Last month, while reviewing the Australian Chamber Orchestra, I reflected upon the artistic director Richard Tognetti as a performer in his own aesthetic right. In that review, I explained my fascination about Tognetti extending "the limits of his flexibility" to perform his role, a physical dedication to an emotional exploration; a finer goal in music performance there is not. That one finds himself lead into dance. So why bring it up in this context? Well, it strikes me that conductors have become to art music, what Pete Townshend was to clumsy garage rock. Perhaps we can add this to the list of reasons why Pacific Opera will miss conductor Russell Ger when he heads overseas in the coming months.

The final concert that Ger directed with Pacific Opera (Voices on a Sunday in conjunction with Bel a capella) was held in North Sydney’s Independent Theatre, a space that seems like a vintage movie theatre with a fresh coat of paint. The crowd is cheerful and easy-going. This is the way that Pacific operates; laid back and casual. As they explain on their website, the company produces opera “with a twist, sung in English, delighting audiences and providing a platform for the stars of tomorrow.” Does this ‘twist’ diminish the so-called ‘art value’? Certainly not. If anything, it allows opera, an arguably dated genre, to become more accessible for a modern audience. And if audience response is anything to go by, it seems to work.

From the opening piece, Handel’s Zadok the Priest, the crowd was receptive, clapping wildly after each of the solo performances. My companion for the evening commented rather positively on the stunning power of Lecia Robertson’s performance of Pace, pace, mio dio (Verdi), and I agreed. Her voice seemed to nestle itself sonorously in the theatre’s resonance. Ms. Robertson’s expression drawing forward the Italian melancholy of the piece, the orchestra at all times attentive and sympathetic. My own musical inclination found joy in Mary-Jean O’Doherty’s performance of Alcina (Handel), Drinking Song from Gorgeous Galthea (Von Suppe) and Pie Jesu (McGlynn). While she did not match the stentorian level of Ms. Robertson, her tone was beautiful and her vocal control, exquisite. The other two performers that must be mentioned are Sharon Zhai and Jonathan Alley. Ms Zhai’s performance was clear, crisp and well developed, while Mr Alley’s performance was animated and lively, bringing humour and zest to two pieces from Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.

To leave this review at that point would be sufficient, in my eyes, on a purely technical level. But music performance is not purely technical. In fact, if anything, the Pacific Opera is trying very hard to show that it is not an in-depth technical knowledge of the operatic art form that incites enjoyment in these performances. The element I wish to reflect on briefly (and it seems fitting at this time given the current circumstances to deliberate further) is that of the Conductor’s role within an ensemble, and a performance.

There are many different types of conductors and each has their merit. The reason I refer to Tognetti is I believe that he and Russell Ger are of the same fold, despite my little personal knowledge of each of them. During the opening piece, we see the same acrobatic movements, the same stretched limbs and the same ferocious snap of the baton against the still air of classical performance. In Ger’s case, I find myself being lead to two conflicting images; a dark lion and a television dentist. The first is due to the curly mane of hair that falls around his shoulders, and shivers like tiny springs in excitement. He leaps and stretches, dominating the orchestra and encouraging them, as a lion to fresh cubs. They stare fresh-faced and intrigued towards the conductor’s podium and with him they make beautiful music. The second of the images is not as arbitrary as it first sounds. Just like the television dentist who ‘can’t show his face on TV,’ Russell is turned away, like all conductors, during the performance. We cannot see his facial expressions, nor read his eyes for cues, but we trust him. After all, his job is to lead, and when he turns to the audience after the first piece and bears his hiding grin, there will be applause waiting for him.

Bravo, dear Conductor, and Bon Voyage.