From Paris to Broadway: Pops Concert at the NAC

 Pops Concert, National Arts Centre, Conductor: Jack Everly

In introducing From Paris to Broadway, principal Pops conductor Jack Everly said that the aim of the French-themed concert, which had been two years in the making, was to create the spirit or feeling of Paris.

And this is exactly what happened in a joyous collection of music, song and dance that evoked visions of the Folies Begères — the famous cabaret musical founded in Paris in 1869 — (think rhinestones and feathers, Everly advised) such singers as Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf, and composers closely associated with the glitter of French entertainment, such as the German-born Jacques Offenbach (think Cancan). Music from the musical Gigi and the delicate rendition of the Moulin Rouge Waltz added a further dimension to visions of Paris.

Starring powerful bilingual performer Louise Pitre, famed for her renderings of the melodies of Piaf, From Paris to Broadway, with the fine NAC orchestra under the baton of the always energetic and knowledgeable Everly, was a delight from beginning to end. Male vocalist Ron Remke, tap dancers Sean and John Scott, the Ewashko Singers and even token showgirl Alexandra Remke rounded an uplifting concert that had the audience leaping to its feet after the finale — the appropriately selected I Love Paris by Cole Porter.

The From Paris to Broadway Pops concert played in Southam Hall from April 6 to 8. The selection for next season’s Pops Series includes a multimedia show, Disney in Concert, An American in Paris and The Best of Broadway.