British-Montenegrin soprano Tamara Radjenovic gave a sparkling performance in her debut appearance at London’s Cadogan Hall for Timeless Stories from Classic to Hollywood. She was accompanied by the Orion Symphony Orchestra and two guest soloists.
On the program was an eclectic mix of arias and songs that ranged from Faust and Carmen to The Godfather and James Bond. Conductor Toby Purser opened the concert with a strong reading of the Overture from Bizet’s much-loved opera Carmen. Founded by Purser 20 years ago, the Orion Symphony Orchestra is quite unusual in that it is designed to give young musicians professional performance opportunities at major venues.
Radjenovic entered, wearing one of many bejewelled gowns, to sing Carmen’s beautiful opening aria. Usually sung by a mezzo-soprano, ‘Habanera’ is perfect for Radjenovic’s warm mid-range vocals. This led to a lovely piece from Vivaldi’s lesser-known opera Bajazet.
Serbian violinist Robert Lakatoš then came on stage for a rousing performance of Tchaikovsky. A little later Radjenovic was joined by London-based baritone Patrick Dow for a couple of moving duets.
It was noticeable that the voices were often overwhelmed by the orchestra, leading to a lack of clarity for the audience. During the interval, stagehands brought on a couple of standing microphones, but they seemed to make only a slight improvement.
The pace stepped up somewhat in Part 2 with a range of film scores including the ‘Love Theme’ from The Godfather, John Williams’ moving theme from Schindler’s List, Ennio Morricone’s hauntingly lovely ‘Se’ from Cinema Paradiso and an orchestral piece from the musical Moulin Rouge.
Radjenovic was a dazzling presence on stage and clearly has many devoted fans. The historic Cadogan Hall auditorium was filled with upheld cameras taking photos and videos of the stage. After a slightly hesitant start, with some tightness in her vocals, she quickly relaxed into the performance and allowed her fine singing to shine.
There was vivid colour in her voice and real warmth in her stage presence that made her performance joyous and uplifting. And she was dedicated to her craft. She was the last student of the legendary Spanish opera diva Montserrat Caballé, working with her for four years up to her death in 2018.
Read: Don’t miss in February – your monthly guide to the brightest and best arts in London
The enthusiastic applause from the audience was rewarded with two brief encores before we all headed happily home through the beautifully illuminated Sloane Square.
Timeless Stories from Classic to Hollywood was performed for one night only on 18 February 2025.
Soprano: Tamara Radjenovic
Violin: Robert Lakatoš
Baritone: Patrick Dow
Orion Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Toby Purser
