The magic of musicals flooded once again at the Auditori´s Sala Oriol Martorell in Barcelona on Thursday, October 28, on the second concert of the `sings... todoMUSICALES´ series. Hannah Waddingham proved onstage why she is one of the new great divas of the West End and Broadway. Her presence, her sympathy, her strong personality and her versatile voice, along with a repertoire full of classics, captivated the audience.

After a brief introduction by Mag Lari, Hannah Waddingham accompanied at the piano by musical director David Randall performed the first song of the evening: “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries” from FOSSE. After greeting the audience with the catalan expression "Bona nit Barcelona" (Good night, Barcelona), Waddingham sang "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" from GREASE, according to the artist "the best song of the musical". This song is sung by Rizzo, a character that Waddingham played in the West End. Next song was “What Good Would The Moon Be” from STREET SCENE by Kurt Weill, a show that the actress discovered when she was a little girl and went to see her mother act on it. The actress reccomended this show  fervently to the audience.

It was then the time for the first duet of the evening. Mone came onstage to perform with Hannah "Take Me or Leave Me" from RENT, a song that was received with great enthusiasm by the audience. After that, Mone sang "I amb Changing" from DREAMGIRLS, in a catalan adaptation written by Ana Ullibarri.

Between songs Hannah Waddingham told anecdotes of her career, earning this way the empathy of the audience. Waddingham explained that one of the shows that changed her life was THE BEAUTIFUL GAME. She came to the show after Andrew Lloyd Webber saw her performing in LAUTREC. The British composer offered her the possibility of doing a test for his new show, and this was how she got the role of Christine Warner. Waddingham performed then “Our Kind of Love”, a song that Webber has deleted from its original show and has converted it into "Love Never Dies", the main song from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA sequel.

The artist continued the concert with another Lloyd Webber song, "Tell Me on a Sunday", which she sang brilliantly. Waddingham admitted her surprise at how two men (Lloyd Webber and Don Black) could understand so well a woman´s feelings and translate them into a song. Still with Webber, Hannah Waddingham welcomed to the stage the second guest artist, Joan Vázquez, and they both performed “All I Ask of You” from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. This was one of the most romantic and sweet moments of the evenings.

After that, Hannah Waddingham left the stage once more and Joan Vázquez sang the catalan version (written by himself with Daniel Anglès) of “The Life of The Party” from the musical THE WILD PARTY by Andrew Lippa. This theme was part of the show OFF-BROADWAY by the company El Musical Més Petit, and Vázquez sang it in a very personal way, earning the applause of the audience at the end of his performance.

The first act of the concert ended with the song from CATS “Memory”, the most popular song by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Hannah Waddingham offered an emotional performance of this theme. This, along with a spectacular lighting, turned out as one of the most moving numbers of the evening.

Hannah Waddingham opened the second act with “My Man’s Gone Now” from PORGY AND BESS, and she continued with two songs from MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT, another one of the shows that have marked Waddingham´s career: she originated the role of The Lady Of The Lake in London, received her first Olivier nomination for her work on this musical and later starred in the original Broadway production of the show. Hannah admitted that it was a luxury to work in this show, as she was paid "to go and laugh for a while with my fellow actors". Waddingham first sang “Diva’s Lament”, one of the most hilarious moments of the concert, and then with Sergi Albert, the third guest artist of the evening, performed  “The Song That Goes Like This”, a song that was expected by the audience since Sergi had starred in the Spanish version of the show as Sir Galahad. Their duet was again a magical and unforgettable moment.

It was then the turn of Sergi Albert solo. The actor sang “Stars” from LES MISÉRABLES, a musical that has just celebrated its 25th anniversary in London and that will open soon in Madrid. Sergi Albert´s magnificent performance earned enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Stephen Sondheim is another of the composers that have marked Hannah Waddingham´s career. He is the author of the last two shows that the British actress has performed in London: Desirée Armfeldt in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and The Witch in INTO THE WOODS. Hannah ended the concert with two songs from this musical: the instructive “Children Will Listen” and the defiant “The Last Midnight”.

After receiving an standing ovation, Hannah Waddingham appeared onstage once more to offer another touching moment, her performance of “Send In The Clowns”. And after the three guests artists returned to the stage for the final goodbye, Waddingham performed another encore: “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from FUNNY GIRL, a song that made raise from their seats the people in the auditorium. A spectacular and perfect way to end what surely was a night full of magic.
 

Sergi Albert, Mone, Hannah Waddingham and Joan Vázquez at the end of the concert