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Pot-Pourri (group)
Encyclopedia
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
/musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
group who perform a blend of opera, music theatre, cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, magic, didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
and comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
both within Australia and internationally. The artists have all performed with Australia's major musical and opera companies.
Current
- Tania de JongTania de JongTania de Jong AM, is an Australian soprano, social entrepreneur, business woman and motivational speaker. She is the co-founder and artistic director of entertainment and event company Music Theatre Australia...
– (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) - Rebecca Bode – (soprano)
- Jonathan Bode – (tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Jonathan Morton – (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
) and - Rebecca Chambers – (pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
)
Former
- Dominique Oyston – (soprano)
- Craig MacDonald – (tenor)
- Rosa Scaffidi – (pianist)
- Adam Przewlocki – (pianist)
- Antoinette HalloranAntoinette Halloran-Education:Antoinette Halloran is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts where she won the Mabel Kent Scholarship and completed a Diploma of Arts ; she has an Honours Degree in Music from the University of Melbourne. In 1993 she studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston.-Career:In...
– (soprano)
History
Pot-Pourri began its life at a smoky jazz nightclub Madegans, in BrunswickBrunswick, Victoria
Brunswick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1987 and has since toured overseas on more than 40 occasions and released six CDs. The group began with the aim of making opera and musical theatre accessible to a wider audience.
Performances include sell-out concerts at the Melbourne Concert Hall, Sydney Town Hall
Sydney Town Hall
The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. It stands opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral...
, Burswood Theatre, The Plush Room San Francisco, Hong Kong Jockey Club
Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, founded in 1884 to promote horse racing. It was granted Royal Charter and renamed to "The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club" in 1959...
and the Port Fairy Folk Festival
Port Fairy Folk Festival
The Port Fairy Folk Festival is a popular annual four-day music festival based in the historic fishing village of Port Fairy in Victoria, Australia....
. The group has toured throughout many parts of USA, Europe, New Zealand and Asia performing as guest artists with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra, touring major concert halls in Taiwan. They were the only Australian production to be invited to perform at the 2002 International Music Theatre Festival in Korea. Pot-Pourri have performed a season at The Summit Theatre in Japan and were the first Australian artists invited to play at the Macau Cultural Centre, as well as performances in Penang and Hong Kong.
The Warbles
The five classically-trained performers also become The Warbles for children's charity The Song Room. The performers take on the personae of Sylvie Soprano, Miffy Mezzo, Terry Tenor, Barry Baritone and Priscilla Pianist, teaching children about opera and classical music.Reviews
- "The four very talented Pot-Pourri singers … showed both their singing prowess and confidence as performers." – The Dominion Post
- "The group really is a must-see. If you're not a classical buff, this show is your way into the genre in a humorous and very entertaining way." – The Press, Christchurch
- "(Pot-Pourri) have extended the public’s perceptions of opera and music theatre and have developed new audiences on a national and international scale for the performing arts in general" – Yarrawonga Chronicle
Discography
- 1995: Rhythm of Life
- 1997: Something Familiar!, Something Peculiar!
- 1999: This is the Moment
- 2001: Friends for Life
- 2003: Chanson d'Amour
- 2006: Nella Fantasia