Adelaide Cabaret Festival review

Reviewed by Kathryn Pentecost for Artshub.Click here for the full review.Spoilt for choice - sounds and visuals galore in SAThe opening night show I attended was ASO Plays Cabaret: The Music of Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, conducted by the talented John Wilson, with stylish UK singer Gary Williams. The ASO, Wilson and Williams together created a sensitive, innovative dynamic that thrilled the packed opening night audience and led to a series of encores after the two programmed “sets”. The musical program included some of the most famous swing tunes of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, including Lerner and Lowe’s On the Street Where You Live, Ray Evan’s and Jay Livingston’s Mona Lisa, Irving Berlin’s Cheek to Cheek, Cole Porter’s I’ve Got You Under My Skin and George Gershwin’s orchestral piece, Fidgety Feet (as arranged by Nelson Riddle).Conductor Wilson and singer Williams have been working together for ten years. Their professional musical chemistry and experience created a masterful synergy with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, whose exceptional musicians continue to flourish under the leadership of their Music Director and Chief Conductor, Arvo Volmer.The night ended all too soon. The audience drifted back out into the real world, still enraptured by a most exhuberant rendition of New York, New York.