You’re invited to a world of cabaret, where satire meets sentiment and music mirrors societies joys and fractures. Originating in the smoky cafes of late 19th century Paris and Berlin, Cabaret thrived on subversion, storytelling and immediacy. Its songs were personal and political, delivered with a wink or a tear. 

Over time, the spirit of cabaret found its way to the concert stage. Tonight our program will trace that journey. Its witty charm, vulnerability and directness has been embraced in Kurt Weill’s Youkali and Britten’s Funeral Blues. We cross the Atlantic to the American Songbook, where cabaret’s sophistication and theatric flair shine under the lights of Broadway through the music of Gershwin and Cole Porter. The Golden Age of American songwriting brought cabaret into conversation with jazz, giving rise to timeless songs like Puttin’ on the Ritz and Moon River.  

From Hannigan to Streisand, Piaf and Minelli, we welcome you to an evening of irony, intimacy, grit and glamour. 

Performance by Karla Grant, Soprano and Abhisri Chaudhuri, Piano