Bute Arts Society led us into the festive season in grand operatic style with the welcome return of **Sorelle** trio.
The three sopranos, Olivia Bell, Katie Blackwell, and Megan Strachan, have distinguished and varied musical CVs that include directing and arranging as well as their wonderful vocal accomplishments. Also accompanying them on their return to Bute was Matthew McIlree on piano. Anyone lucky enough to attend the Bute Jazz weekend would have been dazzled by his jazz trio.
Matthew tripped merrily into what must be Sorelle’s signature tune, *Three Little Maids*, as the trio entered gleefully as schoolgirls from *The Mikado*. Their playfulness continued; looking at the program, they claimed that they “didn’t realise that we had been booked for a Christmas concert and simply don’t do that sort of thing.” So they spent the first half inventing increasingly tenuous connections to Christmas to justify their song selection, much to the amusement of the audience.
From Puccini’s *La Bohème*, they delivered the two beautiful arias *Quando men vo* and *Mi chiamano Mimi*, impressing everyone with their powerful yet nuanced renditions and displaying their operatic credentials. Then Olivia and Katie charmed everyone with the *Flower Duet* from Léo Delibes’ opera *Lakmé*.
Reluctantly, they agreed that the musicals shown on television over Christmas would be a good source of songs, even if they were show tunes. The arrangements for these numbers gave Matthew an opportunity to excel, starting with a medley from *The Sound of Music*. The popular tunes floated into and around each other and were wonderfully rendered, especially the chiming crystal tones of *Edelweiss* and the soaring, dramatic climax of *Climb Every Mountain*, giving the audience emotional goosebumps. Katie gave an entrancing version of “I Could Have Danced All Night” from *My Fair Lady*. Then she and Olivia sang the dramatic yet romantic *Somewhere* from *West Side Story*.
Next came the fairy-story opera *Hansel and Gretel*. They took turns to sing the Evening Prayer, the Sandman aria, and the Witch’s aria. It has to be said that the delight Olivia took in enacting the imperious witch and joyfully singing about cooking Gretel was something of a cause for concern.
The trio’s name, **Sorelle**, is Italian for sisters, so it was inevitable that sibling rivalry would peak at some point—and it did—with Olivia’s spectacular arrangement of a medley of Handel’s *Messiah*. This operatic battle started with each singing their favourite parts. By the time they reached the famous *Hallelujah Chorus*, Megan’s solo was punctuated by Olivia’s and Katie’s “Hallelujahs” sung with gusto as they popped up and down from the pulpit.
After the interval, the ladies shimmered in fabulous evening gowns. They had decided that they were engaged for Christmas music and so had better get on with it. After *Baby, It’s Cold Outside*, a traditional carol, came *O Holy Night* by Adolphe Adam, which was written to celebrate the renovation of an organ and, at the time, was banned by the Catholic Church, so its popularity was guaranteed. *In the Bleak Midwinter* was then sung, a scintillating performance highlighted by very moving a cappella sections of ethereal purity. This charming delicacy was maintained in a sweet rendition of *Walking in the Air*, reclaiming this atmospheric song from commercial overexposure and returning it to a swooping operatic journey.
Megan took the familiar *12 Days of Christmas* and furnished it with new lyrics, describing the impossible workload demands on singers in the festive season. The lyrics resonated with choir members in the audience and gave everyone a good laugh. Matthew added to the hilarity by dramatically ramping up his expressive backing. He had a chance to recover as the trio sang an a cappella setting by Olivia of the delightful *Silent Night*. Their unaccompanied voices led into *See Amid the Winter’s Snow*, the emotive harmonies showcasing their marvellous voices.
The audience’s comfortable evening took a turn when their participation was called upon: the chorus of *The Holly and the Ivy* became a three-part round for everyone, getting faster and shifting up a key for each repetition—definitely the soprano’s revenge.
Matthew decided it was his turn for centre stage: enough of the Christmas singing, what about the Christmas piano? He launched into a swinging stride version of *Walking in a Winter Wonderland*, dazzling with his supreme keyboard domination.
The ladies next applied full operatic seriousness to *Let It Go* from the Disney film *Frozen*, giving it a previously unseen gravitas with their mock sincerity. At the other end of the spectrum, a traditional song, *The Parting Glass*, was an emotional tribute to those not with us this festive season. The program finale was *Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas*. Here, the delicate touch on the keyboard and exquisite harmonies expressed the sincere sentiments of the song.
Of course, the audience wanted more, and Sorelle encored with *Let It Snow*.
It had been an evening of the finest festive entertainment by such talented performers who genuinely delight in their work. Bute Arts Society has an exceptional program lined up for 2026, so when you start your new calendars and diaries, make sure you visit [https://www.buteartssociety.co.uk](https://www.buteartssociety.co.uk) so that you don’t miss a thing.
