An Evening With Cole Porter at Boston Pops

Message to Boston Pops: "You're the Top!"

The Boston Pops Orchestra, Keith Lockhart conducting

A Cole Porter Tribute starring Kelli O'Hara and Jason Danieley, with Matthew Anderson, Tenor and Vocal Fellows of The Tanglewood Music Center: Danya Katok, Soprano; Laura Mercado-Wright, Mezzo-Soprano; David McFerrin, Baritone; Dancers from The Boston Conservatory, Caley Crawford and Eric Johnson

Michael Scarola, Stage Director; Lawrence Goldberg, Musical Director; Patrick O'Neill, Choreographer

Performances through June 11 at 8 p.m. at Symphony Hall, Boston

For tickets contact SymphonyCharge 1- 888-266-1200 or www.bostonpops.org

The Boston Pops Orchestra with Keith Lockhart conducting pulls out all the stops in Week 6 of the 125^th Anniversary Season with a fantastic evening of music by Cole Porter, one of the most celebrated contributors to the Great American Songbook. The four Vocal Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's prestigious summer music academy for young professional musicians, kick start the festivities with "Another Op'nin', Another Show" from Kiss Me, Kate and the orchestra follows with the Prelude from Anything Goes, setting the pace of hit after hit for the program.

Broadway stars Kelli O'Hara and Jason Danieley are the featured performers and display their natural chemistry together in "Friendship" and "You're the Top." Fresh from her Tony-nominated turn as Nellie Forbush in the Lincoln Center revival of South Pacific, O'Hara brings a breezy attitude and an operatically-trained voice to these popular songs, having fun with "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and flirting with Maestro Lockhart in "Always True to You in My Fashion." In stark contrast to her sweet vocal delivery, she poses suggestively on a padded bench in her interpretation of "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love," something that strikes me as an unnecessary distraction. However, all is forgiven when she simply stands and delivers her heartfelt, poignant rendition of "So In Love" - no gimmicks, just a voice that conveys every ounce of feeling in the lyrics.

Danieley is an actor, singer, concert performer, and recording artist who most recently appeared in Kander and Ebb's Curtains, and will be taking over starring duties with his wife Marin Mazzie in Next to Normal on Broadway in July. His debonair style and smooth tone make "Easy to Love" live up to its title and give a haunting, theatrical quality to "In the Still of the Night." Danieley joins with the Vocal Fellows for a mini-drama about love found and lost in a medley of songs called "A Little 'Thing'" and fronts the foursome for "Night and Day." The latter features a dance routine by Boston Conservatory students Caley Crawford and Eric Johnson who are sincere, but somewhat hindered by the limited space downstage.

Matthew Anderson, a former Vocal Fellow, and the three current Fellows, Danya Katok, Laura Mercado-Wright, and David McFerrin, are all accomplished singers and do yeoman's work throughout the program in several configurationS. Anderson's tenor dazzles in "All Through the Night" and "You Don't Know Paree," while he also shares his musical comedy chops in more than a few numbers. "Where Is the Life That Late I Led" showcases McFerrin's strong baritone and he pairs with Danieley for "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," both selections from Kiss Me, Kate. Katok sings with a crystalline soprano and makes it sound effortless in "Do I Love You" and "Use Your Imagination." Mezzo-soprano Mercado-Wright joins Katok for a duo with "Every Time We Say Goodbye" and soars on "I Love Paris."

In the second act, Lockhart's program has the orchestra play solo only on "Quadrille" from Can-Can. The singing voices of this impressive cast are so good that the orchestra occasionally takes a backseat, but they are an important artistic presence in each and every number where they are the back-up band. They hit every note with style and substance, whether swinging, sassy, or soft. The legendary Porter wrote nearly one thousand songs and Lockhart includes many favorites and a handful of lesser-known tunes in the line-up, all played with the unmistakable Pops sound. It doesn't get much better than the combination of Porter and Pops, but you only have two chances left to fall in love with this gig. It's the top!    

For the remainder of the schedule through June 20 www.bostonpops.org