The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
A Romantic Pops Valentine

Dates and Venue Saturday, February 9 & February 10, 2018 at 8pm | Orpheum Theatre

Conductor William Rowson Featured performers Jon Nakamatsu - piano, Robyn Driedger-Klassen - soprano, and David Curry - tenor

Reviewer Erin Jane


I am loving the VSO Pops series. I attended one of the Film Concert performances of VSO doing The Godfather and it was stunningly good. This year I was fortunate enough to snag tickets to their Romantic Pops Valentine performance, where conductor William Rowson and the VSO performed a number of selections that were sure to increase my romance levels heading into Valentine’s Week.

Chosen selections included an emotional E lucevan le stele from Puccini’s Tosca as well as O mio babbino caro from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. A Puccini lover myself, I was in heaven listening to these beautifully romantic pieces. Soprano Robyn Driedger-Klassen handled Tosca’s famous aria effortlessly with a beautiful, pure tone. Tenor Frédérik Robert regretfully could not make this performance but David Curry stepped in and was incredible. In fact, Curry for me was one of the highlights of the evening, with his heartfelt melodies, singing Manon, je t’aime very affectionately and convincingly. His chemistry with Driedger-Klassen was tangible as they expressed their music on stage, moving together and conveying intense physicality with their melodies.

Maestro Rowson did a fantastic job of introducing each piece along with some context, which is crucial as after all, most of the evening’s selections were not being experienced within the framework of how they were meant to be enjoyed. The VSO Pops series are a bit like the top 40 of symphonic entertainment - All arias, no waiting! Also, Rowson is not merely charmismatic and charming but he’s also intensely unflappable, as he watched both singers closely throughout, to ensure timing was consistently flawless.

To finish out the first half, Pianist Jon Nakamatsu arrived on stage to play Gershwin’s sweeping, cinematic Rhapsody in Blue. As an amateur pianist who has learned the abridged (read: easier) version of this incredible piece, it was very exciting to hear someone performing Rhapsody in Blue the way it was actually meant to be played (not, for example, fumbling around on my parents’ piano). If there is a musical equivalent of the expression “le mot juste” then I would use it to describe Nakamatsu’s style – he has a very deliberate touch.

If the first half was stunning, I felt that the second half seemed to lose momentum somewhat. Bizet’s Carmen Suite was a lovely choice but speaking personally all of my favourites had been performed in the first half. The thing about performing a few pieces from different operas and musicals is that it can be hard to sustain momentum. An opera tells a story, whereas this night was a “Best Of” mix. There were a few songs I would have swapped out had I been the evening’s curator, and I would have loved to have seen Leoncavallo’s heartwrenchingly beautiful Vesti la giubba from Pagliacci included in the program, but to be fair, Pagliacci is more upsetting than romantically compelling. Having said that, how lovely would it be to have a VSO Pops series that focuses on sad music for us lonely hearts. Puccini’s Nessun Dorma with some sad clowns thrown in for good measure – now that sounds like a gorgeously depressing evening, and not for the faint of heart.

© 2018 Erin Jane