The Great Christmas Singalong, at the Melbourne Recital Centre - 90 minutes, with no interval

Christmas came early to the Melbourne Recital Centre, as the mellifluous voice of Silvie Paladino filled the concert hall with glad tidings.

She was the starring artiste warbling carols to the musical accompaniment of conductor John Foreman’s spectacular Australian Pops Orchestra.  

It was an afternoon and evening of celebration (there were actually two concerts) after what Paladino said had been “a hard week … in a broken world”.

She went on to acknowledge the transformative power of music, before allowing her superlative vocalisation – from tender to dynamic – to do the talking.

Resplendent with emotion, power and precision, looking a picture in two gorgeous gowns, Paladino unquestionably elevated spirits in the best way possible. 

She was front and centre for much of the concert’s hour and half running time, encouraging the enthusiastic audience to sing many of the songs with her.

The repertoire, which ran to 20 numbers, began with the hard-working John Foreman and the Australian Pops Orchestra in a Christmas medley.

Thereafter, we were treated to O Come, All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger, Deck the Halls and It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.

Silent Night, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The First Noel and Amazing Grace followed.

Audience participation grew legs when Paladino invited onto the stage 12 volunteers to help bring to life a reinterpreted Aussie version of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

More than a dozen took to the task at hand, so we witnessed several duets, as those remaining seated joined in for part of the chorus. 

To give you an idea of the flavour, the lead in line became: On the … day of Christmas, my true blue gave to me …

The rest is also worth repeating:

Twelve surfies surfing, Eleven emus running, Ten utes-a-revving, Nine Silvie albums, Eight mullets flowing, Seven tradies yawning, Six new year dancers, Fiiiiiive sausage rolls! Four meat pies, Three Aussie idols, Two cockatoos, And a ticket to an Aussie Pops show!

In short, it went down a treat.

Ahead of the encore, Paladino performed what she said was probably her favourite – O Holy Night – before stepping onto her bestie’s patch.

Referencing the fact that this was a carol that Marina Prior had made her own, she finished with the magnificent Angels We Have Heard on High.

In a fitting finale, the encore contained Jingle Bells, The Lord’s Prayer and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Together with the melodious 40-piece Australian Pops Orchestra in black and white evening attire, some sporting tinsel and Santa hats, the concert was uplifting.

In fact, a further beaut touch upon entering the theatre was seeing a felt red hat with white pom pom on the large harp to the left of the stage.

I must also mention the backing vocals of Jacinta Caurana, Michaela Jayde and Anthony Monea, who – too – performed with aplomb.

Heartfelt, with elements of humour, The Great Christmas Singalong touched the soul.

The splendour of, and acoustics in, the venue were not lost on me either, with the beautiful staging another feature of the production.

The backdrop was that of batons of bright coloured light and matching, glistening fairy lights in many attractive hues.

So it is that I can proclaim, without fear of contradiction, that the Great Christmas Singalong was, indeed, joyful and triumphant.

Next in the series of four Australian Pops Orchestra holiday concerts is They Sang at Carnegie Hall, featuring acclaimed songstress Bernadette Robinson. 

She will pay homage to the world’s greatest female singers at 6.30pm on 22^nd December and at 2pm on 23^rdDecember.

To book and to obtain information about The Idols of Musical Theatre and The New Year’s Eve and The Day Before Gala Concerts, go to www.apoconcerts.com