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MY NAME IS GYAAN LYON. I’M A FRANCO-INDIAN TENOR WITH RIGHT HEMIPLEGIA AND THE VOICE DETECTIVE.
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LAUNCHING THE VOICE DETECTIVE SHOW ON THE 151ST BIRTHDAY OF ENRICO CARUSO’S BIRTH.
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THE VOICE DETECTIVE SHOW EPISODE 11
WHEN ART MEETS THE ART OF THE ENGLISH ART SONG
WITH LIANE KEEGAN
DRAMATIC CONTRALTO AND CO-FOUNDER OF ENSEMBLE CREATUS
Ensemble Creatus is Artist in Residence at the Victorian Artists Society in Melbourne, Australia in 2025. Their offering is named Seasons of Song, each concert being integral to the season during the year in which it is performed. The first of these concerts took place on the 9 February and coincided with the Victorian Artists Society’s Summer Exhibition. The Summer of course, being in the Southern Hemisphere. This concert is what the Voice Detective experienced, and excerpts form part of the Vodcast, by kind permission of Ensemble Creatus.
The concert series showcases the work of British composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams whose art songs are filled with rich harmonics and an impressive narrative gift. The intention is highlighted in the concert title, ‘When Art meets the Art of the English Song’ It is particularly appropriate that the concert took place in an historic setting with direct links to Dame Nellie Melba who taught singing in this building and the her contemporaries, the Australian painters who initiated a distinct movement in Australian art and who founded the Victorian Artists Society. The Ensemble Creatus team consists of contralto, Liane Keegan, accompanist and co-founder of the Ensemble Toni Lalich OAM, mezzo-soprano Juel Riggall, and sopranos Bethan Ellsmore and Naomi Summers.
The interview is with, Liane, a true contralto, has performed across the world in many of the leading opera houses. She is a specialist in Wagner and Verdi roles, as well as the concert and oratorio repertoire for contralto.
The programme presented was as follows:
Three Vocalises (1958) (wordless)
- Prelude – Juel Riggall
- Scherzo – Bethan Ellsmore
- Quasi Menuetto – Naomi Summers
How can a tree but wither (1896) – Bethan Ellsmore
Poem by Thomas, Lord Vaux (1509- 1556)
Three songs from Shakespeare (1925) – Naomi Summers
Poems by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
- Take, O Take
- When Icicles Hang by the Wall
- Orpheus with his Lute
To Daffodils (1895) – Bethan Ellsmore
Poem by Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
Excerpts from Seven Songs from The Pilgrims Progress (pre-1951)
No 1. Watchful’s Song – Liane Keegan
No. 4 – The Song of the Leaves of Life & the Water of Life – Bethan & Juel
No. 5 – The Song of Vanity Fair – Naomi Sumers
No. 6 – The Woodcutter’s Song – Juel Riggall
No. 7 – The Bird’s Song – Juel Riggall
Text from The King James Bible [1, 4, 7], John Bunyan
(1628-1688) [6] and Ursula Vaughan Williams (1911 – 2007) [5]
Five Mystical Songs (1906-11) – Liane Keegan
Poems by George Herbert 1593-1633
- Easter
- I got me Flowers
- Love bade me welcome
- The Call
- Antiphon
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THE VOICE DETECTIVE SHOW EPISODE 8
honouring giacomo puccini 100 YEARS ON
NOVEMBER 29, 2024
Giacomo Puccini needs no introduction for lovers of opera. Born in Lucca to the west of Florence, like Mozart, another great composer of operas, Giacomo was from a family of professional musicians employed by the Church. Indeed going back to his great grandfather, also named Giacomo, the director of male line had held the position of Maestro di Capella in the Cathedral of Lucca.
This year on the 29 November though we celebrate the 100th anniversary of his death. He was a thoroughly modern man, enamoured of automobiles, the latest technologies, and contemporary lifestyle. It’s hard to believe it, but he composed only 12 operas, which are of such outstanding quality in terms of music and dramatic content, that his reputation as one of the greatest opera composers is secure on such a slender opus. No opera house it would seem can have a season without some of Puccini’s masterpieces being performed. And the ability he had, to combine words and music with emotional effect are exceptional. If Orpheus had the ability to tame wild beasts, cause rocks to move, and even influence the gods, then Puccini must surely come a close second in his ability to move the hardest hearts with his soul-piercing arias. It would be difficult to find a man that doesn’t want to sing nessun dorma or a woman who is not inspired to try to sing visi d’arte.
Once his financial security was assured, Puccini lived at Torre del Lago until his final years. Here he indulged his passions for hunting, the simple life, and wrote many of his most memorable opera scores. And here too, one may visit his villa on the shores of the lake and savour some of the gentle atmosphere of the place that he called home. And here too, each Summer there is a Puccini Festival which draws opera lovers, Puccini fans and musicians from all over the world.
THE VOICE DETECTIVE SHOW EPISODE 2
WITH ken laing am
music manager, event producer, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR and music COORDINATOR
Ken Laing AM (Member of the Order of Australia) is a highly respected Australian Event Producer, Artistic Director and Musical Coordinator.
Over his distinguished career, there is virtually no international touring artist whose Australian tour Ken Laing hasn’t organised and coordinated.
As Maestro Tommy Tycho, one of Australia’s foremost conductors and composers AM MBE, so aptly said, “Ken has a rare, innate ability to bring together exactly the right combination of musicians for any genre of music.”1 And so he did, from his beginnings as a much sought after orchestral percussionist, ultimately becoming the personal manager for Tommy Tycho. Ken went on to producing seven Royal Command Performances, theatre productions of Disney’s Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins; and other theatrical productions such as The Boy from Oz, Chorus Line, Fame and SHOUT and the Melbourne production of Les Misérables.
International touring concerts and acts organised and coordinated by Ken include Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jnr, Shirley Bassey, Anthony Warlow, Hugh Jackman, Tony Bennett, Neil Diamond, Olivia Newton John, Michael Crawford, Il Divo, Kanye West, along with live television event broadcasts of Australian Idol, Young Talent Time and Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure.
Album and CD recordings include four albums for Mark Vincent, John Farnham’s ‘I remember when I Was Young’, Anthony Warlow’s ‘Face the Music’ and Guy Sebastian’s ‘Climb Every Mountain’, Anthony Callea’s ‘The Prayer’ and, David Campbell’s ‘Good Lovin’’. Ken also was involved with the full Australian cast recordings of the Disney musicals and received an Aria award for ‘The Legend of the Wild One’.
Apart from producing countless events and concerts for the Sydney Opera House, Ken was responsible for:
Anthony Warlow AM Back in the Swing Australian Tour; Royal Command Performance Queen Elizabeth II & Duke of Edinburgh Sydney Entertainment Centre; Official Opening of the Sydney Football Stadium by Her Royal Highness Princess Mary of Denmark; The Premier of New South Wales Newcastle Earthquake Disaster Relief Concert in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Edward; Seventeen NSW Premier’s Gala Concerts Sydney Entertainment Centre; Eight Official Opening Concerts for Sydney Carnivale in the Domain and at Parramatta; The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Artistic & Rhythm Gymnastics; Ten Australian Entertainment ‘MO’ Awards held at Sydney Opera House, State Theatre, Sydney Entertainment Centre…and list goes on and on!
The Voice Detective is very pleased to be able to speak with Ken about his vast experience in the music business and hear his helpful tips for young professionals who wish to embark on their own performing career.
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