Australian Vocal Ensemble – AVÉ | Adelaide Fringe 2022 review

AVÉ is the brainchild of star singer-songwriter Katie Noonan, who has formed a quartet that’s a force to be reckoned with.

Australian Vocal Ensemble – AVÉ.

Australian Vocal Ensemble

Music

Five stars *****

Spiegeltent at GOUD

February 26

Rising stars AVÉ, the Australian Vocal Ensemble, ascended to dizzy heights with their Adelaide premiere.

AVÉ is the brainchild of star singer-songwriter Katie Noonan, who has enlisted tenor Andrew Goodwin, mezzosoprano Fiona Campbell and bass-baritone Andrew O’Connor to form a quartet that’s a force to be reckoned with.

Tracks from their debut EP Stars featured in the program, very impressively Afterword from Adelaide composer Anne Cawrse, a distinctive voice among a long list of Australian composers they’ve commissioned to set texts from their muse, David Malouf.

That said, the setting of a Bach chorale sung both in its original language but also in the languages of the three Aboriginal nations where the members of the group live, is unforgettably beautiful.

Extra points for coping with a noisy generator, dodgem cars, motorcycles, ambulances, and a couple of thousand excited Fringe-goers on the other side of the wall. That’s showbiz!