A singer on the international stage for more than 50 years, bass baritone Sir Willard White has a vast repertoire of songs he can call on and this concert alongside the Brodsky Quartet saw him performing music from right across the spectrum.

Forming part of Lichfield Festival, the Great American Songbook programme was a little wider than American songs with some opera, musicals, easy listening, poetry and a touch or two of comedy. White and the Brodsky Quartet were an ideal partnership with the vocals being amplified by the sounds of the strings within the space of Lichfield Cathedral.

White began with excerpts from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess – an opera he has performed a number of times. From the leisurely Summertime, through hints of Here Come De Honey Man and Strawberry Woman into I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ White infused the tracks with personality and warmth.

After telling the audience we were all there to have fun, he turned to Benjamin Britten for The Ash Grove and tongue-in-cheek The Foggy Dew which raised many a smile.

In a more classical and European vein he then performed a wonderful Death and the Maiden and The Trout by Franz Schubert in German before turning to French with Jules Massenet’s Elegy.

There was time for contemplation with Samuel Barber’s song version of Matthew Arnold’s famous poem Dover Beach. Hearing the poem, which muses on the ebb of Christian faith in Victorian Britain, in the atmospheric setting of Lichfield Cathedral in some ways belies Arnold’s fears for the future of humanity.

White has championed Aaron Copland’s American Songs in the past and performed the sweeping Long Time Ago and wry The Dodger with plenty of gusto before settling into tracks more closely associated with Frank Sinatra including P.S. I Love You and Close to You.

White poured energy into Cole Porter’s Blow, Gabriel, Blow from the musical Anything Goes and a jaunty Jamaica Farewell before giving full vent to a thundering rendition of My Way.

Called back for an encore, White told us the song he was about to perform had been criticised for being ‘silly’ but he was trusting us with it and launched into another Copland song I Bought Me a Cat, complete with animal noises. And then came the moment White fans had been waiting for when he threw his heart and soul into the Kern and Hammerstein song Ol’ Man River from the musical Show Boat.

The Brodsky Quartet, who are associate artists of Lichfield Festival, also had their moments to shine with a lively Copland Hoedown and a contemplative Poème by Britten.

The seating arrangement in Lichfield Cathedral isn’t ideal though as there is no rake, the stage isn’t particularly high and the seats are placed directly behind each other so the view of the performances can easily be blocked. I speak from experience here having spent the first half of the concert largely looking at the back of someone’s head before moving in the interval to an empty seat at the side. There have been attempts to correct this with a number of screens but it seems a shame to be in such a lovely space and struggle to see the live performance.

Four stars

Reviewed by Diane Parkes at Lichfield Cathedral on Thursday 17 July.  Lichfield Festival continues until Sunday 20 July. Information and tickets for all upcoming events can be found at lichfieldfestival.org