Reviews

Arias on Ice

There is an anonymous, Native American quotation about opera which advises, 'Sing your song looking up to the sky'. This came to mind during the wonderful performance of operatic arias sung by artists from the company 'Opera Anywhere' founded by Mike and Vanessa Woodward. The company, which performs regularly in London and the South of England, concluded their 2006 season with a new initiative, 'Arias On Ice'.

To test audience response, the first performance, an 'Arias On Ice' showcase event, was held in November at the opening of the new outdoor ice rink at Oxford Castle. The concept, operatic arias presented on ice with skaters providing a choreographed interpretation to each piece, aroused enough interest to indicate that the idea had a future in entertainment. Gaining the backing of Harvey Goldsmith, show business music mogul, 'Arias On Ice' made the outdoor rink at Canary Wharf its next venue.

It was an inspirational setting; the small, square rink, bordered by the bold, building blocks of big brother banking, sparkled in the darkness in the reflected light from hundreds of windows which stretched skyward into the night. A red carpet, a grand piano and artists whose voices soared to the heavens kept the audience spellbound.

The skaters, which included well known faces, were, John Hamer, Candice Towler-Green and partner James Phillipson, Phillip Poole (alas no Pippa due to injury), Annabel Colenutt, Lauren Moser and Charlotte and Josh Whidborne who, as skaters from the Oxford rink, had performed at the first 'Arias On Ice'. They had worked on their numbers at their own rinks and came together to be choreographed into an overall performance by Robin Cousins a few hours before the show.

The road to creating a good show is never smooth and this was no exception. Within the last few days the venue changed from Canary Wharf (problems over a performance license) to Lee Valley ice rink and back again when the problem was resolved. Skaters worked to a tight schedule and singer Russell Watson was admitted to hospital at short notice. Only three hours before the performance, Alfie Boe agreed to step in and his performance of a song from his new album, although it had no skating accompaniment, was the most emotive part of the programme.

Ten Alps television were busy recording the show which will be part of an hour long documentary about the company and televised, on channel 4, in March/April. Hopefully with good promotion and media attention, 'Arias On Ice' will be the beginning of what could become a superb partnership between the emotion of opera and the magic of skating. It would work as well at an indoor rink if good lighting was used to set the scene. At the moment there is an interesting strangeness to it, a meeting of two, quite different worlds. Some of this confusion was noticeable in audience reaction - if a skater performed a good jump, lift or spin do you applaud, as during a skating competition, or remain silent until the end of the aria?

As skating strives for recognition as a sport and its associated financial aid, it seems to move farther away from the music in free skating and even in dance the exacting requirements and necessity to work towards increasingly difficult levels has, as many have noted, resulted in some loss of artistry.

Perhaps 'Arias On Ice' can, in some measure, redress that balance. Already we have skaters who skate 'to the music'- they start with the music, finish with the music and hit a few highlights in between. Then we have those, usually more musically aware, who skate 'with the music'- they are capable of thinking on two levels with varying degrees of success. Lastly, there are those who, over the years, have captured our hearts with their gift of the ability to skate totally 'inside the music', unaware of the external until the last notes die away. If these skaters are not 'on track' to be identified as 'gifted and talented' in sporting terms they may be lost to us forever. All those who find pleasure in skating as a performing art should hope that the relationship between opera and skating flourishes.

Janet West , April 2007, iSKATE Magazine