This article by Jeffrey Charles Palmer was published by Australian classical and new music magazine CutCommon on 7 October 2021. To see the article in full, click here.
Anthony Roth Costanzo and Justin Vivian Bond, photographed by Ruven Afanador
On a warm, clear Brooklyn evening, I made my way to St. Ann’s Warehouse – a former spice milling factory turned performing arts space in the borough’s waterside Dumbo neighbourhood – to witness one of the first live performances I’ve seen since New York City theatres began to re-open just a few weeks ago. The occasion was Only An Octave Apart – an evening with countertenor and Metropolitan Opera star Anthony Roth Costanzo and Justin Vivian Bond, the undeniable queen of downtown cabaret. With such an unusual pairing, I was quite excited to see what exactly this evening would entail.
Even in the venue’s lobby, the audience’s excitement was palpable. We were all over the moon to simply be back in a theatre! Soon after we – the vaccinated, masked patrons – had settled into our seats, show director and co-creator Zack Winokur made an appearance in front of the blue satin curtains to offer his emotional and heartfelt thanks to the sold-out crowd for supporting this show, and New York City theatre in general, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first standing ovation of the evening. And with that, the lights dimmed, the music swelled, and our stars emerged in matching asymmetrical velvet gowns.
The rapport between these two was undeniable. Both performers beamed from ear to ear whilst engaging in some extremely personable and humourous banter before launching into their first number, Only An Octave Apart from the famous 1976 television special starring Carol Burnett and Beverly Sills. Justin Vivian’s brassy baritone stood in stark contrast to Anthony’s crystalline countertenor, but the energy and fun these two exuded completely eclipsed any misgivings one might have had about this unusual vocal pairing.
In the next segment, Justin Vivian gave a dramatic performance of the 1927 song Me And My Shadow, with Anthony providing trumpet-like accompaniment with his voice, before the two launched into a mash-up (the first of many) of an aria from Henry Purcell’s 1692 opera The Fairy-Queen with Beatrice Lillie’s There Are Fairies At The Bottom Of My Garden from 1934. A great illuminated moon was hoisted over the stage, and faux flowers were copiously strewn about whilst the two playfully competed for the spotlight. Vaudeville camp meets Baroque opera.
Several duets followed, with one particular highlight being the 1954 jazz standard Autumn Leaves / Les feuilles mortes by Joseph Kosma, which was inspired by Poème d’octobre by Jules Massenet. After Anthony shared a short history of the song during its introduction, Justin Vivian gave us one of the evening’s most memorable one-liners – “I don’t do Massenets. Only evening performances”.
Another wildly entertaining number was the ‘Habanera’ from Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera Carmen, performed in the style of Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen in the film Singin’ In The Rain. Anthony took the Debbie role and stood behind the curtain to sing whilst Justin Vivian gave a spot-on impersonation of Jean’s silent film star character Lina Lamont and lip-synced along. The room was in stitches.
The performance was not without its tender moments, one of which was Anthony’s chill-inducing performance of Franz Liszt’s setting of Wandrers Nachtlied II by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – arguably considered the most perfect lyric in the German language. This was followed shortly thereafter by a haunting rendition by Justin Vivian, backlit in a purple sequined dress, of the Broadway showtune I’m Always Chasing Rainbows.
But perhaps the most poignant moment of all came in the pair’s performance of the 1986 duet Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. With stellar vocal performances and beautiful choreography, the two singers embodied the song’s message of despair, hope, and unwavering acceptance. Following this song, Justin Vivian spoke about the importance of showing kindness to all despite our perceived differences, and Anthony shared how he had never felt more like himself than when performing in this show.
The set was brought to a close with rousing renditions of Stars by disco sensation Sylvester, and Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. And after three or four curtain calls, our beloved stars agreed to treat us to two encores. The first was a surprisingly moving performance of Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s 1689 opera Dido and Aeneas with elements of White Flag by English pop singer Dido mixed in. This mash-up of the Didos proved to be perhaps my favourite moment of the evening! And to top it all off, Justin Vivian sang Walk Like An Egyptian by The Bangles whilst Anthony showed us how to do so by re-creating the staircase ascent he made famous in the 2019 Metropolitan Opera production of Akhnaten by Philip Glass. Who could ask for anything more from these two?
As the audience streamed out of the warehouse towards the East River and the shimmering Manhattan skyline, I experienced once again that magical sense of joy that one only gets after seeing a live performance of this caliber. What Anthony Roth Costanzo and Justin Vivian Bond gave us that evening was far more than just a great performance – they gave us laughter, hope, and an undeniable sense of appreciation for the arts. May we never, ever, ever take live performance for granted again. And may we always keep chasing rainbows.