LONDON'S LOVELY LADIES

Ken Noda, Julie Adams, and Emily D'Angelo

After two weeks of operas about women being suppressed and abused it came as quite a relief to enjoy a George London Foundation recital in which two women made a strong showing of artistry and presence. Soprano Julie Adams and mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo have no qualms about showing both beauty and strength. We couldn't have imagined a better recital, well worth the soaking we got from yet another rainy day.

The big surprise was how Ms. D'Angelo's artistry surpassed our inherent dislike of American 20th c. songs. We have suffered through Copland's settings of Emily Dickinson's poetry on a few occasions and we were not expecting to be so drawn in. But, there it is! True artistry can bring out hidden qualities in anything. (We are thinking of how Moroccan Cauliflower Soup changed our mind about that previously detested vegetable.)

We felt as if this gifted young singer were composing the poetry as she sang it but actually, she was "merely" channeling Ms. Dickinson. Words on a page became experienced reality. "Heart we will forget him" was particularly affecting. She is a true story-teller!

She performed two works about eerie myths in a single set. In "The Seal Man" by 20th c. composer Rebecca Clarke, she related the story of a woman so madly in love that she follows her beloved into the sea and drowns-- quite a metaphor! We preferred Clara Schumann's telling of the tale of "Die Lorelie", probably because we prefer German lieder of the 19th c. better than 20th c. songs in English. The former rhymes and scans; the latter is prosy.

Ms. D'Angelo's instrument has a wonderful texture and her artistry has earned awards and recognition including a 2018 George London award. All the ingredients for success are there; it is gratifying to read about the many roles for which she has been chosen.

It take courage to include Schoenberg and Berg on a recital program. The vocal lines are strange to the ear and the text even stranger. And yet she made sense of them with her precise German and apt phrasing.

Nonetheless, our favorite among Ms. D'Angelo's selections was "Sein wir wieder gut" from Strauss' comedy Ariadne auf Naxos. She captured all the enthusiasm of a young composer who recognizes the reconciliation required of this most sacred art.

Ms. Adams is likewise the recipient of many awards including a 2015 George London award; she too has earned recognition for her powerful dramatic soprano which lent itself so well to "Elsa's Dream" from Wagner's Lohengrin. She sang with ardent passion and ringing tone, bringing out the yearning in Elsa's character. We loved it!

Lovers of Strauss (and we count ourself in that group) could not help but thrill to her performance of two songs--"Morgen" and "Beim Schlafengehen". Both songs are of a peaceful nature, the first one a shared peacefulness, and the second one a solitary peace. In "Morgen" we realized we were holding our breath! At the word "stumm", her coloration and diction took us into a new place. The violin accompaniment by David Chan echoed the vocal line to great effect.

And look how she interpreted a pair of songs by Rachmaninoff! We generally expect "Ne poy, Krasavitsa" to be sung by a man so it was an interesting choice. It is so filled with Russian soul that we could feel the pain in our heart. We love the way the piano echoes the Oriental mode of the vocal line and vice versa. In "Son" we enjoyed the dreamlike rippling in the piano. This seems like a good place to tell how much we appreciate Ken Noda's playing, about which we will have more to say further along.

Grieg too wrote about a dream. In "Ein Traum" the dreamer's dream becomes reality and what passion we heard in Ms. Adams' coloration! This set of songs included some low lying passages but this did not daunt our singer, not even in the regret filled "Zur Rosenzeit".

We were thinking how perfect the recital would have been had there been a duet. Lo and behold, these two lovely ladies provided an encore that was the perfect cherry on the sundae--"Belle nuit" from Offenbach's Contes d'Hoffman. We had just heard it Friday night but would be happy to hear it again tomorrow. The harmony of the two contrasting voices was delicious and it didn't hurt that these two ladies looked the parts they played. There was shapely Ms. Adams with flowing blond locks, very believable as an enchanting courtesan; and next to her the stately Ms. D'Angelo with her short hair and androgynous attire, looking like a young student.

We could end here on a high note, so to speak, but we would be remiss not to say more about the superb violinist Mr. Chan who opened the program playing the "Allegro vivo" from Debussy's Sonata in G minor. We know very little about violin technique but we know artistry when we hear it and noticed how similar the violin is to the human voice in terms of dynamics and phrasing. Both Mr. Chan and Mr. Noda began with a delicate touch that quickly swelled into passion. Mr. Noda's piano produced purling figures to accompany and support the wordless voice of the violin.

The two instrumentalists were even more impressive in the "Méditation" from Massenet's Thaïs in which the violin sang its secrets supported by some gorgeous arpeggi in the piano. We love the way tenderness gave way to passion.

