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The Shaniqua Brown

31.12.69

When Rachel Kate Gillon signed on as the songbird for The Shaniqua Brown, she gave no thought to the notion that strangers would start calling her Shaniqua.

"Morally, I didn't even think about it, y'know? I was just like, 'Whatever, it's the name of the group,'" Gillon says. "But I get it all the time. It's side-splitting. I actually was surprised when one day this summer, I was on the beach, and this guy came up to me and was like, 'Shanny Brown?'"

It is a saddle she shares with Darius Rucker (whose name is not Hootie) and Dr. Frankenstein (who is not the giant), but she bears it well. "Actually, I think it's funny," she says. "The name Shaniqua, if you look it up online, means 'warrior princess,' which I'm all about." Listening to Gillon's stout, yowling vocals on the band's hard-rocking self-titled album, comparisons to Xena leak out easy. But in person, her gentle demeanor could take in one wonder where she hides the berserker who comes out at the microphone. She often appends "y'be aware?" to the beginning and end of sentences, a practice that seems less a vocal tic than a way of confirming the listener is still on the same send for.

Source: Charleston City Paper

Virginia Opera's Aida at George Mason Center for the Arts, Reviewed

31.12.69

. Argentine meaning Gustavo Lopez Manzitti is decent in the r although, looking to be about 50, doesn’t quite fit the part of the “dauntless young warrior” chosen to lead the Egyptian army.

Soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams , as Aida, was the shining spot of the opera.  Her voice is unconcealed, warm, and gentle on the ears, eliciting ordinary sympathy for her sad character. Mezzo-soprano Jeniece Goldbourne , playing the eager and spiteful Amneris, has a more chipped and strident articulation with too much vibrato: also character-appropriate although I’m not so sure this is unhesitating.  The chorus, for its part, was uneven; one tenor noticeably stuck out above the siesta.

The other bright spot was the dancers, courtesy of the Richmond Ballet, who came on echelon to spice things up whenever the opera dragged, which was often. Trotting out ballet dancers wearing loincloths and miniskirt shendyts was utterly gratuitous, particularly

Source: Washington City Paper (blog)