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REVIEWS
FOR ANNA BERGMAN IN HER
NEW SHOW
"WHEREVER LOVE TAKES ME”
“Knowing the quality of Anna Bergman’s soprano voice
and the sophistication she brings to her music, I had been looking forward
to her appearance at the increasingly popular Metropolitan Room and I was
richly rewarded. Spending time with her is sheer delight, as evidenced anew
by the way in which she delivered on the theme of her show, “Wherever
Love Takes Me.” Ms. Bergman, you can take me anywhere you like.
She began her program with the title song...soon followed superbly with a
medley of Stephen Sondheim numbers [which] might have been the high point,
if there had not been so many high points. Her “Non Ti Scordar Di Me,”
by Ernesto di Curtis and Domenico Furno, also soared, as was the case in her
“Fable,” the brilliant Adam Guettel number from “The Light
in the Piazza.”
What works so well for her, apart from her enviable vocal skills, is her overall
effect...She is stunning in appearance, impressive as an actress interpreting
a lyric and commanding in her gestures. She is also skillful with language.
Bergman, with a busy career in concerts, gives the impression of being able
to be at home in any environment."
—William Wolf, Wolf Entertainment Guide
“Bergman
has recreated the classic salon environment, simultaneously elegant and utterly
enjoyable. When she sings a Sondheim medley, she becomes each character in
each song, finding the emotional arc that connects the young and mature women
of Follies ("One Last Kiss"), Clara and Fosca in Passion ("Happiness"
and "Loving You"), and the hopeful lovers in Merrily We Roll Along
("Not a Day Goes By"). Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night"
is quite lovely and poignant… interpreted through Bergman's gentle performance
and Eric Michael Gillett's elegant direction, it is a wonderful, breathtaking
moment...“Wherever Love Takes Me” is a lovely show that makes classic
songs seem vibrant and new, and the Metropolitan Room is the perfect spot
to enjoy this enjoyably elegant evening”.
—Jena Tesse Fox, Broadwayworld.com
"I am dumbstruck! Anna is elegant, beautiful and dramatically talented.”
—Danny Stiles, WNYC Radio
“Anna Bergman is a lady with a beautifully exciting voice. The American
diva, the very captivating chanteuse, is currently performing her new show
“Wherever Love Takes Me” in Manhattan and is reviving a fading tradition,
the art of the salon, recreating live entertainment in the home in a public
television special 'You & the Night & the Music: A Salon with Anna
Bergman'…Also known as an actress, this is one golden-voiced lady”!
— Joe Franklin, Bloomberg Radio
”Anna Bergman has one of the most glorious
voices in cabaret. She can sing anything from the classics to opera to musical
theater and even novelty material. Anna is also stunningly beautiful and classy.
Hey, who said that life was fair!
Anna is fluent in many languages and sang in French “I Will Wait For
You,” Italian, “Non Ti Scordar De Me” (Don't Forget Me), and
German in the playful “Und Wenn's Auch Seunde War” (The Sin Was
Wonderful). Anna's voice is classically trained and she has great technique,
brilliant performing instincts and is a pleasure to listen to and watch on
stage.
Anna has a sparkling personality and a sense of fun…Individually, the
songs were beautifully sung and arranged, particularly the Sondheim medley.
Anna's comic talent came out in Francesca Blumenthal's clever “Museum,”
the tale of a woman finding love at the Met and the sexy “Sooner or Later”
(Dick Tracy) on the piano. One of the highlights of the evening was “Fable”
(Light In The Piazza) which showed Anna's powerful dramatic voice and passion.
Anna's renditions of “In The Still of the Night” (Cole Porter) and
“Vincent” (Don McLean) were very moving and well acted.
Anna is a consummate professional. It is the combination of her acting, singing
and charm that makes Anna Bergman the total package. In the era of Julie Andrews
and Barbara Cook, Anna would have been right up there with them. Today, her
star continues to rise and when you read that Anna is appearing anywhere,
run, don't walk to catch her shows!”
—Linda Amiel Burns, TheatreScene.net
"Anna Bergman is talented, glamorous and not scared to laugh at the foibles
of humanity...[she] also delivered a stunningly entertaining performance that
touched all by both the arrangements and delivery. This was an evening dedicated
to the sweeping, blinding, biting wonderful reality of love, in song. "Wherever
Love Takes Me" is a clever and at times dastardly humorous show [which]
melds American and European sensibilities, in a wide variety of styles from
pop to classical, and in four languages".
—Anna Wilder, BubbleGumPop.Vox.Com
"With an opera-trained soprano that she has adapted to intimate salon
style; dressed elegantly in a black cocktail dress accenting her beauty; and
focusing on her songs to highlight the stories they tell, Anna kept her audience
enthralled from beginning to end. Combining American popular and theatre songs,
humorous contemporary songs and international songs, Anna kept her program
moving neatly with emphasis on the music, it's lyrical qualities, and on the
song lyrics themselves… all contributed to an example of what top-flight,
classy cabaret can be.”
—Peter Haas, Cabaret Scenes
What
the Critics are saying about
ANNA BERGMAN
CD “SOUVENIR”
"SOUVENIR
is a ravishing collection of songs...Not since Dawn Upshaw triumphed with
I WISH IT SO has a soprano so effortlessly navigated the waters of Broadway
and art songs to such dazzling effect…She sings with heart-breaking truth.
Brava!"
—David Hurst, SHOW BUSINESS
"Bergman journeys from the stages of Broadway to the streets of Paris,
from the classical world to the world of classic pop…the bond they [the
songs] share is found in her deeply felt performance…No matter where
Bergman’s musical journey takes us, the scrapbook she fills along the
way is a “Souvenir” to cherish.”
—Jeff Rosen, CABARET SCENES
“With her clear, warm bubbling soprano, Bergman recalls Barbara Cook
who had a very successful career in Broadway musicals as well as in concert
halls…There seems to be so much music coming out of the speakers with
so few people making it…Bergman has a lovely voice that one would welcome,
especially after a particularly tough day as she wafts your troubles away.”
—Dave Nathan, ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“Bergman shows great diversity in song selections, vocally and stylistically…
on the pairing of ‘So Far Away/You’re Nearer’, the resulting
simplicity and intimacy is breathtaking…Bergman possesses a gorgeous
instrument that never becomes shrill or overproduced (a rarity in sopranos
who straddle the fence between opera and Broadway) and is well worth looking
into for those with a classical bent.”
—Jonathan Frank, TALKIN’BROADWAY.COM
“Anna Bergman’s Souvenir reveals an impressive soprano who doesn’t
“sing down” to the Broadway and popular songs she includes in her
cabaret act…She is joined by guest Ron Raines for The Most Happy Fella’s
‘My Heart is So Full of You’, the pair send it soaring. Bergman’s
medley of Noel Coward songs is neither over-sentimental nor campy, just beautifully
sung.”
—Max O. Preeo, SHOW MUSIC
“A world class performer…with beauty, intelligence, class, style,
[and] heart…Bergman’s SOUVENIR enriches our world music collection.
This is a must buy CD. Two thumbs up, all the way!”
—Maximillien de La Croix de Lafeyette, WORLD
ART CELEBRITIES JOURNAL
(Named “SOUVENIR” best CD 2003)