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From baroque to Broadway

Patrick Lloyd Rose has always been a powerful champion of high-end classical music ever since he discovered the recording of Mario Lanza in The Student Prince. And tomorrow afternoon at McDougall United Church, the St.

Patrick Lloyd Rose has always been a powerful champion of high-end classical music ever since he discovered the recording of Mario Lanza in The Student Prince.

And tomorrow afternoon at McDougall United Church, the St. Albert tenor plans to steal people’s hearts with Classical Song Recital, a musical armchair experience ranging from baroque to Broadway.

Rose, who originally hails from in and around the rural areas of Kingston, Jamaica, first dabbled in music like many of his contemporaries — through Sunday school and church choirs.

His life took a turn when he saw the much-hyped 1952 movie The Student Prince, a romantic tale of a young prince who falls for a barmaid. Lanza, an Italian American spinto tenor and Hollywood star, was originally slated to play the prince. However, after a dispute with director Curtis Bernhardt, Lanza was fired although his pre-recorded lyrics were dubbed onto the film.

Inspired by the beauty of Lanza’s voice, Rose moved to Canada about 35 years ago to study at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto with Dr. Ernesto Vinci, a proponent of the bel canto technique.

“It’s a notable technique that focuses on singing with a beautiful voice. Yet you have to have extreme know-how to support the voice. You need a great deal of control to express the emotions,” explains Rose.

For six years Rose studied with Vinci, developing a technique “that caresses the voice to express subtler emotions.” During that time, his voice like Lanza’s, matured into a spinto tenor, a mix between the lyric and dramatic.

Rose moved west to Alberta focusing on a day career in the technology sector. But every spare minute was devoted to fine-tuning his voice, singing recitals and even performing with Edmonton Opera in Rigoletto, The Pearl Fishers and Carmen to name a few.

There are excerpts from Alessandro Scarlatti’s La Violetta, Benjamin Godard’s Jocelyn and Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah. And then there’s Anton Dvorák’s Songs My Mother Taught Me, a string of lively gypsy tales. “It’s a beautiful, sentimental song that talks about memories.”

On the lighter side, in an ode to Lanza, is the dreamy Serenade from The Student Prince, and Neapolitan Songs, two romantic tunes crooned in the Neapolitan dialect.

And for all the Broadway bunnies Rose sings On the Street Where You Live and Gershwin’s Our Love is Here to Stay. Pianist Margaret King will accompany Rose.

Preview

Patrick Lloyd Rose
Classical Song Recital
Sunday, June 14 at 2 p.m.
McDougall United Church
10025 - 101 Street
Tickets: Adults $15, children $10 at door


Anna Borowiecki

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