Is there a more amazing setting to see a show than at the iconic Sydney Opera House?
It’s hard to beat as you walk down the path through Circular Quay along the water edge to the venue, with the equally iconic and striking Sydney Harbour Bridge staring at you on the opposite side.
The giant smile of Luna Park lit up and beaming underneath, whilst the sun sets in the distance with the final light touching the beautiful sails of the Opera House.
Sarah Blasko can be deemed somewhat a veteran of the music circuit these days. With three platinum and multi award winning albums, tonight’s performance was to celebrate the release of fourth album, I Awake which was recorded with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra in 2012.
As part of the Australian tour to all major cities, Blasko has invited orchestras from each city to join in the performance in making I Awake come to life.
It’s this confidence to push boundaries that makes Blasko utterly unique and much loved as she walks onto the stage in her home town tonight to a round of applause. Dressed in a simple black vintage outfit she opens with ‘(explain)’, from the album What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have.
A string of songs from the album As Day Follows Night follows in succession with Blasko’s vocal range in full flight. A tight four piece band also accompanies Blasko and the 40 piece Sydney Orchestra.
“Stop those tears in their tracks / Cause there’s no turning back” she sings as she dances like a marching Russian doll to the tune of the brass section and the thumping drum beat on ‘No Turning Back’.
The silhouette of the conductor and the singer on the backlit curtains adds to the dramatic effect of the songs; as a white gloved Blasko starts to perform ballet-like moves with her arms as if taken by different wind currents in the air above her during ‘Sleeper Awake’. Her beautifully soothing voice underplayed with the gentle strings that float through the Concert Hall.
The crowd is eerily still and respectful for the majority of the performance, with a little banter of “I love you” and “I love you more” between punters breaking the silence within the confines of the Opera House.
The addition of the Sydney Orchestra certainly changes the dynamics and complexities of the songs from the I Awake, bringing further depth and listening pleasure with each note. And it’s perhaps telling the last memorable Australian album that relied so much on the more classical instruments was the excellent and emotive, Diorama by Silverchair.
In her early life Blasko had a religious background before stepping away for some years. So it’s intriguing to note having recently stated that she thinks she still “believes in God”. This is poignant, as Blasko’s next two songs ‘Bury This’ and ‘God-Fearing’ have the core theme of religion, as she sings “To the ocean, to the ocean and I’ll baptise you.”
‘New Country’ begins with her shaking bells from the ground up to the sky like a witch doctor. It’s a melodic folk number that could easily pass in a movie scene with a camp fire and countryside as back drop.
Blasko’s ability to take us to the very place she sings about is a wondrous thing. It’s no surprise at this stage of her career that she has been fêted for her music and a worthy former ARIA winner for Best Female and Best Pop Album.
The highlight of the night came during the performance of ‘Here’. Blasko accompanied by a mini-acoustic guitar with the string section shimmering and holding the audience breathless.
The backdrop illuminates into different shades of colour with imagery much like the Northern Lights. It produces a dream-like state where the standard of performance just clicked in every facet – visually, aurally ,and emotionally.
Obviously it provides the biggest response from the audience and even provokes a lone clapper. With beaming smile, Blasko says “It’s brave to do a solo clap when no one else is clapping.”
Fittingly the encore begins with the singer solo on her piano, and as she quotes “this is like a piano recital” on the song ‘An Oyster, A Pearl’. You could almost hear a pin drop in the Concert Hall.
The night finishes with an orchestral crescendo that passionately speeds the tempo to a frantic climax on ‘Not Yet’ and paints Blasko like a modern day Opera starlet. Her arms reach outward and it’s a jaw dropping finale to tonight’s performance – quality from start to finish.
