BPO’s Holiday Pops decks the hall with sparkle and traditional treats

This years Holiday Pops drew gasps on Friday morning before the concert even began. The scene was just so magical.

The hall went dark, except for twinkly lights. And voices came out of the darkness girls voices, singing Silent Night.

The singers were Immaculata Academys Vox Caeciliae (it means Voices of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music). They drifted down the aisles, singing and carrying candles.

Then the lights went up and you saw them in their deep blue gowns, and the singers in red, white and black who crowded the stage, and the three twinkly wreaths overhead. BPO Music Director JoAnn Falletta, in sparkly violet, raised her baton, and everyone swung full-tilt into We Need a Little Christmas, from Mame.

Holiday Pops 2013 will go down in history as merrily unpretentious. It veers from reverent to raucous, from Broadway to biblical.

The guest star is Michele Ragusa, Broadway singer, Buffalo native and someone who always puts on a good show. The Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus is huge with the addition of reinforcements from Barker Central and Oakfield-Alabama high schools.

And yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He comes out and talks to tykes and to Falletta. Friday morning, there were a lot of giggles.

Between these interludes, the BPO shows off its own sparkle, with music including the Polonaise from Rimsky-Korsakovs Christmas Eve and the Pas de Deux and concluding Waltz from The Nutcracker.

The concert is full of good humor and good spirit. Ragusa, in particular, is a kick. You could not help smiling as, against accusing honks from the tuba, she sang I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Marvin Hamlischs ballad Hanukkah Lights shone with her sweet delivery.

The Santa number The Man With the Bag was cute and jazzy. And my stocking cap is off to her for being able to sing even Let It Snow as if it were the most wonderful song she had ever heard, and she were introducing it to the world.

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BPO’s Holiday Pops decks the hall with sparkle and traditional treats