Opera and dancehall play together at School of Music

Traditionally, art music and popular music are placed at opposite ends of the musical spectrum. That changed on Sunday evening when opera and dancehall played together on stage at A Moment of Music with Raehann Bryce-Davison, held at the Vera Moody Concert Hall, Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA).

The meeting went surprisingly well, delighting the audience. This meant the fundamental question, “Does it work?” that a producer or director asks when trying something new on stage was answered in the affirmative.

Out of a conversation between Jamaican-American mezzo-soprano Bryce-Davis and Austrian-Jamaican musician Rosina Christina Moder, co-founder of Music Unites Jamaica Foundation (MUJF), producer of the event, came Sunday’s concert. Though Bryce-Davis was the principal performer – and she sang for free, said Moder – the three-hour-long show was supported by numerous other musicians and speakers, including host, storyteller-educator Dr Amina Blackwood Meeks.

It comprised several much-referenced Jamaican composers and scores of other music lovers. Patron, Ambassador Audrey Marks, did more than just extol music as being “central to nation building”. She personally offered another scholarship to the ones flowing from the MUJF’s fundraising concert.

The musicians included EMCVPA Dean Dr Roger N. Williams, the evening’s chief accompanist. Sitting at the hall’s imposing grand piano, he was notably restrained in his playing, allowing maximum audibility to the singers he was backing. His sensitivity and versatility perfectly matched that of the evening’s star.

Unlike musicals, concerts don’t have overtures, which give snatches of the music to come; so there was no hint in the opening three classical pieces of the turn the music would take. The three famous arias, O Don Fatale (from Verdi’s opera Don Carlos), Seguidilla (from Bizet’s opera Carmen), and Habanera (Carmen), were powerfully delivered by Bryce-Davis. No wonder she carefully pushed the microphone a foot further away before she began!

Well received, the arias demonstrated both Bryce-Davis’ vocal and emotional range, and though they were enjoyed by the sophisticated listeners, they were in Italian and it was a relief when she switched to English. Even in the one language, there was a great variety of styles, genres, and performers. With the relaxed, professional performance of Bryce-Davis’ mother, Hortensia Bryce, singing solo the folk songs Sly Mongoose, and Liza, later, Nobody’s Business, with her daughter, the audience got a glimpse of Bryce-Davis’ firm Jamaican connections. Both mother and father, Dr Errol Bryce, are Jamaicans, and so, too, is Bryce-Davis’ husband, fashion designer Allan Virgo, whose work also appeared on stage in the two striking gowns worn by Bryce-Davis.

The traditional Jamaican folk tune that Moder had earlier played on her recorder in a mournful fashion as a tribute to recently deceased Jamaican composers was sung in a brighter tone by Bryce-Davis, using the arrangement by composer-performer Peter Ashbourne.

The second half was titled Evolution, a reference to both Bryce-Davis’ 2025 début album and the coming change in style to dancehall music. Accompanied by a dance by Beam Dancers, a female troupe in silver tops and short green skirts, and a band comprising percussionist Jeremy Ashbourne, keyboardist Andre Dennis, bassist Salim Browne, and guitarist Joseph Wilson, Bryce-Davis sang the lively Rene Orth composition Praise the Dance.

In the second segment, the audience was treated to quite a mix of compositions – the popular You’ll Never Walk Alone, This is my Word, Serenade, and the defiant Black Riders Freedom Song. Bryce-Davis sang it while stunning images of mainly black cowhands and beautiful scenery were projected on a screen above her. The exciting End of Days, by Verdi and dancehall artiste Lady Ann, climaxed the concert with contrasting singing styles by Bryce-Davis and Timmoya Lowe and dancehall moves by the BEAM Dancers. It probably was a never-before-seen combination by the audience.

In her vote of thanks, the coordinator of the concert, Janine ‘jkuhl’ Coombs, revealed that the production took six months to plan. No one seemed surprised as an event so complex could easily have taken longer. The resounding applause showed that the time had been well spent.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com