Aretha Franklin was by and large the greatest voice of her time.
They didn’t call her The Queen Of Soul for nothing, and her grandiose vocals and relentless performances captured the hearts and imaginations of millions worldwide. Among them, multitalented First Nations actor Jada Alberts, whose love for the renowned diva has culminated in a new production, ‘ARETHA – A Love Letter To The Queen Of Soul’.
Part musical, part memoir, Jada serves as the show’s Narrator and Director, revealing how they first discovered Aretha: “I’ve been a fan since I was a kid, she was always playing in my house,” Jada says. “I grew up with her in a big way.”
“It was probably maybe five or six years ago when somebody showed me footage of Aretha singing – she sang ‘Nessun Dorma’ in place of Andrea Bocelli, very last minute. It reminded me in that moment of her power as a singer, and as a performer who really brought her own feel to everything that she did.
“I use music to regulate and mark moments in my life, and at that time I did a deep dive into her music and discovered all this stuff I hadn’t heard of hers. Her catalogue was so huge. All these things about her I didn’t know, all these tracks.
For the average punter, there may be a lot of things about Aretha that they don’t know – but Jada has uncovered a lot of that, and will bring it forward in ‘ARETHA – A Love Letter To The Queen Of Soul’. It was Jada’s agent – who asked them if they liked Aretha – who first put the wheels in motion on this production. “A lot of my mates would laugh at that question,” Jada says, “because to say that I’m obsessed is putting it lightly.”
From Jada’s clear ardent love of the diva, the show truly is a love letter rather than a piece-by-piece. On the show’s construct, Jada says, “We’ve got five incredible singers and myself, who are all either women or queer people of colour, who have a deep, great love for Aretha.”
“I come from a writing, performance, and narrative background, so I’m just bringing my own experience into this world of music, which I haven’t done before.
“The show will mostly be music, but then we have this opportunity to talk about Aretha and honour her in a different way. In that way, we lift from being a tribute concert to something else. It will have a twist.”
The additional performers Jada mentions are no small names in the business – Emma Donovan, Montaigne, Thandi Phoenix, Thndo, and Ursula Yovich will join Jada on stage in tribute to Aretha, her impact on each person’s performance style and art made evident in their delivery.
“I know these performers’ work well,” Jada says, “and there’s already this beautiful family vibe that we’re connecting on. I think that comes from that deep love for Aretha. But also, what we have in common is that we’re people of colour.”
“As performers and people of colour in this industry, in some small way, we understand what Aretha was up against. I think that really grounds us and pulls us together.”
Having come together for a promotional photoshoot recently, Jada says the dynamic among these performers is already powerful, and will be evident throughout their shows together. “Aretha toured and performed from a young age always with family,” they begin. “From her band to her backup performers, they were people who were family, and I feel like we might be on to something [like that] with this group of people.”
'Aretha – A Love Letter To The Queen Of Soul' plays Sydney Opera House 17-18 June, Queensland Performing Arts Centre 20-21 June, and Arts Centre Melbourne 2 July.
