A Different Pasta e Musica This Year

“We’ve been trying to make changes so it would remain fresh in terms of the food offerings and musical offerings,” said Milda Ruffo, the organizing committee coordinator. “This year we had a musical program that appealed to everybody.”

It was organized and emceed by the always whimsical Manuel Blais (baritone), the church’s musical director who again recruited some top-notch vocal talents such as church cantor Eric Prud’homme (tenor), Christina Cadoux (coloratura soprano), Noella Huet (mezzo soprano), and pianist Jacques Saint-Jean.

Rather than focus on classical operatic songs, they focussed more on hits from musicals done on Broadway and the London stage. Starting off with “Cabaret Song”, they continued with “Sunrise, Sunset”, “Bess, You Is My Woman Now”, until they finished with a wonderful medley from “West Side Story.”

Another new element this year was other performers. Known as the Pasta Players, members of the Slodki family came down from Ottawa to perform. They regularly play for the church while visiting relatives here, Ruffo explained, but this is the first time they were part of the program.

With mother Lisa on the violin, 13-year-old Kristina on the harp, and 10-year-old Mark on the cello, they all played wonderfully accompanying the singers with several operatic numbers.

A nice touch was the inclusion of female members of the church choir who added their fine voices to both a few musicals and operatic songs. “It was also the first time that the ladies learned how to present themselves.”

At the end, organizer Miron Macyshyn noted that three of the event’s originators – Bill Boychuk, Angelo Ruffo, and Ed Ropeleski – have passed away in recent years. “As they’re looking down from above, I’m sure that they’re all smiling.”

Nearly 300 persons attended this year’s concert – some coming from as close as the West Island and others from as far as Ottawa, Trois-Rivières, and the Eastern Townships. However, the one common emotion for all was warm appreciation and contentment. “We’ve had only very positive comments. People really enjoyed the food and the program. Many even said it surpassed their expectations.”