What an exceptional concert! We love the fact that the George London Foundation supports these young singers at the early stage of their careers and then invites them back a few years later so we can assess their growth. We love witnessing promise becoming perfection!

(c) meche kroop

PLUPERFECT

Peter Dugan and John Brancy

"If the recital were repeated today we would be there. They left us satisfied but somehow wanting more."  This is a quote from a review we wrote exactly three months ago (archived on this website) entitled "Painting the Picture and Telling the Tale". Well, we had to wait three months but last night's recital at The National Opera Center fulfilled our desire. 

Three months ago it was John Brancy and Peter Dugan at Carnegie Hall  and last night's recital was at the National Opera Center, as part of Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series. This brilliant artist appeared as winner of the 2015 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. The Jensen Foundation established their first competition in 2000 with 91 competitors.  My, how they've grown!  In 2015, 270 singers competed for 125 audition slots. We have nothing but admiration for any and all institutions that give aid and attention to young artists.

Mr. Brancy has won many other competitions and has been singing around the world; the performance we would have most wanted to see was his Dr. Malatesta at Glyndebourne. Let's just say that his dance card is filled.

Can it be just three years since we reviewed his graduation recital at Juilliard? Mr. Dugan, a fellow Juilliard graduate, has been his regular collaborative pianist and the two artists match each other breath for breath, mood for mood.

We consider it a privilege to witness the growth of a young artist. We have a special affection for Mr. Brancy, having recognized his potential from the start. His years at Juilliard refined and developed his innate artistry that, we believe, emerges from a very special inner worth. 

The effect on the listener is one of joining something larger--a sphere shared by the composer, the poet or librettist, the singer, and the piano--a communal experience. This artistry goes way beyond technique. 

Of course, the possession of a fine instrument is a starting point and we have heard this instrument become darker and more polished over the years, like oil paint on the canvas of an old master. 

So...getting to last night's program, a recapitulation of many songs from the Carnegie Hall recital was a welcome choice. Our only tiny cavil from that recital was the need for a lighter color for the voice of the child in Schubert's "Erlkönig" and for the voice of Die Lorelei in Schumann's "Waldesgespräch". Last night's "voices" were much improved. 

As a matter of fact, we love it when Mr. Brancy interposes a lighter tender timbre where appropriate. For example: in the middle of Schumann's lively enthusiastic "Aus alten Märchen"; when he sang about the weeping bride at the end of "Auf einer Burg"; the knight's serenade in "Des Fräuleins Liebeslauschen"; and Fauré's "Dan la Nymphée", which had an ethereal quality.

The consummate storytelling skills, which we thought were perfect 3 months ago, are even better now. Many of the tales just gripped us by the throat. There was a lot of horror in Schumann's "Balsatzar", Schubert's "Der Zwerg", and of course in the aforementioned "Erlkönig".

We also heard songs by Sibelius in both Finnish and in Swedish, as well as Frank Bridge's "Love Went A-Riding" and the marvelously funny and marvelously performed song "The Green-Eyed Dragon" by Wolseley Charles in which Mr. Brancy perfectly voiced and enacted the greedy dragon and also his spooky ghost.

A highlight of the evening was Mr. Dugan's wild arrangement of Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King", reprised from the February recital. His fingers flew over the keys but the melody never got lost.

There was no chance that the audience would let the pair off the stage without an encore--(a "Swann song" if you will pardon the pun)--"Bilbo's Last Song" with music by Donald Swann and lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien.  A suitable choice for an evening of fantasy ranging from macabre to ethereal!

(c) meche kroop

PAINTING THE PICTURE AND TELLING THE TALE

John Brancy and Peter Dugan

What does one say when one has run out of superlatives? The recital we heard last night at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall set the bar really high for a song recital.  As many superb recitals as we have seen this season, nothing approached the musicianship, artistry, and dramatic intensity of this one. We have followed the careers of baritone John Brancy and pianist Peter Dugan for several years and have seen them fulfill their initial promise.  We can think of no greater thrill.

One of the features that ensured the success of the recital was the flow of collaboration between the two artists. Although we are sure that a lot of hard work went into the planning and execution of the recital, the overall effect was one of naturalness and ease. We don't often get to hear recitals with a compelling theme, so the selection of "Fantasy" as a theme struck us as original and compelling.

There be fairytales, there be dragons, there be princesses in towers, there be elves and dwarves, there be satyrs, nymphs, nixen und hexen. Subjects of the texts meet their ends in horrifying and grisly ways. For two hours we were transported to a strange world that was immortalized by all the great composers. The first half of the program comprised lieder that were totally familiar to any recital goer.

