Christmas is just around the corner and the celebrations have started early! A recital by Dmitri Gunatilake, ‘An evening of Christmas melodies’, kicked off the festive season on the December 1 at the Western Province Aesthetic Centre. 

Ever the Christmas enthusiast, Dmitri’s show was all about spreading the love and joy of Christmas. The evening featured songs such as ‘Sleigh Ride’, ‘White Christmas’, ‘Santa Baby’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Let it Snow’ among many others. 

Dmitri was joined by Menaka de Fonseka’s choir (both junior and senior) along with Menaka de Fonseka herself on piano, who also shared the spotlight by singing her rendition of ‘Holy City’. 

Dmitri also sang duets with several other singers.  She sang ‘O Holy Night’ with Laknath Senevirathne, ‘Baby it’s Cold Outside’ with Gyles Dharmaratne and ‘Feliz Navidad’ with Devin Randeniya. 

The recital was the perfect way to kick start the Christmas season. Dmitri, who has been training since 2004, having performed in countless theatre productions such as Phantom of the Opera and Evita, truly knew how to own the stage and make the show come alive.  With little skits in between singing, the recital was entertaining and energetic. Having drawn in a full house, the audience was equally energetic, singing along to tunes such as ‘Feliz Navidad’ along with the singers. 

All in all, An Evening of Christmas Melodies, was a great way to begin the month of December and was a recital that left all audience members in the mood for Christmas! 

We caught up with a few audience members after the show and here’s what they thought! 

“It was awesome. Dmitri has done a great job and it’s for such a good cause.” - Janaki 

“Oh it was wonderful! Fantastic! She should more shows so that all of us can unite. The music was soothing and relaxing.” - Jerome 

“It was beautiful. I’m in the holiday spirit now!” - Saarah 

“It was wonderful. The kids did well! Dmitri is outstanding. She’s a very good singer!” - Hemantha 

“I’ve known Dmitri for a long time. It was a great show!” - Aran 

“It was good and very eye catching. Really enjoyable.” - Michelle 

“It was a nice one. After a long time, it was a nice show to watch.” - Anne 

“It was great. She should be directing a musical!”- Nadeesha 

“Superb!” - Manori 

“Amazing. We’ve known Dmitri for so long so it was great seeing her!” - Khadija 

“It was really great!” - Saadiya 

Photographs by Kushan Pathiraja