A voice in bloom
published: Friday | July 23, 2004
By Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Ana Strachan.
- Contributed
THE SONOROUS acoustics at the chapel of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, once again found happy employment when they took on the voice of Ana Strachan. Strachan delivered her second annual 'Opera and Song' recital in the chapel last Sunday evening to an enthusiastic audience.
In the dying rays of the summer evening her voice lifted into the air, pleasing those inside, beckoning latecomers to hurry their steps and urging nightfall to come in and listen. Her vocals were accompanied by Paulette Bellamy and Jon Williams.
Part proceeds of the event are to be donated to the Ana Strachan Scholarship Fund. The fund was created last year and is allocated to a needy second form student of Strachan's alma mater, Ardenne High. Strachan is currently a student at the UWI.
The first half of the show featured the operatic pieces of the evening. For this segment Strachan wore an elegant orange gown which adequately reflected the strength and vibrancy of her voice. The opera segment demonstrated her vocal range and technical proficiency. Standing poised and statuesque, her voice did most of the work.
During this segment Strachan delivered arias from several popular operas. The evening began with Les Filles Cadix from Bolero. There were also three pieces from Puccini: Puccini's Musetta's Waltz Song (La Boheme), Un Bel Di (Madama Butterfly), and Vissi d'Arte (Tosca). The segment also featured Mozart's Mi Tradi Quell Alma Ingrata (Don Giovanni), and Schubert's Du Bist Die Ruh.
The show's second half embraced a wider variety of music. Strachan's change to a bright blue gown hinted at the lighter side, though equally entertaining, segment to follow. The second half featured traditional music, folk and music from the movies. The segment wove from 'The Flower Girl' (People) to 'My Fair Lady' (Wouldn't It Be Loverly). The segment also featured Strauss' Laughing Song, the Jamaican folk song Liza and the traditional spiritual piece Ain't A That Good News.
As the evening wound to a close, Strachan performed a thrilling duet with her younger sister Samantha. The duet elaborated their individual strengths. On the one hand, it allowed the older sister to further demonstrate her classical training while on the other it allowed Samantha, who owns a voice that far outweighs her, to show her potential for pop divadom.
The maturity and control of Strachan's voice begs the credibility of her being only 19 years old, with just two and a half years of voice training. Her second recital showed that her dream of being an opera singer of great renown should be well within reach.
