Last fall VOICExperience (VE) kicked off National Opera Week from Savannah, Georgia.  Opera must sit well with the fashionable seersucker set as this year VE was back with the first annual Savannah VOICE Festival with two weeks of events including an evening of David Friedman’s music presented by Friedman himself and master classes with legendary stage director Tito Capobianco and baritone Sherrill Milnes.  The luxurious Westin Savannah Harbor was the festival hotel partner and many events took place at the resort, though the entire city has opened its arms to Sherrill Milnes, Artistic Director, and Maria Zouves, Executive Director, of VOICExperience.  And no surprise really, for as Sherrill has said of VE: “We don’t do boring.”

True to that statement our first day in Savannah Shawn attended Tito Capobianco’s dynamic, immersive and wildly popular master class, which was followed by a bourbon, chocolate and cigar party with Milnes, Capobianco, pianist/conductor Jorge Parodi, and an assortment of singers, coaches, accompanists and patrons. 

Sadly I missed the bourbon and chocolate, but even worse, I missed probably my only chance to hear Sherrill Milnes sing live.  VE’s Prelude to the Opera program earlier in the festival surprised the crowd with Sherrill’s debut in the role of Alcindoro in La Bohèmewith Amy Shoremount-Obra as Musetta directed by Edwin Cahill and backed by the Savannah Philharmonic, one of the festival partners.

Fortunately I did make it to Sherrill’s fireside chat at the Westin.  Attendees were given an open forum to ask him about his career, personal life, anything really.  Many students received valuable career advice from the Grammy winner and I learned about the instruments he plays.  Fun fact: the only major instruments he has NOT played are cello and harp.

And of course we attended the festival finale at Christ Church.  It seemed like all of Savannah turned out for the culmination of the Savannah VOICE Festival.  The church was packed: even reserved seating was poached by excited audience members scrambling for a good seat.  And the crowd was not disappointed.  VE’s new and seasoned singers performed pieces from various operas like Traviata, Faust and Rigoletto and also more modern musicals and movies like Peter Pan, Sweeney Todd and Pocohantas.

Soprano Meechot Marrero and tenor Cooper Nolan led the Savannah Voice Festival Company in opening the evening with “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from La Traviata and thoroughly electrified the audience with their passionate, bright voices and dramatic musical range. 

Later baritone Junbo Zhou and soprano Anna Richardson performed “Pa-Pa-Pa”, one of my favorite pieces from The Magic Flute, and enchanted the crowd with their playful and light yet romantic rendition.

One of the highlights of the evening was the Act II Quartet from Sweeney Todd.  Rising star Scott Russell inhabited the role of the murderous barber and his rich bass voice seduced as he slashed throats.  Yes, a couple throats were slit during the piece—the first victim was patron and festival committee member Steven Buckner, next up was Sherrill Milnes himself, both to the audience’s delight. 

Soprano Mikki Sodergren particularly stood out in her pieces from Tangled and Pocahontas.  Her talent as a crossover singer continues to impress crowds and her ability to walk the line and stay on the side of sincerity when singing pieces that could easily slide into saccharine speaks volumes of her gifts.  She has a magnetism that is hard to ignore; even when singing as part of the ensemble, one’s eye gravitates toward her.

The evening concluded with the entire cast singing Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” with Timothy Hall on organ for the final refrain followed by a ticket drawing whereby the person who held the 

winning ticket chose the performer to whom VE would award a scholarship for next year’s Savannah VOICE Festival.  Congratulations to soprano Phoenix Gayles, the chosen performer.  At the rate VE is producing and growing in popularity it will need to find a bigger venue or expand its schedule to accommodate the growing fans and audiences.

For more information on The Savannah Voice Festival and VOICExperience click here.

(Photos courtesy of Mills Fleming, Timothy Hall and George Konstantinidis)

– Elizabeth Frayer