2020 started in much the same way as other years. Although live classical crossover performances were a bit thin on the ground in my area, I did manage to tick one item off my wish list and see Bond for the first time. The electric string quartet delivered an awesome experience at London’s Union Chapel in their first public UK concert for many years, where I was lucky enough to get a front-row seat.
There was plenty of other live music on offer, and I successfully managed to fill my diary with classical, opera, musical theatre and folk music (plus a bit more), all of which I love.
But a shadow was spreading inexorably across the world. In March, the coronavirus pandemic became an unavoidable reality in Britain. A few shows were canceled due to illness amongst the performers or crew, and eventually, the government took action. I was privileged to attend one of the last performances at the Royal Opera House: La Traviata on 14th March, and even managed to see my favourite busker at Charing Cross station on my journey to Covent Garden. The following day, I was already on a train to London when I received notification that my show at The Palladium was cancelled, so I had to abort my journey and return home.
On the evening of Monday 16th March, I was on my way to Green Note (a small intimate folk venue in Camden, North London) when I read that Boris Johnson (UK Prime Minister) had announced that all social gatherings including musical events were to be banned forthwith. I continued my journey with some trepidation, not knowing what I would find at my destination. There was a small queue outside Green Note, and thankfully I learned that the show with Odette Michell was going ahead. Many people must have stayed away that night because the audience was much smaller than normal and (unusually) everyone was able to find a seat. I knew most of the audience, at least by sight, and the atmosphere was highly emotionally charged. We knew that this evening would be something special as staff, performers and audience alike were all aware that this would very likely be the last performance anywhere for some time – how long, nobody knew. Green Note closed its doors for the last time at the end of that evening. The Tube was eerily quiet as I made my way home, and that was to be my last journey by public transport for four months. Before the week was out, a full lockdown had been imposed across the UK.
Opinions differed as to how long the lockdown was likely to last – probably 4 or 6 weeks, maybe 12 weeks at the outside, but I don’t think anybody envisaged back then that Britain’s theatres and concert halls would still remain dark in August, together with countless smaller venues like clubs and music rooms in pubs. There was some promise of a tentative start from 1st August but the decision was reversed and it now looks likely that most indoor venues will remain closed for the rest of this year.
Musicians are a resourceful bunch and will find a way to perform, come what may. Within days, live streams had been set up right across the country and beyond, so that people could listen in their own homes via social media. Katherine Jenkins started a series of weekly concerts from her home which gathered huge audiences on Facebook for many weeks. Other independent artists would broadcast from their living rooms, bedrooms, garden sheds, and countryside, to a variable audience.
Some online concerts have been pay to view, but the model I prefer is free streaming which anyone can share with their friends thus allowing people to discover new artists who they might not otherwise have heard about or bothered with. A necessary adjunct to this approach is the ‘virtual tip-jar’ whereby people can donate an amount of their choice to the artist, or in some cases to a charity. My own bank statements have become a long string of “Direct Debit to Paypal Payment” in various amounts. There has never been a better time than the past few months to find live music streamed online.
(Contribute to Christina Johnston’s Go Fund Me Campaign)
As well as singing/playing, some artists such as Mary-Jess and those associated with Classical Crossover Magazine have begun a series of podcasts, interviewing other artists from around the world. In the Classical Crossover world, some of the other highlights during lockdown have been Nadia Eide’s concerts in which she duetted with various artists around the world (these were not performed live to the audience as they must have taken many hours of editing and mixing to produce such a superb result). Artists such as Grace Foley, Margaret Keys, Gemma-Louise Doyle, Christina Johnston and many more have run regular live sessions for a number of weeks, while others have done individual concerts on an ad-hoc basis. Some extended online concerts featuring many different artists have been arranged or promised – many of these on an international level.
The individual countries of the UK each set their own agenda for the easing of lockdown restrictions, and in England, a limited amount of outdoor busking has been allowed since mid-July, with social distancing controls in place. At the end of July, I made my way into London for the first time to see Daisy Chute (from All Angels) performing in Canada Square. It was a delight to hear her voice together with real-time harmonies from her accompanist Midori Jaeger and to be able to interact on a personal level – other than via the comments section of a live stream.
