By Luke Voogt
Victorian musical theatre icon Silvie Paladino will return to Geelong this month to perform the songs which made her career.
“It’s a mixture of songs from musicals I’ve been involved in for the last 20 years,” she told the Indy this week.
Paladino said she had enjoyed making the trip down the highway to Geelong for past performances.
“I love that it’s by the bay and the style of homes that are there. It’s got a nice feeling about it and the people are a little more relaxed.”
The multi-award winning artist will sing her favourites, including the hits of Barbra Streisand and Eva Cassidy.
She will also pay tribute to her musical theatre career with classics like I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables.
The theatre classic launched Paladino’s career in 1989.
“I was lucky enough to play both Fantine and Eponine in 10 years,” she said.
The former role won her Best Supporting Actress in the 1991 Melbourne Green Room Awards while the latter saw her travel to London’s West End.
Paladino fondly remembers singing at the 2005 Grand Final in front of her father and 91,988 people.
“The roar of the crowd after I finished the national anthem was the most exhilarating moment of my career,” she said.
“I’m really blessed to have been able to do that. It was a great moment to be Australian.”
She has also sung at the NRL Grand Final, the V8 Supercars in Phillip Island and for Roger Federer’s foundation.
But despite her unique gigs she said every show had been a “highlight in some way”.
“For me, I feel like it’s a natural thing I do – I love that I can interpret a story through song.
“(The audience) can be transported somewhere else and I love being a part of that.”
Paladino performs yearly at Melbourne’s Carols by Candlelight and was a regular on the iconic Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
“They were the wonderful days of television. Nowadays we don’t have much to showcase true Australian talent – it’s definitely harder now.”
She encouraged aspiring performers to chase their dreams for the right reasons.
“Fame and fortune come and go. You have to love it with from the depth of your soul or else it becomes too hard.”
Paladino will also perform songs from her latest CDs in her concert On My Own at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre on 22 and 23 March.
