Review by Barry Plaxen
PARKSVILLE, NY (August 10, 2013) – The Lyric Quartet returned to the Dead End Café in Parksville for its second concert of the season on August 4, 2013 with a wonderfully varied program of 
songs and arias combing two themes – “Shakespeare and Friends” (from a cancelled-due-to-heat June concert) and “Fire and Ice”.
The audience was treated to arias from “Falstaff” and “Macbeth”, operas by Verdi based on Shakespeare’s plays, and a beautiful duet by Stephen Foster, “Wilt Thou Be Gone, based on the balcony scene from “Romeo and Juliet”. There was much “fire” in Neopolitan Songs from the south of Europe and a Zarzuela aria, and a bit of ice from some 16th century old English songs.
Instead of Shakespeare’s “Who is Sylvia” poem, we heard two other beautiful paeans to her: Schubert’s exquisitely melodic “Hymn to Silvia”, and “Sylvia”, an Art Song composed by Oley Speaks who wrote many concert songs in the early 20th Century (i.e.“On the Road to Mandalay”), which were included along with a moving duet adaptation of “The Impossible Dream” performed “because Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same date,” it was explained. Not the same day, but the same date – because at that time England and Spain had different calendars.
There was more fire with Donizetti’s “Reunion” trio (which I think is the Lyric 
Quartet’s new standard opener for their concerts) a duet from La Traviata, a popular de Falla song, and a Sicilian Song. A special request was sung – Dvorak’s “Goin’ Home” – even though the requester did not show up at the concert. A fun Stephen Foster trio with audience participation, “Some Folks Do”, closed the concert.
Soprano Leslie Swanson (photo left), Tenor Mariano Vidal and bass Tom Caltabellotta were joined by newcomer Eric Kramer (photo at top) who provided the accompaniment for them on his magic keyboard. All three singers and Kramer entertained a most enthusiastic audience, 
lots of bravo shouting, some heartful (mild) outbursts during the Dvorak song, lots of applause midway though numbers and vociferous applause after the numbers, and also after the laughs from the wonderful repartee 
that has become the dominion of Vidal (photo right) and Caltabellotta (photo left), maybe even worth the price of the trip to Parksville!
All in all, it was a fun afternoon, lovingly performed by these three area-favorite vocalists and highly skilled audience pleasers. Kramer is a welcome addition to the Parksville Quartet.
The Parksville Music Festival continues on September 1 at 3:00 p.m.with a Klezmer (and more) band. Call 845-747-4227 for more information.
The Catskill Chronicle 
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