Silver Bells and Silver Screens showcases talents of library's Adrianna Polito

When Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library acting CEO and manager Laura Tait welcomed 65 visitors to an afternoon of music Saturday in the Anderson Lane location’s atrium, she raved about “how fortunate we are to have Adrianna Polito on staff.”

The 33-year-old Welland resident stepped up to the microphone wearing an elegant red dress and graciously thanked the audience for coming out. With accompanist and NOTL resident Anthony Scaringi on piano, she eased into a wonderful rendition of Bizet’s Habanera, from the opera Carmen, to begin a 20-song set dubbed Silver Bells and Silver Screens. 

Polito, a library service associate since 2021, is a classically trained singer, a Brock University graduate and a veteran of musical theatre performances with Oh Canada Eh?, Garden City Productions, Firehall Theatre and the Port Colborne Operatic Society. 

She also spent time with Chorus Niagara as a Robert Cooper Scholar, a program offering young adult singers a chance to hone their vocal and choral skills through performing as soloists and choral leaders and via mentorship from one of Canada's foremost choral musicians. The Local first heard Polito sing French composer Gabriel Faure’s Les Berceaux beautifully last October at a Chorus Niagara salon hosted at a NOTL home.

The library’s community engagement coordinator Debbie Krause tells the Local that because Polito was originally hired to work with children she was asked to sing during her job interview. 

“That’s standard for us,” says Krause. “I had to do it when I interviewed, too. It was very clear when Adrianna sang that she was comfortable singing much more than nursery rhymes.”

Polito admits that when Krause was looking to schedule activities for this fall she stepped up to offer an afternoon of Christmas carols and songs from the movies. 

Polito, who lists opera singers Renee Fleming and Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and Broadway mainstays Sierra Boggess and Canadian Ramin Karimloo as her favourites, included many well-known classics in her repertoire Sunday. 

Clearly knowledgeable about the songs she sings, Polito surprised many in the audience when, before singing Over the Rainbow, she told them that Harold Arlen’s brilliant composition was almost left out of The Wizard of Oz. Other songs from Hollywood included (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story, Moon River, and Speak Softly Love from The Godfather.

The sold-out audience, a mix of all ages, received the music from Polito and Scaringi enthusiastically. The youthful singer was equally adept at hitting impressive high notes on some of her selections as she was leading a singalong on several holiday favourites interspersed throughout the 90-minute performance. 

The atrium, by the way, proved to be a beautiful setting with naturally warm acoustics.

Good news for music lovers and Polito herself - the afternoon’s success has Krause and Politio considering more such future sessions in the library.