Thursday Jul 04, 2024
Thursday Jul 04, 2024
Friday, 8 November 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
for the highlight of the evening for which especial plans had been made. Right on the stroke of 7.30 in the evening, the immaculately attired De Lanerolle Brothers strode their way into the Grand Ballroom, singing through the aisle to climb the few steps of the gangway and take upfront stage. This famous supremely talented duo that has made a splash internationally, sang from their rich popular repertoire of songs spanning the 60s, 70s and 80s. The performance that lasted approximately 90 scintillating minutes was mesmerising, and the brothers had a packed audience captivated and under their uniquely charismatic spell. What was striking about the performance was the perfect lyrical harmony and smooth blending of mellifluous voices to back up tracks provided by their technical expert Gerry with the minimum of ease without a single chord out of tune. The friendly repartee and verbal exchange amongst the brothers between songs was excellent and provided the opportunity for humour and comic relief. The entire show was well orchestrated and accomplished act with the highest standards of international professionalism. This famous duo during the closing stages of the act left the stage and sang their way amongst the tables, mingling with diners who loved their close presence and soft caressing voices serenading the Grand Ballroom. They also acceded to requests of the crowd and sang the evergreen Sinhala song Master Sir to a special track that comprised musical notes of all three previous versions sung by various artists and after the show posed for photographs to thrill their ardent fans.
Ishan De Lanerolle apologetically lamented towards the end of the show, that although the brothers have been having a lot of success internationally they had not been able to cater to their local fans except for a few rare shows they had in Sri Lanka that were far and few in-between. This show would be the kick off to a country wide tour they are contemplating to hold in the major cities of our island and the De Lanerolle fans are in for a veritable treat.
The De Lanerolle Brothers comprise a duo that is strong in their family ties and religious bonds, sans the much chaotic social strands that western stars blaze in media headlines that make them role models to emulate. A day after the concert, guests were happy to see them at mealtime in the restaurant, mingling freely with people in spite of the stardom they had achieved. What was most striking was to see Ishan lovingly pushing his mother-in-law who is confined to the wheel chair around the vicinity of the hotel for her to enjoy the scenic beauty of this uniquely positioned resplendent hotel that commands frontage to the sea with the backdrop of a lagoon.
This show was a culmination of the efforts of several key people. The General Manager Rohan Gamage and the Sales Manager Sandy Wanniarachchi and the Director Operations Nishada Periyapperuma of the Fort Hotels Group had done much tireless work behind the scenes in preparing the venue for this glittering event of international dimensions that attracted people from virtually all parts of the isle for an evening of unforgettable musical extravagance.
