By Douglas Bennett, Contributor 
Strachan
UNDER THE distinguished patronage of His Excellency Sir Howard Cooke, who was in attendance, a large audience assembled at the University Chapel at Mona, St. Andrew, on the evening of Sunday June 22 to witness the debut recital of teenager Ana Strachan, a prefect at Ardenne High School.
Indeed this was not just any recital but an 'Opera and Song Recital' and for an 18-year- old schoolgirl to assume such an ambitious task must surely have been a first for Jamaica.
A glance at the programme with its seven excerpts from opera, four from musical theatre shows, an oratorio selection, a piece of Schubert lieder, a spiritual and one of Dvorak's loveliest songs must have caused many an eyebrow to raise. Could Ana Strachan really come up with a convincing performance against such a challenge?
The audience was not to be disappointed since from the outset Ana dealt with her performance with aplomb, exhibiting levels of artistry, confidence and maturity well beyond her years. She has a beautiful and exciting soprano voice equally at home, it seems, in dynamic fiery passages or when singing pianissimo. She used her instrument with sensitivity and impressed during legato passages, in coloratura work and in sections calling for humour, passion or grief.
CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED
The programme content was carefully constructed. Each item was given an exciting reading by the young soprano and the enthusiastic audience, representing a wide age range, gave the artiste a prolonged standing ovation at the end.
The delicate Pie Jesu from Faure's Requiem, Schubert's wonderfully gentle love song Du Bist die Ruh, the always popular Memory from Cats, and the vibrant Habanera from Carmen, performed with Spanish dance steps, were all given a rousing reception. I found however that there were five items which were particularly outstanding. Caro Nome from Rigoletto with its coloratura runs was quite exquisitely sung as was Addio del Passato, the hugely contrasting tragic aria from Verdi's La Traviata, where the freshness of the young soprano voice gave new meaning to this glorious music. Ana chose so very correctly to sing A Cappella the haunting spiritual Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?, covering her head with a shawl to create effectively the desired ambience. She also excelled in the coquettish Musetta's waltz song from La Boheme, and in No Peace Within My Heart from Scheherazade's Tale, set to Rubenstein's romantic music and with its thrilling top B closing note.
For her encore, she sang to near perfection the solo version of The Prayer from Quest for Camelot, foregoing a second encore to introduce her 'baby sister' Samantha to the audience. Paulette Bellamy's piano accompaniment was flawless throughout and contributed greatly to the success of the evening.
The audience streamed away from the beautifully decorated chapel leaving an important question to be asked. Ana Strachan was an extraordinary talent with charming stage presence and yearns to become a professional opera singer. Her two tutors Georgia Schleifer and Pauline Watson deserve much commendation for bringing her to this standard, but where does Ana go from here?
No stone should be left unturned by her family, by her school community perhaps, by the Private Sector and indeed by Jamaica to ensure that this remarkable voice is given every opportunity to flourish and develop its huge potential.
