Music and Dance Reviews : Glendale Symphony

Aside from the obvious Italian connection, it would be difficult to find a common thread in the program that the Glendale Symphony gave at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Saturday evening. But if the agenda seemed a haphazard potpourri, at least the main soloist--actress/singer Anna Maria Alberghetti--gave the evening some kind of focus.

Alberghetti rendered selections from “West Side Story” and “Sound of Music” with poise and style, conveying words clearly and moods convincingly. She sang with a pure, sweet tone, relying on amplification to be heard. Even so, the orchestra nearly covered her voice in full passages; probably the sound technician and conductor John Covelli should share the blame.

Pianist Pearl Kaufman joined the orchestra in accompanying an “Italian Medley,” and backed the singer in arrangements of two pop songs. A Puccini aria served as an encore.

The orchestral drawing card was Respighi’s “Pines of Rome,” which closed the program. Covelli maintained fine balances, brought out important details and expertly managed the crescendo in the “Pines of the Appian Way.”

The conductor also displayed his pianistic skill in Gottschalk’s “Grande Tarantelle,” delivered with panache.