The duo joined each other onstage among the set of a living room with a black piano accompanied by a black leather bench in the middle.
“La Favorita: A Musical Journey” featuring mezzo-soprano Jill Grove with pianist Victoria Kirsch with special guest Erin Wood was performed in the Marsee Auditorium on March 9.
They opened the performance by walking onto the stage, dressed in all black with shiny accessories and Grove wearing a kimono.
There were no words said, just piano keys and her soprano voice filled the auditorium.
“She’s amazing, I liked her wide range the most,” Ryan Richardson, 24, engineering major, said.
Each song was performed strong and passionate, with Grove performing as if she wanted the audience to understand and believe what she was singing about.
Grove and Kirsch performed together so strategically and smooth. They were like Yin and Yang on stage.
“She’s going to tell you the smart things and i’ll throw in funny one liners,” Grove said.
Each song was presented by Kirsch explaining the story or history of the poem they were going to perform.
The audience was very intrigued by the stories she would tell. When explaining the love-triangle poems, audience members were shocked and gasps fell over the entire auditorium.
The program handed out at the beginning of the show had the translations for the songs that were going to be performed, which made it easier to react appropriately.
Before the special ending they had planned, the pianist had a solo that surprised the audience.
“I enjoyed the pianist’s solo the most,” Deleon Jenkins, 35, psychology major, said.
The pianist was joined on stage by Grove for the final piece. Erin Wood then made an appearance to act out a emotional duet with Grove.
“The very end with the two of them singing was very nice,” Noor Hindi, 19, nursing major, said.
The special guest of the night, Erin Wood, ECC faculty member and successful opera singer, performed the “Amneris Duet” with Grove and Kirsch.
Grove, Kirsch, and Wood came together at the end of the performance to bow and listen as the audience roared with cheering, clapping, and a standing ovation.
