“I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.”

Rosalia de Castro

A born ‘artiste’, Lisa began cultivating her special brand of performance from an early age. Her musical versatility has been instrumental in bringing rare opportunities to combine voice, drama and musicianship in what many have been heralding as a postmodern approach to performing. One of the highlights of this merging of mediums is ‘Voyage’, a musical collaboration with colleagues, Richard John (Piano) and Paul Tanner (Percussion).

‘Voyage’ began as a reaction against what current audiences recognise and know as ‘the recital’. The production is a seamless amalgam of music from Bach to Buckley (Jeff Buckley), orchestrated for voice, piano and percussion. Interwoven with dialogue, anecdotes and humourous narrative, ‘Voyage’ invites the listener to travel the dimensions of world music through new musical landscapes.

It’s main aim is to touch and captivate the senses, all five, within a multi-faceted musical sound-scape that transports its audience through time, genre and every type and style of music.

Of their latest performance Ron Banks, music critic for The West Australian, wrote:

‘Voyage into the emotions’
Opera singers who can transform themselves into cabaret artists are rare these days. One who can successfully make this transition without compromising her operatic integrity is Perth singer Lisa Harper-Brown, who’s spent the past years with Opera Australia.
She likes to return home occasionally, and this time has teamed with pianist Richard John, and marimba and percussion player Paul Tanner, to create the cabaret show Invitation to a Voyage.
Part of His Majesty’s Theatre’s Cabaret Soiree series, this two night season revealed these three artists
know how to create a show with sensitivity, humour and emotional depth. They should deliver more shows like this one- or at least keep this gem in their repertoire.
Invitation to a Voyage might suggest a quick trip around the globe through song titles, but Harper-Brown and her colleagues are more interested in the emotional travel into the heart.
The tall, elegant singer with the powerful voice has learnt her craft well at Opera Australia and she is a fine interpreter of the classical song. She sings Charpentier with great feeling, yet can quickly turn to comedy- as evidenced by her selection of ditties from Leonard Bernstein based on spicy cooking recipes.
Her comic flair continued with an enactment- complete with costume change- of a scene from Bernstein’s short opera ‘Trouble in Tahiti’. It’s a wonderful satire on cinema melodrama performed by Harper-Brown with dashing accompaniment. The combination of John’s piano and Tanner’s massive set of marimbas proved ideal in adding a unique set of textures to Harper-Brown’s versatile vocals.
Tanner is certainly skilled at mallet work, producing mellow, emotive tones that added their own atmosphere to the deeply felt ballad’s such as Jeff Buckley’s Lilac wine or Sting’s haunting Fragile. Even Coward’s Nina from Argentina, a tongue-in-cheek look at the passion for the tango, gave the show another lift.
Invitation to a Voyage was apparently put together at short notice because Harper-Brown and John had just arrived back from overseas. But there was nothing hasty or ill-conceived about this musical union, with the trio outstanding in its ability to work as a team and produce material with a wide range of emotions.
The West Australian
Invitation to Voyage, Downstairs at the Maj

‘Voyage’ continues to surprise and exhilarate music lovers from across the globe. In 2008 audiences throughout Asia will have the opportunity to appreciate this innovative and unique ensemble in person.