Judy Glen

"Judy Glen is a delightfully funny lady, a diva who enthusiastically gives a master class to aspirant singers ("We have talent scouts in the audience"). She has heard "the ROH is looking for a new chorus". Ouch!
Glen describes herself as "user-friendly", and the flyer calls her "Harry Secombe in a frock" - which she is not. She is rangy, and defiantly, rightly, proud of her embonpoint.
She advises on a host of topics - auditions, including what to wear ("in no circumstances wear a blood-stained night-gown"), singing in foreign languages (culinary Italian is helpful if one dries), jet-lag, the diaphragm (we learn how to bounce it), recitative ("You have to get through this as fast as you can"), and the four basic operatic gestures (love, hate, happiness and sadness).
Glen encourages everyone to try for themselves, even to "clench buttocks for high notes". Not, perhaps, the show for anyone allergic to being subtly blackmailed into participation, but those happy to join in have a thoroughly wacky time.
Glen also sings, and not merely to demonstrate what she means. Being a critic ("arrogant and opinionated"), though I prefer reviewer, I might note that coloratura is firmly in place, notes ping out confidently above the stave and she has a tight, no-nonsense trill - of how many singers can that be said?
The Purcell Room is a wretched venue for Glen's brand of interactive humour. An enterprising entrepreneur should pop her into a more intimate space, where she can properly wreak havoc on her admirers."

TONY MAGEE writing in the "Canberra Times" ...

"A fantastic show and a great performance. Like many of Australia's great cabaret performers, Judy Glen sought to premier this new show at Queanbeyan's School of Arts Cafe. I've seen shows there that had to be completely rewritten after the first week - not so this one - it was expertly written, prepared and rehearsed. Judy Glen swept us through a most interesting account with songs and characterisations of the life of Australia's opera legend Dame Nellie Melba.
Fully costumed, with on-stage changes, the story of the singer was played out with great respect - we suffered the losses and tragedies along with the good times and the successes. Judy Glen's wonderful and powerful operatic voice demonstrated four of the arias from principle roles that Melba was famous for - Bishop's Lo Here the Gentle Lark, Verdi's Caro Nome and Sempre Libra and from Madame Butterfly, Puccini's One Fine Day which effectively and dramatically closed the first act. Snippets of original sound recordings were also used effectively throughout the show, but even these were cleverly woven into the script so as not to take on the form of a lecture. Even if you know nothing about Melba, even if you've never heard of her, even if you don't care for opera, I feel sure that all audiences will delight in this fabulous presentation - a real gem from a real professional.

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