in some parts and going out with full force to emphasise the lyrics. In true diva style she marched of the stage the second she finished singing without acknowledging the next singer.
Receiving that cold treatment was Svante Thuresson. People was the song of his choice and it was a choice suitable for his style of singing, meaning the chattier style that the ladies had found somewhat difficult. He sang it admirably good and really used the potential of the song but in the present company it was still a bit inadequate.
Joining Thuresson on stage was Helen Sjöholm for the first duet of the night. There was going to be two songs and they were Fascinating Rhythm and I’ve Got Rhythm. Nice songs with lots of potential that Thuresson took full advantage of making the duet suffer. Sjöholm struggled to get heard but she drowned in his voice in these chatty songs.
Finally it was Marie-Louise Hasselgren’s turn to take on the audience. Dressed in a glittering dress she would have raised many an eyes if she hadn’t come just after Malmberg. As an opera singer she made an unusual interpretation of With One Look what I found very enjoyable. She could sing the entire song with her powerful voice so purely that it was hard to imagine it be any more so. It was a very good break in the style that the concert was getting.
After this somewhat unusual performance it was time for the second duet of the night and this time it was Tommy Körberg and Helen Sjöholm performing You And I together, a charming song that took the breath from me. The hesitation I felt in Körberg’s earlier performance made this song even better, since his voice blended perfectly with Sjöholm’s lovely voice. Indeed they managed to sing the song absolutely perfect.
Once again Myrra Malmberg came in and to take the diva role to another level she announced that the next song had only been recorded by three persons in the world, she herself, Judy Kuhn and Madonna... The last name was grossly emphasised making the diva shimmer disappear very quickly. And so she started to sing What Can I Lose. As one could expect from her favourite song she did it in a manner that left no doubt about her skills as a singer. In an exquisite way she made us feel the torments in the song.
Without even waiting for the applause do die out Malmberg continued with her next song. It could be seen as nervousness and there most certainly were reasons for it. The next song was Wrong Note Rag and it was clearly the wrong note for Malmberg. It was a chatty song that she once again didn’t pull through.
Svante Thuresson took up the same style with Luck be a Lady and he pulled it through with class. In a marvellous way far better than his first performance he dazzled he with his singing. This has to be the way the composer imagined the song when writing it.
Myrra Malmberg and Tommy Körberg re-entered the stage and on the programme was All I Ask of You. Tommy Körberg started in a great way singing the part of the Phantom as the country’s leading singer should but when Malmberg took tone the hundreds of performances shone through. Even without the costumes and the props she moved us right into the musical. It was inconceivable that this could be surpassed during the evening.
On came Helen Sjöholm and with her showpiece Du måste finnas she stopped time. With an enormous presence she sang her song and if Malmberg’s song took us to the musical, Sjöholm’s took us to the scene where it actually happened. She simply sang it and we simply listened.
And so the end of the first act was here with a nice little finale with all five of the singers singing One. Good performances but not arranged very well. They didn’t really find the balance in their singing.
Summing up the first act, there was a few less good spots but the overall impression is impressive even considering the expectations. All I Ask of You and Du måste finnas made all the difference in the world.
Starting up the second act Myrra Malmberg opened up with Everybody Says Don’t. It is a chatty song but she seemed to have it under control making it a tolerable song.
And finally she did the expected thing, meaning talked a while about Stephen Sondheim. She presented the next song as his only real hit and after hearing it the thought was, how did that one become a hit? She sang Send in the Clowns very well but the song was still a bit too slow to match the end of the first act.
Svante Thuresson came next with It’s all right with me. With a mediocre performance and an equally mediocre song it really didn’t leave an impression.
Back in came Tommy Körberg to get the concert on its feet again. It was with Somewhere and with an effort he made the song good but the patience was starting to run out.
The next song was something completely different from anything we had seen so far. Myrra Malmberg and Svante Thuresson came in with Anything You Can Do and surprised us. As a comical relief in the dull concert it was a complete hit. When Thuresson was supposed to sing higher and longer than Malmberg no one could keep a straight face. It was a musically a good performance from both and for the concert in whole it was great.
Follow this injection of energy in the concert Helen Sjöholm came in with I don’t know how to love him. A great song and with Sjöholm’s voice it was a guaranteed success, but for some reason she became overly eager and went over the top. Still an impressive performance but not really as good as it could have been.
Putting the orchestra to rest and only leaving a lone cello to accompany him in Summertime Tommy Körberg made a strong effort but in the end the lone cello couldn’t live up to the expectations. The song simply fell apart.
Back in came Marie-Louise Hasselgren with The Ladies who lunch. She did her best to make the song interesting and acted to it, but it wasn’t enough.
Suddenly two ladies in dark dresses stood on stage. Helen Sjöholm in a lavish black dress marking her way from the farms and Myrra Malmberg in a simple grey dress, far less diva like than before. Together these ladies sang My Own Best Friend with not two but almost one voice in a perfect duet. Each of their voices complementing the other’s voice to form perfect silky voice. This is a duet that wouldn’t suffer from joining up again in the future.
Svante Thuresson took the stage again with I’m gonna build a Mountain. This was another chatty song that didn’t make an impression.
And to complete Helen Sjöholm’s way from farmer girl to diva she sang Whatever Lola gets. A very nice song that she interprets in exactly the way that completes her transformation from shy girl to diva. Great performance, which could have failed but was carried out in an elegant fashion.
As the last solo performance Tommy Körberg came in with his showpiece, Anthem. This is perhaps the song most people associate with him and that fact was on his shoulders. He started up good and strong and for a second made things stop. But then he became a bit too eager and lost the feeling and the impression feel apart.
Rounding up the concert was a finale with everyone together singing There’s No Business Like Show Business. Perfectly arranged the performances of the singers were displayed in full and that left on doubt about why they were the best.
As you probably noticed I was disappointed with the second act and if that is because of me getting tired after over two hours of musical music or simply the music not being good, I can’t know. But the songs didn’t feel as captivating as the ones in the first act.
Summing up my impression of the entire concert I have to say that the quality of the concert was mixed. One moment a showstopper taking my breath away and the next moment a disappointment. Everyone managed to give a great performance but the same persons disappointed me at some time during the concert. The evening was the ladies. They were the brightest stars in the concert and especially Helen Sjöholm and Myrra Malmberg. Sjöholm had a few spectacular songs and Malmberg was consistently good throughout the evening. The overall impression of the concert was average with great highlights.
Song information gathered from concert programme.
For more information visit detail page or Gothenburg Opera House.
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