Divas Just Wanna Have Fun!

From the moment the 7 Sopranos, in their red gowns, walk on stage singing , there is no doubt they are talented. Their performances in Divas Just Wanna Have Fun! are impressive. It looks like the divas are having fun every moment of the hour-long performance.

Singing a mixture of arias and musical theater songs, the divas deliver expressive renditions of each song. A lot of the songs will be familiar to devotees of classical music and Broadway musicals. Familiar songs such as Showboat’s “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” are sung with an operatic, soprano twist. Some of the highlights are “Habanera” from Carmen, an arrangement of songs from West Side Story and Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro”.

Not a devotee of opera or Broadway, don’t worry, you’ll enjoy the performances, and probably remember hearing the popular songs before.

Listening to an hour of gifted soprano singers is a treat. Their ranges, expression and tone are incredible. Each diva gives one solo performance, where their personalities and music style truly shine. It was exciting to hear each singer give an impassioned performance to the crowd. Angeli Ferrette’s rendition of “Italian Street Song” from Naughty Marietta stood out and, as the last solo performance in the show, was a great way to end it.

The show never truly strays from its operatic, classical roots. Most of the time the divas are standing and singing on the stage together. There is movement and occasional choreography. However, it never feels like a musical theater production. Exceptionally talented pianist Sophia Kim Cook sits on the side of the stage diligently playing while the divas sing.

Staged “diva moments” emerge during the show but they are never explored. There are occasional comic moments when the a diva will try to out sing one another, trying to draw all the attention to her – behavior you would expect from divas except these seem to be having too much fun to bicker.

There are 4 more performances by the 7 Sopranos of Divas Just Wanna Have Fun! at the Mountain – Mount Vernon Church, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington DC.
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Kate rates this a 4 out of a possible 5.