Great night for a great cause...

The weather had been the main worry for the artistes and organisers of Sunday night's concert in aid of the Pollensa Animal Refuge run by Josefina Vivancos and her family.The Pollensa International Music Festival had had to move some of its main events to Palma when rain made the use of its normal venue, the Cloisters of Santo Domingo, impossible. Now this same venue was to be used for a charity concert ..... and the weather continued to be unpredictable. But last Sunday turned out to be perfect. A hot, sunny day mellowed into a gloriously, balmy evening with barely enough breeze to rustle the pianists' music scores, and for the audience of more than 300 who began arriving an hour before the concert was due to start, it was a truly memorable night. The Cloisters are a spectacular setting and the performers more than did it justice. Soprano Kate Gannon is always well-received in the town; her clear voice rising to the stars above in beautiful renditions of opera pieces such as Rossini's “Una voce poco fa” and Verdi's “Ave Maria”, while her performance of “The Doll's Song” from Les Contes d'Hoffmann by Offenbach was a splendid combination of vocal gymnastics and comic interpretation. Accompanied by Jean Garrett on the piano and, for her performance of Benedict's “The Wren”, assisted by husband James Anderson on the piccolo, Kate provided the audience with a musical treat. The talent of pianist Suzanne Bradbury was also obvious to all, with her fine and sensitive performance of a work by Liszt. Her fingers moved over the keys so fast they were almost a blur. A superb performance. Special applause was, however, saved for guest artist Eric Garrett, for ten years principal bass at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He delighted the audience with his strong, deep voice which filled the Cloisters and beyond to draw in several more people who happened to be passing by. Best known for his comic opera roles, Eric did not disappoint. His sense of fun was obvious in an impromptu piece about a flea, but profound emotion was also evident when he sang Verdi's “Il lacerato spirito”. His duets with Kate Gannon, though, proved to be the icing on an already well decorated cake, they sang so well together you wondered why they had not done it before. A marvellous evening and more than 2'500 euros raised for a good cause.