L-R Gavin Hughes, Courtney Porter, Heather Hadley Narducci, Daniel Narducci, Anne Fuchs, Liz Culpepper, Victoria Korovljev & Morgan Hunkele. Courtesy of Roger Manning. Used with permission.
Union 50 restaurant, located in the downtown Chatham Arch neighborhood was the scene of the recent “Opera Cabaret,” a fundraiser for Indianapolis Opera. The event, which was held Thursday, Feb. 22, was attended by over one hundred donors and supporters.
To attract newer and younger audiences and portray the art form as more accessible and less stuffy, the IO programs musical theatre productions and unique events such as “Opera Cabaret. The two-hour event, which has been held annually for the past several years, included an appetizing dinner, and featured music from the Great American Songbook and Broadway.
Performing in front of a receptive crowd, the cast included emcee Daniel Narducci and his wife Heather Hartley Narducci, and Anne Fuchs. Also presented were this year’s gifted ISO guest residents that included Liz Culpepper, Victoria Korovljev, Gavin Hughes and Courtney Porter. They were accompanied on keyboard by accomplished pianist Morgan Hunkele.
As expected, all the singers showed impressive vocals, showmanship and dramatics skills but certain performances stood out. They included Korovljev in “Can’t Help Lovin Dat Man” from “Showboat,” Culpepper in “Maybe This Time,” from “Cabaret,” and Porter and Hughes in “Written in the Stars,” from “Aida.” Based on their dynamic performances, I predict all the residents’ artists can expect to enjoy successful careers.
Also shining were the Narduccis in “The Nearness of You,” by Hoagy Carmichael and Fuchs in “La vie en Rose” made famous by Edith Piaf.
Closing Act 1 with a resounding bang was Heather Narducci in her moving rendition of “Send in the Clowns,” from “A Little Night Music.”
In my experience, opera artists do not often make the shift easily from singing classical music to delivering popular music without making it sound stilted and even awkwardly close to parody. However, this group of singers acquitted themselves well, turning in an evening of solid entertainment that was consistent and thoroughly engaging.
For information about the Indianapolis Opera’s “Yardbird” featuring Angela Brown, on March 16, visit indyopera.org.
