Some Enchanted Night: A Celebration of Musical Theatre Previous and Current. That includes Daniel Vnukowski, piano; Julie Nesrallah, mezzo-soprano; Gino Quilico, baritone; and Stu Harrison, piano. Burlington Performing Arts Centre, November 15, 2025.
Vocal and pianistic fireworks had been ablaze on Saturday evening contained in the Burlington Performing Arts Centre for an intimate soirée entitled Some Enchanted Night: A Celebration of Musical Theatre Previous and Current.
The 2 vocalists alone, each huge names within the opera world, had been well worth the admission ticket. The cheeky Gino Quilico, from a dynasty of baritones, is famend for his performances on the world’s largest operatic levels like La Scala and The Metropolitan Opera. He was paired with the sassy Julie Nesrallah, whose magnetic mezzo voice is heard each weekday when she hosts Tempo on CBC Radio. They had been accompanied by the wonderful jazz pianist Stu Harrison.
Vocalists: Gino Quilico & Julie Nesrallah
A really participating performer, Gino delighted audiences with an enormous number of acquainted musical numbers. From older exhibits, there have been the live performance’s namesake “Some Enchanted Night” from South Pacific, “You’ll by no means stroll alone” from Carousel, and an attention-grabbing mashup of Showboat’s “Previous Man River” with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
His heat and lyrical baritone is properly suited to those Broadway alternatives. As a nod to his Italian roots, his medley of favourites like “O sole mio” and “Con te partiro,” was notably properly acquired, particularly when he invited viewers participation in singing “Arrivederci Roma.”
Julie confirmed pure humour in her rendition of “Nothing” from A Refrain Line. Her shiny palette and highly effective coloratura had been in full show in My Truthful Girl’s “I might have danced all evening.” However, it was within the jazzy numbers from 40s and 50s motion pictures that she really excelled. Her “The person that obtained away” (A star is born) and “You’ll by no means know” (Hey, Frisco, Hey) had been irresistibly sultry and smoky.
Gino famously performed Jean Valjean within the Québec run of Les Misérables, so it was solely becoming that he sang a really transferring “Deliver him dwelling.” To not be outdone, Julie’s “I dreamed a dream” from the identical musical was equally compelling.
Nonetheless, I yearned to listen to these singers of their pure habitat, and I used to be delighted after they introduced they might every sing one well-known opera aria. Not surprisingly, Julie selected essentially the most well-known aria for a mezzo, the “Habanera” from Carmen, a job her character enhances completely. This was the night’s solely efficiency carried out and not using a microphone, and the richness of her mezzo voice carried properly, though the acoustics within the venue weren’t notably beneficial.
Though it was considerably predictable that Gino would select one other well-known baritone aria, “Largo al factotum” from The Barber of Seville, he defined that Figaro is his signature function and calling card. His diction and appearing had been good, however he inexplicably alternated between a Broadway and opera voice with glottal-sounding excessive notes which didn’t work properly.
Daniel Vnuknowski
For me, essentially the most magical performances of the night got here from Daniel Vnukowski, who performed the twin function of pianist and live performance host. The beloved radio host of Classical 96.3 FM introduced a charismatic presence together with his light-hearted humour, and severe star energy in his three solo performances of musical alternatives from Carousel, The King and I and The Sound of Music.
For West Aspect Story, he engaged the viewers in a enjoyable sport of finger-snapping and shouting of “Mambo!” Not the typical musical overture, these items had been preparations with essentially the most intricate and dramatic ornamentations. His taking part in was eloquent and versatile, a mixture of technical brilliance and nuanced sentimentality. His electrifying performances took us on roller-coaster rides via syncopated jazz rhythms and lavish thrives, from rapid-fire fingering to tender pianissimo touches.
The pleasant night wrapped with a sing-along of a jazzy model of White Christmas with all of the performers. It was well worth the drive out to Burlington!
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Denise Lai is a Physiotherapist and Faculty Professor. She is an alumnus of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and a rusty piano participant.
