Photos: Billy Stritch and (Opera) Friends at Cafe Centro

You usually don’t find the words "opera" and "Billy Stritch" in the same sentence, however, they came together last night as Sandy Fisher, Board Member of the Mabel Mercer (Cabaret) Foundation and Board member of The Palm Beach Opera, managed to make a “shidduch” between the two art forms at a Cafe Centro cabaret show.

Fisher, a Florida-based supporter of the arts, brought Mr. Stritch to Palm Beach to give a master class attended by young performers of the Palm Beach Opera company. Pianist/Singer Stritch, one of the country’s most sought after music directors, arrangers, and performers, shared his knowledge on navigating the methods and techniques required for singing The Great American Songbook (Cabaret-style) to the classically trained vocalists. 

Billy Stritch highlighted and amplified  the talents of these wonderful opera singers as they explored the world of cabaret performance.  The result was an electrifying evening of singing, first by Billy, and then by four Opera singers.

Lauren Carroll (soprano), Ashlyn Brown (mezzo), Randy Ho (tenor), and Dylan Gregg (Bass baritone), performed American Standards with Maestro Stritch accompanying on the piano. It was a remarkable  evening of music with some of Palm Beach’s most sophisticated music connoisseurs packing the room for a night to remember.

 I don’t expect anytime soon to see a show titled “Billy Sings Puccini” presented at Birdland, Cafe Carlyle, 54 Below or Carnegie Hall, Stritch’s usual stages, but we just might see some of these Opera singers on the Cabaret Circuit in the near future.

Cafe Centro was SRO with tables having to be set outside to accommodate the overflow crowd which consisted of the many Palm Beach fans/friends of Billy Stritch and the Palm Beach Opera.  Maestro David Stern, conductor of the Palm Beach Opera, and James Barbato, its General Director, were especially thrilled by the performances. I only wish you could “hear” my photos.

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff