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A Solo from the Pit

 
Nicholas Abrams Review by Nicholas Abrams 4 Published: 27 Oct 2025 Tinni Tinni Arts Club Show Dates: 24 Oct 2025-24 Oct 2025

Elias Faingersh’s A Solo from the Pit is an unusual and engaging blend of musical storytelling and personal confession. A virtuoso trombonist, Faingersh reimagines his journey from the orchestra pit of the New York Metropolitan Opera to the intimacy of the Fringe stage – and he does so with humour, technical brilliance and a dash of theatrical flair.

A celebration of craft, courage and creative risk.

The structure is clever: each chapter of his life is paired with an opera he once performed in, from Tosca to Carmen, drawing witty and sometimes poignant parallels between the dramas on stage and those off it. A story about annoyed neighbours and interrupted practice sessions becomes a playful riff on Tosca’s tensions, while other moments – a faltering audition, a lost love – find their echo in the grand emotional sweep of Verdi and Puccini.

Faingersh’s musicianship is superb throughout. The opening, a haunting Hebrew prayer rendered entirely through the trombone, is a stunning display of tone and control. His use of looping pedals and vocal layering is inventive, allowing him to build rich soundscapes from a single instrument. A mid-show composition depicting a couple’s argument and reconciliation is especially inspired – funny, textured and musically sharp.

If there’s a weakness, it’s one of pacing. At a full hour, the show slightly overstays its welcome; trimming an opera or two would give it tighter focus and a more satisfying arc. Likewise, while it opens with something transcendent, the ending doesn’t quite reach the same emotional resonance.

Still, A Solo from the Pit is an excellent piece of musical theatre – a celebration of craft, courage and creative risk. Faingersh’s journey from the world’s grandest orchestra pit to a humble Fringe stage proves that sometimes stepping out of the ensemble can make for the most memorable solo of all.

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The Blurb:

Elias Faingersh, a virtuoso trombonist, reinterprets famous works in a show of musical stand-up comedy, framed by his own personal and dramatic story.