Windy
Wiltshire
(Party in the Park)
Our
reporter, Hannah, covered the evening's events.
As
I looked at my watch and found it was 4:00pm, I didn't think I
was going to get to Swindon to see Charlotte perform at the open-air
festival. I was stuck in a traffic jam just outside London and
was going to have to put my foot down hard against the boards
to get there in time!
Luckily
the traffic thinned out once I got out of London and I made good
time across country to Wiltshire. It was a gorgeous, sunny day,
with just a few clouds, and England looked beautiful! Wiltshire
is a lovely county, steeped in history, but I didn't have time
to admire the views. I wasn't going to relax until I reached Lydiard
Park where the concert was being held.
 
When
I finally arrived and met up with my irate boyfriend, the park
was already well packed. Everyone had picnic baskets, blankets
and chairs, the lot! It seems to be part of the English culture
to hold open-air festivals, new to me but it looked good fun,
and so I was willing to give it a try! We made our way to the
front row and settled down to watch the performance. The stage
was huge, with huge video screens either side of it and already
set up with microphones and chairs for the orchestra.
Unfortunately,
being England, the weather didn't hold and before we knew it,
the wind was building up to a mild gale! Luckily though, at this
point, we weren't bothered by rain.
During
the first part, we were treated to a marvelous run through many
classics, such as Swan Lake, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and
the Battle of Britain March, with a fly past from a Spitfire (which
was absolutely great)! It was beginning to get dark, and emotions
were high. It was just overwhelming; the music was so loud and
rousing that I had to brush away a tear when the ancient aircraft
flew past. Call me soppy, but there you go!
After
this, even the conductor seemed to need a rest. Jae Alexander
is a stunning composer, lively, funny and hugely entertaining,
he had made us laugh all the way through, but now it was time
for someone else to take up the hard work.
To
a wonderful introduction by Jae, Charlotte appeared on a stage
that was already decidedly windswept. She looked stunning, wearing
what she described as a sari, a long "wraparound" skirt,
with a sequined top.
Jae:
...it is quite incredible what has happened to her career. She's
now taken music, classical music, all over the world. She's taking
Wales all over the world.
But we've got her here tonight.
First
off, Charlotte sang her ever-popular "La Pastorella".
I had always wondered why she chooses this difficult song, as
whenever I had previously heard her sing it live, she hadn't quite
"hit the mark". This time, however, I was completely
blown away. She performed the song as perfectly as you could ever
wish, with the wind billowing around her and rain beginning to
fall. She ended the song and the audience seemed only pleasantly
surprised. Maybe they didn't appreciate quite how difficult this
song is, but they weren't over generous with the applause.
   
Charlotte
sings her intro song
   
La
Pastorella
   
Jae
and Charlotte chatted on stage, Charlotte remarking on how she
had had problems with her hair just before appearing! Apparently,
her auntie Caroline had put Charlotte's hair in rags, to give
her hair a wave, but she had left them in too long, and her hair
turned into a huge frizz ball! She had to hurry back to the hotel
to wash and dry her hair all over again, literally minutes before
she was due on stage!
Jae:(To
Charlotte) "You look gorgeous."
Charlotte:
"It's a sari"
Jae: "A sari?"
Charlotte: "A sari..."
Jae: "What are you sari about?"
   
Laughter
(and, naturally, the odd wince) followed as the wind continued
to gain momentum.
Charlotte:(addressing
the dripping, but eager crowd) "It's nice to see you all
here..". "There's loads of them isn't there?"
Jae: "Loads - yes..."
More
quickfire banter followed...
half of which was lost to the wind and by Charlotte's usual high-speed
and bubbly presentation.
I
could feel the audience beginning to warm to her as she chatted
merrily away! Over the next thirty minutes she skillfully worked
her way through "Summertime" and "O Mio Babino
Caro". In between the songs she spoke to the audience, and
joked with the conductor. The crowds in Lydiard Park were completely
won over. With each song, more and more people began to move as
close as they could to the stage in their attempt to get nearer
to Charlotte. They absolutely loved her!
Just
before the end of the first half, the conductor introduced world-renowned
opera singer Willard White to the stage, and Charlotte left with
the promise of returning shortly.
Willard,
who is a baritone, was wonderful and impressed everyone with his
rich, deep voice. Then, Charlotte was once again introduced to
the stage, wearing a sky blue dress. Willard and Charlotte proceeded
to wow the crowds with an absolutely stunning rendition of "You'll
Never Walk Alone". The audience was "gobsmacked";
they swarmed in front of the stage to listen. You would never
think that Charlotte and Willard's voices would work together,
but they complimented each other's perfectly. The song ended to
thunderous applause and cheering, which lasted long after everyone
had left the boards.
   
   
 
I
honestly didn't think that the second half could better the first,
but I think in retrospect, it did. Charlotte returned to the stage,
to huge cheers, and delighted all present with a number of songs
that she had not performed before. She enchanted us with "Ave
Maria" (Gounod), her
voice well in control to fully do this song justice.
   
   
"If I Loved You" followed, which truly suited Charlotte's
voice, as she manages to have the emotions of a 20, rather than
a 14-year-old!
  
Best
of all "Bali H'ai", which is my absolute favourite,
with Charlotte drawing out her vowels beautifully and savouring
every single note.
By
this time the rain was teeming down, but no-one seemed to care.
I think many people left this concert as confirmed Charlotte fans.
They were all on a high from Charlotte's magnificent performance.
The rain didn't matter, the air was electric and to top it all
off, the evening ended with a huge, superb, fireworks extravaganza.
|
