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The Sublime Voice of Nicole Car Melbourne
Hamer Hall, Melbourne Arts Centre
04/30/2025 - & May 3, 2025
Giuseppe Verdi: La forza del destino: Overture, “Invanno Alvaro” & “Pace,pace mio Dio!” – Il trovatore: “Tacea la note placida...Tace la note...Deserto sulla terra...Infida!...Qual voce!” & “Di quella pira” – Simon Boccanegra: “Come in quest’ora bruna” – Rigoletto: “La donna é mobile” – Nabucco: Overture – Un ballo in maschera: “A tal colpa”, “Morrò, ma prima in grazia” & “Alzati, la tuo fioglio...Eri tu che macchiavi quell’anima” – Don Carlo: “E lui! Desso, l’infante!”, “Per me giunto è il di supremo...O Carlo, ascolta” & “Tu che le vanità”
Nicole Car (Soprano), Etienne Dupuis (Baritone), Paul O’Neill (Tenor), Greta Bradman (Soprano & host)
Orchestra Victoria, Alexander Briger (Conductor)
A. Briger, N. Car (© Jeff Busby for Opera Australia)
For any artist, returning to your home town for a performance must be a huge adrenalin boost. To return to a complete triumph and adulation of the like shown to Melbourne soprano Nicole Car on her return to Opera Australia must be especially sweet. After her rapturously beautiful Puccini Gala of 2024, she returns with husband Etienne Dupuis to offer this sumptuous catalogue of Verdi masterpieces.
This gala is programmed not as a showcase for the leading singers but rather to demonstrate Verdi’s accomplishment and innovation in the operatic form. The selection avoided the customary soprano dazzlers from La Traviata, Rigoletto, Aida, and others in favour of miscellanies which more broadly proclaim the genius of the composer and his innate sense of theatricality. Hosted by Soprano Greta Bradman, the programme is intended not as a catalogue but rather to showcase the range and virtuosity of the writing.
In the cavernous Hamer Hall of Arts Centre Melbourne, conductor Alexander Briger brought artful hues and nuanced pacing to Orchestra Victoria’s expansive presence with more than 40 players on stage. Working entirely from memory, he elevated the instrumental interludes into stunning showcases of Verdi’s invention and mastery of the orchestral form. While accompanying the singers, his restraint and subtle variation in tempi added impact and dramatic tension to the emotionally charged lyrics. This was a memorable performance, again illustrating the luminary standard of this band of players who are much loved in this city.
Nicole Car appears every inch the opera Diva of legends. Ravishingly beautiful, sporting a collection of gowns from the catwalks of haute couture, glittering with jewels and moving with grace, poise and absolute confidence, she exudes an air of fun and excitement at the theatricality of it all. Her voice filled the vastness of the concert hall and easily dominated the extended orchestra in the more vivid passages. She glides elegantly from chest to head voice with what appears effortless polish and beauty. Her shimmering upper register is resoundingly accurate and her range of emotional expression truly inspirational. This is a voice of charm and elegance, projecting youthful exuberance and enjoyment at the intensity of the dramatic situations Maestro Verdi concocted. To return home is one thing but to return in such a blaze of virtuosity and artistry well deserves the ecstatic reception delivered by the huge audience last night. Of the many pieces featuring Ms Car, her performance of “Tu che le vanità” from the final act of Don Carlo, delivered at first from behind the orchestra was astonishing. The poignant variety of emotional states she conjured as she glided towards the front of the concert platform held the audience transfixed. Hers is an exquisitely rounded instrument which has excited admiration from across the globe; truly a glistening star returning to her home roots in Melbourne.
Baritone Etienne Dupuis is a riveting stage presence. He masterfully commands attention as the domineering aristocrat evokes compassion as the embattled confidante and delivers Verdi’s powerful baritone solos in a voice which transitions from lower to upper register in smooth, refined phrasing. As a soloist, he commands the stage, in ensembles, he is a perfect partner, matching imposing amplitude with precise attention to the voices of other singers. Again, the performance of the extracts from Don Carlo exemplified the skill and quality of his singing.
Tenor Paul O’Neill had difficulty with some passages from the two extracts assigned to him in the first part of the programme. Overall it is a lovely voice which, while not massive in weight, contributed pleasingly to the ensemble passages and showed him as a seasoned performer with a fine sense of the dramatic situations.
Host Greta Bradman offered intelligent and tantalising insight into the extracts offered in the concert. Her commentary was succinct and well‑observed and she returned to the stage at the final curtain call to join the three other singers in a group rendition of the “Brindisi” just to ensure that the admirers of La Traviata didn’t feel left out. It was a fun and exhilarating finale to the evening.
This concert of thrilling playing and singing returns for a second performance on 3rd May.
Gregory Pritchard
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