Schumann's "Aus alten Märchen" was the introductory piece and it set the stage perfectly for what was to follow. Texts for the five songs in the Schumann set used texts by the young composer's favorite poets--Heinrich Heine and Joseph von Eichendorff. Of the five songs, our favorite was "Waldesgespräch"in which the courtly speech of the rider is hiding some not-so-courtly intentions; he is quickly dispatched by the Hexe Lorelei.

The set of lieder by Schubert was equally impressive with his debut entry as a teenage lieder komponist--"Erlkönig" with text by Goethe--being our favorite.  In this case, the tragic death belonged to a small child with the perpetrator being the nasty and seductive king of the elves. From both pianistic and vocal standpoints, this was an incomparable performance.

The entire first half of the program was marked by intensely dramatic storytelling. Neither artist has the slightest reservation about using every color on his palette. Both of them seemed completely immersed in the texts, drawing us into their fantasy world.

If we had one tiny suggestion for Mr. Brancy to take his performance from a 99 to 100, it would be to allow a different color in his voice for the Hexe in "Waldesgespräch", perhaps a more feminine tone, and a more feeble color for the sickly child in "Erlkönig".  Clearly his resonant and firmly grounded baritone is more comfortable in the parts of the rider in the first piece and the narrator, father, and Elfking in the second. But we longed for a bit more contrast.

The passionate piano playing could not have been improved and swept us along in a tide of excitement and wonder. In a most welcome addition, Mr. Dugan performed two solos in the second half of the program.

He played Debussy's "Pour invoquer Pan" from Six épigraphes antiques, reduced from the original flutes, harps, and celesta, all of which we could hear in the piano. The notes and their overtones seemed to hang in the air.  But it was his arrangement of Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt that brought down the house. We have never heard the like! The house was electrified. Abrupt changes from major to minor and the rumbling in the lower reaches of the piano were unsettling.

The artistic coupling continued to delight and mystify throughout the second half of the program with songs by Debussy, Fauré, Grieg, and Sibelius.  Only "Le tombeau des naïades" from Chansons de Bilitis was familiar, although we have never heard it sung by a man. What a treat to hear a song by Sibelius sung in Finnish, strange and beautiful to the ear. In Grieg's "Prinsessen" we could hear the sweet song of the boy playing the horn.

We even enjoyed the songs in English, due to Mr. Brancy's impeccable diction.  Not a word was lost! We loved David Long's setting of "Misty Mountains" (text by Tolkien) in which the simple melody and strophic organization were given a variety of moods in the artists' own arrangement.

Britten's arrangement of a French folk song "The king is gone a hunting" was delightful.  The English language lends itself so well to short punchy phrases that rhyme and scan.

Wolseley Charles' amusing "The Green Eyed Dragon" allowed Mr. Brancy to give full rein to his storytelling skills and was pure delight.

The welcome encore was "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha by Joe Darion/Mitch Leigh.  It is obvious that all of Mr. Dugan's and Mr. Brancy's dreams are more than possible! It was the perfect end to a stunning recital. The thunderous applause and the standing ovation were well deserved.

The two artists are far more than collaborators on vocal recitals. They both have impressive international careers in many aspects of their art. Clearly, their experience in the art of opera and cabaret and collaboration with other artists has informed their artistry. Still, if we had no knowledge or experience of their diverse talents, if this recital were all we had to go on, we would still select them as stars of the musical firmament. If the recital were repeated today we would be there. They left us satisfied but somehow wanting more.

(c) meche kroop

DOUBLE SPOTLIGHT

Clarissa Lyons (photo by Marielle Hayes)

Miles Mykkanen (photo by Kristin Hoebermann)

Thursday night's Spotlight recital featured two fine young singers, both of them in collaboration with the wonderful pianist Ken Noda. The recital is part of the Marilyn Horne legacy at Carnegie Hall. The program, part of the week-long The Song Continues, was filled with delights.

Soprano Clarissa Lyons is new on our radar screen but tenor Miles Mykkanen has been delighting our ears for several years as he pursued his training at Juilliard.  The Divine Mr. M. is always full of surprises, tackling unusual material or presenting old songs in new ways. Thursday night there was no gender bending, which we have enjoyed when he sings with New York Festival of Song.

Mr. M. is always a compelling performer and has a unique sound that is distinctive and memorable; the quality of the vibrato lends a textural richness. The tone is sustained right through the lower register.

He sang five songs from Benjamin Britten's On This Island and sang them with perfect English diction, a rare quality indeed. Britten will never be among our favorite song composers but we certainly did enjoy this particular performance, particularly the despairing "Now the leaves are falling fast" and "As it is, plenty" in which Mr. M. was able to exhibit his passionate intensity. In "Seascape" he painted with words and handled the rapid notes of "Nocturne" with aplomb.

We were far more enthusiastic about his trio of Schumann songs--the bittersweet "Des Sennen Abschied" was our favorite.  His German is impeccable. Mr. Noda's pianism was thrilling, especially in the arpeggios of "Requiem".

The final set comprised three songs by Grieg and it was here that we enjoyed ourselves the most. "Takk for dit råd" expresses the strong impulse toward freedom which Norwegians associate with the sea. Mr. M. captured the essence of the text.

He introduced the song "En svane" with a sad and romantic tale about the poetry and the "fact" that swans only sing when they die. Mr. Noda's playing here added so greatly to the depth of feeling. But his final song "En drøm" filled us with the joy of love achieved and passionately appreciated. What a performance!

Soprano Clarissa Lyons filled the stage with beauty. Her statuesque presence reminds one of a Modigliani painting. Her voice is a lovely one with a diamantine sparkle. We were pleased to hear two songs by Joseph Marx, a composer of whom we do not hear enough. "Ständchen" was given a convincing delivery and "Selige Nacht" had some lovely word coloring to delight the ear.

We heard three songs by Poulenc, settings of surrealistic poetry by Louise Lalanne. "Le présent" and "Chanson" were of a whimsical nature but "Hier" was filled with longing. It was a fine way to show off the singer's versatility.

Next we heard a pair of songs by Rachmaninoff--"A Dream" and "Au!", which comes to an end without resolution. We loved Ms. Lyon's involvement in the text.

Her final set comprised two selections from Barber's Hermit Songs--"Saint Ita's Vision" and "The Desire for Hermitage". We have often heard them but cannot love them. We did love the way she sang them however, with deep commitment.

Both singers collaborated on an encore which sent us out smiling--Bernstein's "Wrong Note Rag".  This was the only wrong note in a wonderful recital. So much ground to cover in an hour! But the artists made every minute count.

(c) meche kroop

SIMPLY STELLAR

One expects excellence from The Juilliard School but we are never surprised when an event exceeds our high expectations.  Such was the case last night at the Vocal Arts Honors Recital in which two supremely talented sopranos, chosen by competitive audition, presented programs selected by themselves and their collaborative pianists.  Let's take a look at what they chose.

The glamorous Hungarian-American Lilla Heinrich-Szasz, partnered by the competition-winning pianist Lachlan Glen (well known by Voce di Meche readers as the founder and co-artistic director of Schubert & Co.) began their half of the program with four of our favorite Grieg songs.  The performance highlighted the gentle sincerity and delicacy of these gems.  Ms. Heinrich-Szasz delighted the audience with her unfussy and winning delivery; her connection with the material and with the audience was remarkable, especially in the humorous "Lauf der Welt".

Four songs by Debussy revealed the fine vibrato of her upper register; our ears thrilled to the pingy resonance.  Still, our heart was taken most by the Spanish songs of her final set.  We had never before heard José Serrano's "Marinela" from La Canción del Olvido but we hope to hear it many more times in the future.  On the other hand we have heard Fernando Obradors "Del cabello más sutil" more times than we can recall but never with a more haunting feeling of yearning.

Mr. Glen's piano was totally supportive of the delicacy of the songs.  One had a sense of filigree that tickled the ear.  Ms. Heinrich-Szasz performed an encore in Hungarian which was everything an encore should be, showing her skill with yet a fourth language and her willingness to let her hair down and dance; the delighted audience joined her in rhythmic clapping to the spirited "Heia in dem bergen" from Die Csárdásfürstin.

The second half of the program starred the equally glamorous award-winning Julia Bullock and her superb piano partner Daniel Fung.  When we saw the program, we were skeptical about the Messiaen songs from Chants de terre et de ciel but need not have been concerned.  Ms. Bullock and Mr. Fung made music together in spite of the inaccessibility of the music and poetry.

Much more to our taste were Mussorgsky's songs from The Nursery in which Ms. Bullock gave free rein to her considerable dramatic skills; our personal favorite was "With Nanny", heard many times before but never with such charm.  Richard Strauss' Drei Ophelia Lieder followed, songs which sound very different from Strauss' other songs.  It is so interesting that English had been translated into German and the German translated back into English by Ms. Bullock herself for the program.  Indeed, Ms. Bullock also translated the French and the Russian songs!  Without a break, Ms. Bullock seguéd right into Harry T. Burleigh's "Deep River", driving the audience into a frenzy of adulation with her gorgeous lustrous voice and compelling stage presence.  Mr. Fung was with her every step of the way.  These are four compelling artists to watch!

(c) meche kroop