Kelli O'Hara in Concert at the Kennedy Center

I have been waiting for years to see Kelli O'Hara perform live, and when I attended her solo concert tonight at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, I was certainly not disappointed. She opened with He Loves Me, a tweaked version of the song She Loves Me. She then continued into Wonderful Guy from South Pacific and also sang a selection from Most Happy Fella. After the first two to three songs, Kelli addressed the audience. She seemed incredibly comfortable speaking to the audience and while she wasn't as funny as other performers I've seen in concert, she was incredibly sweet and charming in her own way, not to mention incredibly gracious. She told us that this was a new concert and it is the same she will be performing at her upcoming show at Feinstein's in New York. The theme of this concert was her growth as an artist and she began with ingénue songs and progressed into songs sung by more adult characters to reflect her maturity and life experience. She did a lovely rendition of Kurt Weill's My Ship and we were also privileged to hear The Beauty Is from The Light in the Piazza as her final ingénue number.

She then continued into Something Wonderful from the King and I and an absolutely stunning rendition of This Nearly Was Mine. She spoke of how much she fell in love with this song hearing Paulo Szot perform it nightly in South Pacific. She even acknowledged that performing the song was a huge risk but I found it to be a phenomenal rendition. She then gave a small discussion of her appreciation for Sondheim, performing Finishing the Hat, and a song written for her by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey in the style of Sondheim for the brilliant composer's 80th birthday celebration. The one selection she chose from her solo album Wonder in the World, which is great I might add, was All The Way.

Kelli discussed the importance of family in her life, specifically her husband and son, and the balance it takes to be a mom and a performer. Everything she said was just so incredibly charming that I darn near fell in love with her! She then sang Opera-Country a number written for her by her musical director that discusses a country singer who secretly wants to be an opera star. This song made use of her lovely upper range and in its use of character voices and a somewhat autobiographical storyline, I found it quite similar to the Kristin Chenoweth standard The Girl in 14G. For her final number, Kelli performed West Side Story's Somewhere, which she also did two years ago for Barbra Streisand at the Kennedy Center Honors.

After tremendous applause and a standing ovation, she returned for an encore, I Could Have Danced All Night, which I thought was her best number. I've been saying for what seems like forever that she needs to play Eliza Doolittle in a Broadway revival of My Fair Lady and I stand by that choice.

In conclusion, I found Kelli's voice to be in tip top shape, and for someone who I admire primarily for her voice, this concert was the perfect medium for me to have my first live experience with Kelli. I could listen to her sing for hours. What I love about her is that her vocal training is definitely apparent, but when she sings, it sounds effortless. Singing clearly gives her great joy and it is very evident in her performance. And as for her stage presence? There were definitely times where her jokes didn't land or she didn't say exactly what she was meaning to say, but she is so darn sweet that you can't help but fall in love with her. I left the concert as an even bigger fan that I was when I arrived and from the mood in the theatre, she was a hit!

My Fave Five Broadway Sopranos

Kelli O'Hara

This southern gal is a product of the same teacher, Florence Birdwell of Oklahoma City University, that produced Kristin Chenoweth. She is best known for her Tony nominated roles: Clara in The Light In The Pizza, Babe in The Pajama Game, and Nellie in South Pacific. Her earlier Broadway work shows off her light, sweet, airy sound, but her later work and her solo album, Wonder in the World, demonstrate that there is more to this girl than blonde hair and high notes. There is genuine soul behind that glorious voice. Because her voice and her look are so classical, she seems more inclined to revivals and I think that if My Fair Lady is ever revived on Broadway, the role of Eliza Doolittle just may be her ticket to finally winning that TONY. Listen to the title track of The Light in the Piazza for a taste of Kelli's impeccable control and sweeping vibrato. 

Audra McDonald

Television fans will know her as Dr. Naomi Bennet on ABC's Private Pactice, but theatre fans know she is a Broadway Baby at heart. She is a classically trained soprano from Julliard. Many know her as a belter, which is not untrue, but her power in her lower register actually comes from her soprano training.She performed an unthinkable feat, winning 3 TONY awards in 5 years as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel(1994), Sharon in Master Class (1996), and Sarah in Ragtime (1998). She won a 4th TONY in 2004, portraying the role of Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun. She shares the title of "4-time TONY winner" with legends like Gwen Verdon and Mary Martin. She continues to perform concerts worldwide, specializing in opera and classical song cycles. My personal favorite Audra recording is "Your Daddy's Son" from Ragtime.

Julie Andrews

Perhaps the most well known of these 5 sopranos, Julie Andrews captured the hearts of audiences world-wide on film as Mary in Mary Poppins and Maria in The Sound of Music. Her stage highlights include My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Victor/Victoria. Vocally, she is known for her crisp diction and perfect pitch. Unfortunately, in recent years, she has been limited to non-singing roles due to a botched throat surgery that rendered her singing voice unusable. But she has continued to perform in films and her speaking voice is just as fluid and mesmerizing as when she had the use of vibrato. And we will always remember her as the silvery-voiced soprano we fell in love with. The title track from The Sound of Music is a classic Julie Andrews piece that is not to be missed.

Kristin Chenoweth

Anybody who has ever met me knows that Kristin Chenoweth is my idol. I've loved her ever since I began to study voice and found that I too was a soprano. I thought that only belters could have Broadway careers until I began following Kristin's career and then I decided I wanted to be just like her. Her Broadway highlights are certainly her performances as Glinda in Wicked and her TONY winning turn as Sally in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown where she showed off her upper register and her belting capabilities that, like in Audra's case, stem from her classical training. As Cunegonde in Candide, she showed off her coloratura range in what every soprano considers the most demanding song written for the musical theatre, Glitter & Be Gay. She is currently showing a darker side to her performance in the revival of Promises, Promises and though it is great to hear her sing the classic Burt Bacharach tunes, I miss hearing those great high C's, otherwise known as the "cheno note". "The Girl in 14G," written specifically for Kristin by Jeanine Tesori and Dick Scanlan is a shining example of her abilities to shift from operatic arias to jazz riffs and belting all in one song.

Barbara Cook

And last but not least, the woman who has inspired every soprano in the musical theatre, the Queen herself, Barbara Cook. Her earliest roles were in the ingenue category, from her TONY winning portrayal of Marian in The Music Man to originating the role of Cunegonde in Bernstein's operetta Candide. After a hiatus from Broadway, Cook embarked upon a very successful cabaret and concert career. She has also become known as one of the greatest living interpreters of Stephen Sondheim's work and made a triumphant return to the Broadway stage this season in the musical Sondheim on Sondheim where she delivered sensational versions of In Buddy's Eyes, Not A Day Goes By, and Send In The Clowns. Although her voice has dropped a bit over the years and she no longer has her high E-flats, she will always be the singer that all other sopranos try to live up to. There is no song in the musical theatre that is more spectacular than Barbara Cook singing "Glitter & be Gay".