The date is Saturday, Sept. 6th, and the DMV has a lot of activities to entertain us. Some were riding two wheels in the DC Bike Ride. Bibliophiles were descending upon the local convention center for the 25th National Book Festival. Finally, despite a massive downpour in the late afternoon, people filled the Filene Center in Vienna to hear one of the best singers of our generation, the sensational Cynthia Erivo, backed by our own National Symphony Orchestra, for an amazing musical experience.
At 805pm, the NSO conductor walked out to the stage all dressed up in a white suit to get the orchestra ready to set the mood for tonight’s concert. The NSO performed a small medley which included a bit of West Side Story’s Somewhere. As always, to me, hearing the NSO live is quite an experience that you must enjoy. After the medley, the conductor wanted to add something special before bringing out the special guest of the evening. With the cue of the timpani, he uses his best announcer’s voice to give an amazing introduction to the star of the evening, Grammy nominated singer/actress Cynthia Erivo!
The sold-out crowd got up on their feet, cheered and gave a standing ovation to the charming Cynthia. As she is dressed in a slender, sleeveless purple dress, Erivo started off steady and belting out the words the Funny Girl classic “Don’t Rain on My Parade” to the audience’s delight. The audience cheered as soon as she sang the first notes. After finishing the song, Cynthia stated that “this is a night where we can celebrate, and we can have a good time”. We couldn’t agree more.
The second song was the first of a few songs by the famous songstress, Nina Simone’s cover of “I Put a Spell on You”. Erivo’s rendition has sent chills down our spine. The piano player of the night has got some mad skills through this song and during the chorus. It was the first time that we couldn’t stop listening and enjoying him tickling the ivories. Even Cynthia’s scatting abilities truly grabbed out attention to the point where it feels like she’s teasing us during this piece.
Throughout the first act, the song selections played to Erivo’s strength that every song by her and the NSO created great synergy. The unique twist on the arrangement of “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” made it easy on the ears but melodically sweet on the mind. Cynthia’s voice made it more hypnotic and exotic. She talked about meeting the Queen of Soul herself, by stating that she played her on NatGeo’s “Genius” but also meeting her at the Kennedy Center many years ago. She then gave us a double dose of Aretha’s hits including “Ain’t No Way” and I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You). With each of the songs, you really felt the pain and joy as Cynthia sang her heart out.
If I had to give the performance of the night, it was the last song of act one when she channeled the great Nina with her rendition of “Feeling Good”. To be honest, you had to be there to take in the performance. To feel speechless after seeing and hearing her performance is an understatement. From hearing her vocalizations towards the end of the seven-minute performance to bringing the house down and up on their feet to praise her amazing gift. If this was the end of the first act, we can only imagine what the second act has to offer.
The second act continued the pace of the first after the 15-minute intermission. The mighty MSO kicked if off with a great rendition of “Macarthur Park”. Then, the great Cynthia came back again to sing more amazing songs. Starting out with Dame Shirley Bassey’s I (Who Have Nothing), she sung a beautiful masterpiece that you rarely hear on the radio. She proclaimed that its one of the handful times that she had performed the song and she had did it so effortlessly.
In preparation for the next song, Erivo mentioned that she has synesthesia, which meant that she experience colors when listen to music, see shapes when smelling certain scents or perceive tastes when looking at words. Her case truly applies to the first part of the definition. Once you heard the familiar string selection of the 60s, we instantly knew that next song was the infamous “At Last” by Etta James. Erivo performed it so sweet and delicate as the song deserves. An audience member right in front of me asked Cynthia, “what color do she see?” She responded that she saw “gold with a hint of pink” and honestly, I can see that.
Cynthia continue more songs for the second act with each performance just as brilliant. Backed by our National Symphony Orchestra, it was a match made in heaven. Although, there were no songs from her Broadway roles or from “Wicked”, hearing the song selection tonight was just perfect. Every song showed her amazing range whether it was nice gentle love song to the timeless classics of my generation. Cynthia is a voice that defines a generation and I hope she comes back to the DMV to deliver another dynamic performance to us once again!
FINAL GRADE: A++
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