A Night in Italy — Without Leaving Brisbane

There are evenings at the Concert Hall that stay with you. Friday night's Italian Gala was one of them.

Under the baton of Chief Conductor Maestro Umberto Clerici, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra took a sold-out QPAC audience on a sweeping, joyful journey through Italian classical composition — from the playful wit of Rossini in the 17th century to the cinematic drama of Nino Rota in the 20th. Two and a half hours later, the audience left on their feet, and the applause said everything.

A First Half Built for Opera Lovers

The evening opened with Rossini's iconic Overture to The Barber of Seville — a piece so familiar it risks feeling routine in lesser hands. Not here. The QSO launched into it with precision and joy, setting the tone for a first half that moved effortlessly between playfulness and emotional intensity.

Soprano Eva Kong was breathtaking. Her voice filled every corner of the Concert Hall as she delivered three of the Italian operatic canon's most demanding arias. She opened with Donizetti's Quel guardo il cavaliere from Don Pasquale — a piece of sparkling wit and vocal agility — before moving into the luminous Chi il bel sogno di Doretta from Puccini's La Rondine, a melody so beautiful it almost aches. She closed the first half with Violetta's aria from Verdi's La Traviata — E strano...Ah fors' è lui...Sempre libera — a tour de force of emotional range that drew one of the evening's many standing ovations. Eva Kong is a remarkable artist, and her power and engagement transformed each piece into something deeply felt.

Woven between the arias were two Verdi orchestral highlights: the Act 3 Ballet from Macbeth, swirling and theatrical, and Puccini's Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut — soul-stirring and melancholic, a showcase of the orchestra's lush strings and shimmering woodwind.

The Second Half Belonged to Three Virtuosos

If the first half celebrated Italy's operatic tradition, the second half was where the evening truly soared.

The Vivaldi Triple Concerto RV554, arranged by James Crabb, opened the second half with something genuinely rare — Maestro Clerici setting aside his baton to take up a cello bow and join Concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto on violin and the extraordinary James Crabb on classical accordion as soloists alongside the full orchestra. Watching a conductor step down from the podium to perform at this level is a privilege in itself. The three virtuosos created something magical — a dialogue between violin, cello and accordion that was radiant, dynamic, and deeply moving. Choosing a single highlight from the entire evening is impossible, but this Vivaldi concerto came close.

Natsuko Yoshimoto had been a constant, elevating presence throughout the evening, and her contribution as concertmaster gave the orchestra a cohesion and energy that made the whole performance feel utterly in sync.

Then came James Crabb's moment. If you've never heard a classical accordion performed at this level, the Italian Gala may have permanently recalibrated your expectations of the instrument. Piazzolla's Aconcagua — the Bandoneón Concerto — was powerful and moving in equal measure. Crabb commanded the stage with an authority that had the audience completely still. The three movements — driving, lyrical, then feverishly rhythmic — showcased the instrument's extraordinary range, from whispered intimacy to full-throated drama. The audience responded with rapturous applause.

The concert closed with Nino Rota's Selections from La Strada Suite — cinematic, carnival-bright, and the perfect final note of a journey that had spanned three centuries of Italian musical genius.

Why Evenings Like This Matter

The Italian Gala was remarkable not just for its individual performances but for what the QSO delivered collectively — an orchestra completely in sync, moving effortlessly between each movement and each world. Clerici's conducting is alive in the way he described it himself: "unpredictable and full of energy." You felt that from the first bar to the last.

The audience gave multiple standing ovations across the evening, and the response at the curtain call was rapturous. It was the kind of evening that reminds you of how important it is to cherish and protect the tradition of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra — and to support the artists who keep it alive.

The Queensland Symphony Orchestra's next concert is Rachmaninov & Shostakovich, Friday 22 May (11.30am) and Saturday 23 May (7.30pm) at the Concert Hall, QPAC. Tickets at qso.com.au.