Praise as opera singer jacks up his act!
 Performers who attempt the difficult crossover from classical to popular music can run the risk of alienating both sets of fans, who then often cite financial, rather than artistic motives for such a switch. And when it's an otherwise well-established and successful opera singer presenting his one man show, not surprisingly there will be even more raised eyebrows!
Of course, this is not to reckon with the immense and varied talents of Jonathan Veira, singer and pianist, who kept a packed audience absolutely spellbound for over 2 hours with a fascinating mix of humour, anecdote and, of course, superb music. There was Gershwin, A Donizetti aria, a Billy Joel number, gospel, country & western, blues, standards like 'Mona Lisa', 'My Funny Valentine' and much more besides, a veritable pot pourri which, on paper, would have seemed totally ill-suited in juxtaposition. However, whilst Jonathan is a true Jack-of-all-trades, he is an unsurpassed master of them all, subtly changing his delivery rom one genre to the next, allowing the programme to unfold seamlessly, yet still maintaining an almost impromptu feel to the whole show.
Jonathan Veira is not only blessed with a quite superb voice and keyboard skills to die for, but it is with his endearing sincerity and demeanour that he is consumately able to win over everyone who is fortunate enough to have been granted an audience with such an eminently likeable, amusing and thoroughly entertaining artist.
Philip R. Buttall, Evening Herald |
