Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review.
The Bardi Symphony Orchestra gave a polished performance in their West End Spectacular concert at De Montfort Hall.
The orchestra, conducted by Ben Crick, opened the concert with the Overture from Beauty and the Beast. Ben was also the compere for the afternoon, giving a good balance of information and humour.
I Could Have Danced All Night and On The Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady introduced the audience to the soloists for the afternoon. West End stars Stephen John Davis and Shona Lindsay. Lindsay had an array of dresses - one for each song.
The pair shone in the Balcony Scene from West Side Story. Shona gave a beautiful rendition of Cats which was followed by Stephen with I Won't Send Roses from Mack and Mabel. An emotional performance sung by the character Mack Sennett, where he confesses he is too unromantic to give his love interest roses.
Hopelessly Devoted to You from Grease followed. You'll Be Back from Hamilton encouraged audience participation with the final chorus. The first half ended on the high note of The Winner Takes It All from Mamma Mia!
The second half began with a superb performance of 3 songs (The Phantom of the Opera, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and Music of the Night) from The Phantom of the Opera. Over 30 years ago Shona was the youngest actress to play the role of Christine. Both Shona and Stephen excelled, Shona effortlessly reaching the high notes in the best way possible.
Shona followed with Don't Cry For Me Argentina from Evita before the orchestra gave an orchestral suite from the smash hit movie and now stage musical, The Greatest Showman. A good reminder of the feel-good songs from the movie.
Shona wowed with a rendition of Defying Gravity from Wicked. The concert ended on a high note with three songs from Les Misérables. Stars showed Stephen's breath control and the ease of transition to falsetto. Shona conveyed the despair of Fantine in I Dreamed A Dream before the pair ended the concert on Do You Hear The People Sing?
The audience was treated to an encore of Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better from Annie Get Your Gun. A great comedy to end a truly spectacular afternoon.
The Bardi Orchestra did an excellent job accompanying the singers. My neighbouring audience members thought they were professionals.
The Bardi Symphony Orchestra host their 2026/2026 40th Anniversary series with the following concerts;
The Greatest Movie Themes on Sunday 4th October 2026 at 3pm
40th Anniversary Concert on Sunday 29th November 2026 at 3pm
Elgar Cello Concerto on Sunday 21st March 2027 at 3pm
Swan Lake and Petrushka on Sunday 23rd May 2027 at 3pm.
You can find out more about Bardi's work from their website https://www.bardi.org.uk/
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