Fringe Music
Christina Bianco: Me, Myself and Everyone Else
Ghillie Dhu, Edinburgh
Marianne Gunn
five stars
THE word diminutive must have been coined for Christina Bianco; at 4ft 11 with a tiny frame, she makes Kylie look frumpy. In her sparkled-bodice, short red dress, she complemented the Gothic splendour of the venue and opened her act in a Broadway show-stopper style – as Christina Bianco herself. As this is her third year at the Fringe, perhaps she has now found the confidence to "Let It Go" a little with her impressions and mimicry. With millions of hits on YouTube, her reputation has been made on her uncanny Barbra Streisand, her quirk-perfect Celine Dion and her guffaw-inducing Julie Andrews; these were all present and correct, but she also had the confidence to be herself for some of the show, revealing some of her own foibles - about her height, her childhood, and her love of music.
Singing the A to Z of divas, her Britney Spears was uncanny (with the nasal twang particularly spot-on), the turn of Iggy Azalea was short-lived and played for humour, while Gwen Stefani was a personal favourite. Bianco's Shirley Bassey, Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf were disconcerting in their quality, but it was her moment of operatic repertoire where her expertise was dazzling. "I love Celine Dion and Bernadette Peters the most," she confessed, "as we share a similar vibrato." Her Bernadette Peters is sublime, complete with facial mannerisms too.
With nods to popular culture (mainly of the nineties and early noughties variety - such as Friends, Will & Grace, Sex and the City),Bianco added some stand-up wit and humour, especially with her Cheryl Cole recital of Streisand's home decorating bible which was biting yet never mean. A unique talent who is no one-trick diva.
Christina Bianco plays Aberdeen on September 9, Glasgow on September 10and Dundee on September 11 on her Me, Myself and Everyone Else UK tour.
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