Aretha - A Love Letter to the Queen of Soul

Devotees of Aretha Franklin were rocking in their seats and one fan got up in the aisle to give a demonstration of the funkiest way to jive. The Concert Hall swayed and swooned with gospel like adulation.

It was a glittering night on Sydney Harbour, where everything was twinkling for the last night of Vivid, and in an exquisite piece of timing, the 1000 drone light display commenced during the interval break.

Five ladies came onto the stage dressed like they were trying to outdo each other on the red carpet of the Met Ball. It was spectacular but did not quite gel visually.

The narrator and director - Jada Alberts - gave the audience many fascinating insights into the life of Aretha Franklin but was a little too attentive to reading the stories from a laptop.

We learnt about Aretha’s humble beginnings, support of the civil rights movement, generosity to black people, heartbreak at the shooting of her father, pride at being the first woman inaugurated into the rock’n’roll hall of fame and swooned at the poetry of President Obama at a tribute in the White House.

Luckily the batteries both in the drones and laptop were fully charged.

The generous band under musical director Joe Accaria featured a rich percussion, guitar and saxophone – sound which showcased the wonderful acoustics of the recently renovated Concert Hall.

Aretha Franklin famously had a voice which almost reached four octaves, so maybe you do need more than one voice to properly do justice to her.

The five singers - Emma Donovan, Montaigne, Thandi Phoenix, Thndo and Ursula Yovich - blended beautifully and each had moments to shine. The audience was forgiving of the occasional opening night missed song introduction.

The most spine-tingling musical moments came from rhythm and soul artist Thndo, whose top notes soared into the clouds.

One of the highlights was the rendition of ‘Natural Women’ which Carole King and her husband Gerry Goffin penned for her in one night.

Anthems of era such as ‘Freedom’ and ‘Respect’ were also warmly received by the audience.

Bringing tears to the cast and lumps to the throats of the audience was their rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’, which was indeed a very sweet sound.

David Spicer

Photographer: Maria Boyadgis