Just over two weeks ago, Christina Johnston announced on her live stream that she would be doing a real outdoor concert ‘Opera in the Park’ at Wherstead Park near Ipswich in Suffolk, with full social distancing measures in place. Now Ipswich is not exactly close to me – it is a two-hour drive at best. But with an afternoon concert, there would be plenty of time to get there and home afterwards. I love outdoor concerts in the summer, and I had seen Chrissy before so I knew it would be worth the drive. Add to that the fact that it would be my first real concert in nearly five months, and it didn’t take too much persuading for me to book.
I checked the venue on Google maps. I noted that there was a reasonable size car park, but it was also quite full on the day that the aerial photos were taken so I thought it would be a good idea to get there early. I set off in what I thought was a good time; my journey round the M25 London orbital motorway was uneventful and there was only a few minutes queue to cross the Thames via the Dartford Tunnel. All was well until a little way along the A12 – the road that leads directly from London to Ipswich. The A12 is a two-lane dual carriageway with no junctions which would necessitate the traffic-stopping, but nevertheless the other drivers seemed to think it was fun to slow down to a crawl at numerous points along the route and even stop occasionally, so I arrived at Wherstead Park nearly 30 minutes later than planned. I needn’t have worried; the vast car park had only a few cars in it, and I even found a spot at the edge with a bit of shade from some trees.
Arriving at the entrance to the venue, I waited for one couple in front of me to check-in, then was greeted by a lady wearing a large face visor, who asked my name. She found me easily on her list and cheerfully informed me that I had the best seat in ‘the house’ – front row nearest the stage. She asked if I had seen Christina before and seemed delighted with my response; I had seen Chrissy two years ago at her home town of Framlingham, and a couple of times since in guest appearances in London. The concert had been reported as a sell-out, so I asked how many tickets had been sold. The answer was just 53! Was it financially viable at that number? I asked, and apparently it was – just. The lady then directed me towards a gentleman on the other side of the rose garden, who would show me to my seat. As I walked away, I heard her giving him my details by radio.
I was shown to my seat at a small table about 6m from the stage and a few meters to the left of the central aisle. The front row consisted of just four of these small tables, with ample separation between them. The second row comprised groups of two or more chairs at makeshift tables made from a stack of wooden pallets topped with a tablecloth. The rows formed an approximate half ellipse around the front of the stage. The third and final row was similar but included a few larger groups. Each group/table was provided with an individual parasol – very welcome as it was a hot summer afternoon. There was at least 4m separation between each group of seats.
Since the government guidance is to maintain at least 2m separation from others I did think that they could have maybe admitted a somewhat larger audience, but at least the wider spacing gave the waiting staff ample space to move between the groups without getting too close to anyone. The stage itself was a low platform placed at the front of a large open-fronted tent-like structure described as a tepee. Looking behind me, I was delighted to see my friends Philip and Fatima (who I have met at numerous concerts around the country) sitting at the closest table, already tucking into their luxury picnic. They had also traveled quite a distance to be there, and I ascertained that they had not seen Christina live before, having only discovered her online during lockdown.
At the appointed hour, the organizer came to the stage and welcomed the audience to the first event of the year at Wherstead Park. He then continued, introducing Christina Johnston. As he left the stage, the strains of Handel’s Lascia Ch’io Panga came drifting across from the PA system but the stage remained empty. After a couple of lines, I heard Christina’s clear soprano voice joining in with the music, and turned to see her making her way across the lawn from the mansion behind us.
Christina paused at the top of the steps to the center rear, wearing a gorgeous ice blue dress with a full layered skirt and embroidered top. As she lifted her skirt slightly to negotiate the steps, I noted that Chrissy had sensibly chosen to wear flat-soled sandals rather than high heels. Christina finally reached the stage, where she stood to finish the aria.
The next song was Puccini’s well-loved O Mio Babbino Caro, sung by Christina with wonderful expression, followed by the delightful Ah! Je Veux Vivre from Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet.
We then had a break from opera and ventured into the world of film music with the wonderful theme from Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Morricone. I think it was during this song that the thought was brought home to me – how I love classical crossover music, and how much I have missed it. Although I have come to appreciate and enjoy other musical genres, there is nothing that lifts my heart quite like classical crossover, and Christina is one of the best I know to deliver the music that I love. This was my first live classical crossover vocal concert of the year; every song so far had been exquisite and filled me with joy – and so it continued for the rest of the afternoon.
Christina explained that, after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, she had moved to Prague where she began her professional music career. The next song was one that she had learned in Prague – the gorgeous Song to the Moon from Dvorak’s opera Rusalka. Christina sang this in the original Czech language and it was one of the most moving moments of the afternoon. Many of the backing tracks had been recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and at various points, during the afternoon Chrissy would joke that they were sitting behind her playing. Although there was indeed room for a modest orchestra in the tepee behind her, the space was mostly empty and all the musicians seemed to have chosen to sit in a little black box on the technician’s table.
Moving on to the world of musical theatre, we were treated to Greenfinch and Linnet Bird from Sweeney Todd and I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady. Christina is adept at portraying different characters in her performance and these songs were full of life, with a great sense of fun in the latter number. This section was rounded off with Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera – a beautiful performance throughout with those high cadenzas at the end delivered perfectly and seemingly effortlessly in Christina’s high coloratura voice.
The final song of the first half was simply breathtaking and left the audience gasping for more. This was The Nightingale, originally written by the Russian Composer Aleksandr Alyabyev and adapted as a showpiece for the lyric coloratura soprano. Christina excelled in every aspect of this challenging work, the piccolo birdsong at the end perfectly echoing Christina’s pure voice. I recall this song also being one of the most outstanding and memorable tracks from her debut album ‘Blessing’.
The second half commenced without announcement, and suddenly Christina was back on stage in another gorgeous dress – this one with a pure white full skirt and a floral pattern bodice.
The opening song was Voi che sapete from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. Although originally written for a male role, the song was also well suited to Christina’s voice. Apparently she has recently recorded this for the soundtrack of a major film, soon to be released.
In another cinematic interlude, we heard the wonderful Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Audrey Hepburn was one of Chrissy’s idols when she was a child, but she recently learned that all the songs on this film were dubbed voice-overs, so she had not heard Audrey singing at all.
Back to Mozart – one of Christina’s first major stage roles in Prague was the evil Queen of the Night, in The Magic Flute, and she delivered the famous aria Der Hölle Rache with great dramatic effect. Often considered as one of the most challenging arias for a soprano, Christina’s control of the high notes seemed to be effortless.
Next came the theme song from Love Never Dies by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and I don’t think I have ever heard a more moving performance of this song.
Another fun number followed – The Doll Song from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann, in which Christina perfectly mimicked the mechanical movements of a not-so-well-behaved wind-up doll.
Then came a lovely performance of Memory from Cats.
Christina explained that although as a coloratura soprano her vocal range extends up to high C7, she would sometimes have difficulty with the lower notes in some songs, including the following Never Enough from The Greatest Showman. She need not have worried – although she may not have the same power in her lower range, the notes were still there in perfect tone. Her clear enunciation in the higher parts of the song was a joy to hear, avoiding the distortion that sometimes comes from other singers struggling to reach the notes.
Sadly the concert was now drawing towards its close, and perhaps some of that sadness was reflected in Christina’s emotional rendition of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables.
The final song was another fun piece, allowing Christina to show off her character acting skills as the (never) self-effacing Galinda the good witch in Popular from Wicked.
Okay, the final song in a concert is rarely the last, and the audience reaction was sufficient for Christina to launch into her encore – a sparkling performance of Glitter and be Gay from Bernstein’s Candide, followed by rousing applause and a standing ovation from the audience.
Through her regular on-line streamings in lockdown, Christina’s confidence in presentation, and talking between the songs has grown from week to week, in what she has freely admitted was a difficult area for her at first. Faced with a live audience for the first time in months, all traces of self-consciousness seemed to vanish and she was the perfect hostess. Her introductions between songs were witty and informative, including parts of her own life story, and I got the impression that she was enjoying the whole experience just as much as her appreciative audience.
After going to change, Chrissy returned to the arena and made herself available to chat to all members of the audience (maintaining the appropriate social distancing) making a lovely end to a perfect afternoon.
P.S. The A12 was clear almost the whole way up to the M25 on my return journey, so I made it home in just two hours – to the minute.
Learn more about Christina Johnston on her official website. We are also pleased to once again welcome her to our Lockdown Concert Series.
Thank you John, a lovely piece and absolutely echoing my opinion of the afternoon – it was glorious, wasn’t it? I cannot understand why Chrissy has not become more well known and hope that your article will help her to greater recognition.