REVIEW – Devizes Arts Festival – Sir Willard White @ Corn Exchange, Devizes, 3rd June 2023

Bass Baritone Brilliance

Andy Fawthrop

It was time last night for The Devizes Arts Festival to roll out its first big-hitter of the 2023 programme, and what a smash it proved to be. Although not quite sold out, the Corn Exchange was pretty full, and those who turned out were rewarded with a sparkling performance.…

Sir Willard White is one of the world’s best-loved and most versatile opera stars of the last 40 years. He is a performer whose illustrious career has taken him to the most prestigious opera houses and concert halls throughout the world. It was opera royalty come to pay us a state visit.

The evening opened with the Kymaera Duo, the twin guitars of Shane Hill and Simon James, who have been performing together for over twenty years. Their beautiful and understated rendition of the classic “Summertime” set a very high bar for the rest of the evening. Soon they were joined by the tastefully yellow waist-coated Sir Willard.

Over the next couple of hours we were entertained with songs and reminiscences from his life on stage and screen. The songs were selected because they had been particularly important to him, or held some special meaning. Pausing to explain and to introduce each piece, he took us on a musical journey from his youth in Jamaica, through his early career, the first truly complete recording of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in 1976 to the songs that made the bass-baritone singer Paul Robeson famous in the 1920s and ‘30s. He explained that, amazingly, he had never wanted to be a singer in the professional sense, he just wanted to do something that would define him as “a real man”. But, having tried out the idea of working in an office with a briefcase and a rolled umbrella, Mr. White (as he termed himself) discovered that would not be his life.

With occasional instrumental pieces from the guitar duo to spell the singer, the Great American Songbook was rolled out for us, together with a few other unexpected classics. We had Gershwin, Nat King Cole, Aaron Copeland, and even Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”, “Some Enchanted Evening”, “My Way”, “Ole Man River” were delivered in what appeared an effortless style, all the while accompanied by some fabulous guitar work.

A totally splendid performance and a deserved encore. But even then it wasn’t over. In an equally engaging coda to the evening, Sir Willard took questions from the floor. In this section he revealed (even more that the main performance) what a really charming, urbane and thoughtful man he was. His style was avuncular, gentle and understated, and his philosophy of life, of self-care (of voice and body) and of mutual self-respect was thought-provoking. All in all, a great evening, and a worthy gem in the Arts Festival crown.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues, with events every day, until Saturday 17th June. The full programme of events, times and prices is available online.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk