MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE STUDIO ARTISTS RECITAL

Michigan Opera Theater Studio Artists at National Opera Center

Dear Readers,

Allow us to introduce you to our guest reviewer Ellen Godfrey, an opera lover with lifelong experience at the Metropolitan Opera, now serving on the boards of Opera Index and Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance.  The recital of the Michigan Opera Studio was too compelling to go unreviewed and we were busy reviewing Mark Padmore's recital.  So...enjoy!

A DELIGHTFUL EVENING AT THE  MICHIGAN OPERA THEATRE CONCERT AT THE  NATIONAL OPERA CENTER

On Thursday, April 19, Opera America presented, as part of the Emerging Artist Recital Series, a concert by the Michigan Opera Theatre Studio, which features promising young singers on the brink of a great opera career.  MOT studio artists, now in its fourth season, fulfilled a dream of Michigan Opera founder and composer Dr. David Di Chiera, to create an advanced training program for young singers. The Director of the Resident Artists Program is the worldwide renowned opera tenor Richard Leech. With the support of the Studio’s principal coach and accompanist Tessa Hartle, they provide outstanding training and performance opportunities for the young singers.

Each season MOT selects five singers for either a one or two year commitment from June to April for advanced training in repertoire, vocal coaching, role preparation, acting and language study. In addition, legendary opera singers conduct masterclasses. This outstanding program is underwritten by a major grant from the William Davidson Foundation.  Performance opportunities include featured and supporting roles in MOT main stage productions and an enhanced presence in the community through participation in leading roles in community productions as well as outreach to Detroit Public Schools.

The five talented singers chosen for this season were Monica Dewey, soprano; Briana Elyse Hunter, mezzo-soprano; Michael Day, tenor; Harry Greenleaf, baritone; and Erik Van Heyningen, bass-baritone. All of them have performed in major opera houses. Among them the Santa Fe Opera, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, San Francisco Opera, and Wolf Trap. Many have received important awards in major vocal competitions.

Wayne. S. Brown, President and CEO of the Michigan Opera Theatre welcomed the audience to the concert. The selections for the concert were carefully chosen to highlight each singers vocal and performing qualities.  

The concert opened with a dazzling display of vocal fireworks by bass-baritone Erik Van Heyningen as The King of Jerusalem in Handel’s Rinaldo. His aria “Sibilar gli angui d’Alletto"…..(the hissing of Alecto’s serpents ) requires an astonishing amount of breath  control and he was more than up to the task.  His burnished bass-baritone projected the power of the king.  Later in the concert, he showed both his language and vocal versatility singing an aria in Russian from Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor --“Ni San ni otdycha”.  Igor can’t sleep and is dejected about being taken prisoner.  Erik pulled out all of the emotions of this great aria. This summer he returns to Santa Fe Opera to perform in Madama Butterfly and Candide.  In the fall he will attend The Juilliard School for an artist diploma in opera studies.

Tenor Michael Day sang a beautiful  "De’miei bollenti spiriti” from Verdi’s La Traviata.  He has a bright tenor sound and a big voice.  His Italian was excellent and through his facial expressions and his body language, he projected Alfredo’s love for Violetta.  Love came calling again later in the program with a sensitive performance of the song “Maria” from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.  He started off singing softly and increased the volume slowly as he expressed his undying love for Maria. His final "Marias" in head voice were spell-binding.  He returns next fall to MOT.  This summer he will perform the role of Leo Hubbard in Blitzstein’s Regina at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Michael Day and Erik van Heyningen showed that they are equally good in comic opera as well.. both of them enjoying the comedy.  In  the duet “Voglio dire…Obbligato” from Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore. Michael Day sang the love sick Nemorino desperate for an elixir of love which Dr. Dulcamara, sung by Erik Van Heyningen was more then happy to supply.  Their voices blended very well and the audience delighted in their performances.

Mezzo-soprano Briana Elyse Hunter sang a heart-felt aria from Gluck’s Orphée et  Eurdice..."Amour viens rendre a mon âme”. Orphée calls on the gods to bring his dead wife back to life or he will join her in death. This is another aria full of fioritura and Briana sang it fearlessly.  Her mezzo voice is distinctive and lush and she has great stage presence.  Later in the program she moved effortlessly from Baroque opera to the 21at century opera Doctor Atomic by John Adams.. “Am I in your light” is a reflection on love and death and was sung with great warmth. 

Briana and soprano Monica Dewey sang a sweet melodic duet from Ricky Ian Gordon’s opera 27…which explores the relationship between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. The duet “The Bells. That Chime” …the bells chime “genius” ring for each of them. This is very original music. Each time they sang the word “ring” there is an imitation of a ring by going up and down the scale or a slow trill. When they sang together their voices blended beautifully. Both Briana and Monica will be Performing with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Monica Dewey joined with baritone Harry Greenleaf for a duet from Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath. The music had a nice bouncy sound and they were a convincing couple.  They worked well together with clear diction, and nice vocal shading.

Monica showed her spunk in a delightful performance of the cantabile “Par le rang et par l’opulence” followed by the cabaletta "Salut a la France" from Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment. The first part of the aria is slow and sad…and she sang it with great beauty ..she is sad because she is separated from Tonio …suddenly she hears the sounds of the soldiers in the distance and her mood changes to joy.  She sings the song of the regiment; "Salut a la France"…full of fioritura and octave leaps. She has a brilliant and sparking sound and her voice grew larger as she ascended to the high notes,

Harry Greenleaf  sang an aria from Britten’s Billy Budd --“Look! Through  the port comes the moonshine astray”which he sang in a a subdued and pensive manner with his attractive and smooth baritone voice and very clear English diction. He captured Billy’s feelings as he contemplates death. Harry later sang an aria from David DiChiera’s opera Cyrano, in which the eponymous Cyrano is contemplating his own death. Once again he created a whole picture of Cyrano’s thoughts and sadness, singing with clear French diction.

Tessa Hartle, Principal coach and accompanist for the young singers was supportive throughout the whole concert.  She never overpowered the singers and was certainly attentive to everything they did.   It was clear that the singers enjoyed working with her and appreciated her support.

Congratulations to all the singers and to the wonderful supportive staff of MOT Studio Artists for a memorable evening.

(c) meche kroop

THE RISING STARS OF THE DESERT SKY

Pianist Cody Martin and singers Zachary Owen, Mariya Kaganskaya, Katrina Galka, Alyssa Martin, and Joseph Lattanzi

Tucson is the birthplace and home of Arizona Opera which has been building an audience for opera in Arizona since 1971. Their programming is eclectic and, judging by the performances we heard last night at The National Opera Center, the people of that gorgeous state are getting the highest quality.

For those of us who cherish the future of opera, it was a golden opportunity to hear the rising stars of the desert sky. The recital by Arizona Opera Studio Artists was part of Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series. For us personally, it was an opportunity to witness the growth of two lovely ladies we had enjoyed in Santa Fe, as part of their Apprentice Program--and to be introduced to three more singers of whom we hope to hear more.

The overall quality was impressive and it is no wonder that these young artists are receiving awards and filling roles around the country. We were delighted to learn that two of them will be in Santa Fe this summer so we will get to hear them again. The others will be at Glimmerglass and if that venue were more accessible for non-drivers, we would go to hear them as well.

Opening the program were soprano Katrina Galka and mezzo-soprano Alyssa Martin in "Ah, perdona al primo affetto" an ardent love duet from Mozart's La clemenza di Tito. Ms. Galka's soaring soprano was perfect for Servilio and Ms. Martin's performance as Annio had plenty of breadth.

The scene from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte in which Guglielmo seduces Dorabella "Il core vi dono" was so convincingly performed that our mind filled in the set and the plot of the entire opera.  Mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya was an ambivalent but willing Dorabella, succumbing to the seductive blandishments of a very persuasive Joseph Lattanzi. Both have voices we would describe as creamy-dreamy.

The next few duets were in French, which is far more difficult to sing.  If the diction was not perfect, it was creditable and mostly understandable. We loved the harmonies produced by Ms. Kaganskaya and bass-baritone Zachary Owen in the scene from Massenet's Cendrillon in which Pandolfe tries to comfort his disappointed daughter--"Ma pauvre enfant cherie".

We have never been a fan of Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande but we absolutely adored the love scene "Mes longs cheveux descendent jusqu'au seuil de la tour". The eroticism was as thick as molasses until the angry Golaud appears on the scene. The versatile Ms. Martin was perfect for Melisande and Mr. Lattanzi's legato served him well as the besotted Pelleas. Mr. Owen proved a threatening Golaud. We wondered whether our newborn affection for this opera came from the ardency of the vocal performance or the beautiful pianism of Cody Martin who captured Debussy's shimmering colors. We'd have to say both!

Berlioz' gorgeous melodies and harmonies served to express the glories of la belle nature when Hero (Ms. Galka) and her attendant Ursula (Ms. Kaganskaya) join voices for "Nuit paisible et sereine". This duet from Beatrice et Benedict was balm to the ears and both singers followed the long leisurely line of the phrases most effectively.  It was swoon-worthy.

A return to Italian offered these fine artists an opportunity to dabble in comedy and bel canto. From Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore we heard the wise Adina (Ms. Galka) let the bloviating Dulcamara (Mr. Owen) know that she had enough charm and she didn't need his love potion. Their performances were winning and we got the impression that Mr. Owen is more comfortable in Italian and very effective in comedy. We can just picture him as Don Pasquale!

The final duet was the famous "Dunque io son...tu non m'inganni?" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. We always wait for that special moment when the spunky Rosina surprises Figaro with the note for "Lindoro" which she has already written. Ms. Martin seemed just right for Rosina and Mr. Lattanzi showed equivalent flexibility.

Although it was the perfect way to end a grand recital, we were left wanting more. An hour of duets is never enough but we'd rather have quality than quantity so there will be no complaining!

Mr. Martin's accompaniment was superb throughout.

(c) meche kroop

SIMPLY SIMAN

Binna Han and Siman Chung

We have entered the golden age of the countertenor. We have heard two excellent members of this fach sing the "Refugee's aria" from Jonathan Dove's Flight (one of the very few contemporary operas we enjoyed) and both Jakub Jozef Orlinski and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen were superb in the role. We profoundly regret missing Mr. Chung's performance of this role with Mannes Opera but, judging by last night's recital at the National Opera Center, we are sure he was superb.

The recital was part of Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series and presented Mr. Chung as the Opera Index 2015 Arthur E. Walters Memorial Award Winner.  Opera Index is a nonprofit volunteer organization whose mission it is to advocate for opera and support young artists. They have been holding competitions for over 30 years, the winners of which look like a "Who's Who" of the opera world.

Mr. Chung's recital flew by in a brief 60 minutes but gave the packed house a solid opportunity to assess his prodigious artistry. We enjoyed him the most when he played to his strengths and his strengths lay most securely in the repertory written for his fach. Well, actually, the roles we speak of were written for castrati and it is very fortunate that that barbaric practice is long gone! 

But the role of Farnace in Mozart's Mitridate, re di Ponto was written for alto castrato and Mr. Chung's  performance was just fine and marked by superb control of dynamics and a seamless production of sound that transitioned well to the low notes.

Even better was his performance of two Handel arias. The first, "Dove sei, amato bene" from Rodelinda is an aria of longing, and was written for the character Bertarido, originally sung by a soprano castrato. We loved the embellishments in the ritornello, the sensitive decrescendo and the ear-tickling trill.

Countertenors are often asked to sing angry arias (think "Furibondo spira il vento") and Mr. Chung's performance of "Crude furie degli orridi abissi" from Handel's Serse was also written for soprano castrato but is today most often performed by  mezzo-sopranos. We enjoyed the vocal pyrotechnics.

Similarly, music by Henry Purcell was finely sung. Purcell wrote music for John Dryden's play Oedipus and his "Music for a while" rivals Schubert's "An die Musik" as a paean to what we think of as the highest art form. Mr. Chung exhibited a lovely vibrato and interesting overtones.

Purcell's 1692 masque The Fairy Queen provided two wonderful songs perfect for Mr. Chung's many talents. Our personal favorite was "If music be the food of love". The elaborate embellishments were thrilling and we were happy to hear sufficient variety in the repetitions.  Happily, his English was perfectly enunciated and we were not obliged to look at the titles, although it is always nice to have them just in case.

In an entirely different vein, Mr. Chung offered three songs by Ernest Chausson, bringing us into an entirely different century. His French was flawless and, again we understood every word. We have never heard these songs sung by a countertenor and they sounded lovely. Our favorite was the very sad "Le temps des lilas" from Poeme de l'amour et de la mer. His tone was exquisite, the colors impressive, and the depth of feeling quite moving.

From Sept Melodies, Op.2 we heard "Le colibri" and "Les papillons".  His tone suited the delicacy of the language and music. Mr. Chung's superlative collaborative pianist was Binna Han and she captured the fluttering of wings in the piano part.

A pair of songs by Roger Quilter were well sung but the writing, in our opinion, lacks the poetry of Chausson's writing.

There was also a trio of songs by Brahms which did not thrill us, and we do love our Brahms. It is only our opinion but we think Mr. Chung sounds infinitely better in songs written with a certain voice type in mind. Additionally, his German was not nearly as accomplished as his French. For every crisp consonant there was one that was glossed over. His encore, Strauss' "Zueignung" was given plenty of passion and better enunciation but it just wasn't up to the excellence of the rest of the recital.

We first became acquainted with this fach in a student production at Manhattan School of Music starring Anthony Roth Costanzo in Lukas Foss' Griffelkin.  That must have been 8 or 9 years ago and we have loved the sound ever since. And now we have so many fine countertenors. This gives us the opportunity to appreciate music that has lain dormant for centuries; additionally it gives stimulus to contemporary composers (although we may not appreciate the latter as much). As Jane Marsh said in her master class a couple days ago "If you lay the tracks the train will come".

(c) meche kroop

EMERGING ARTISTS FROM GLIMMERGLASS

Michael Sherman, Raquel González, and Michael Brandenburg

As part of Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series, The Glimmerglass Festival Young Artists Program presented three of their young artists who are moving on to starring roles in this summer's festival.  Raquel González will portray Mimi and Michael Brandenburg will play her Rodolfo. We would have enjoyed a duet from Puccini's La Bohéme and sat in our seats when the program ended waiting for an encore that never happened.

Please don't think that we were left unsatisfied!  On the contrary, it was a most fulfilling recital and we enjoyed hearing two substantial voices. Regular readers will recall how excited we get when we have witnessed a young artist's growth within the conservatory environment, particularly when they rise to greater heights after graduation.

Such was the case with this radiant soprano. Her lovely instrument has broadened and deepened without losing a drop of lustre or brilliance. She chose her own material and chose wisely.  One can usually tell when a singer loves the song. The trio of songs by Joaquín Turino are rarely heard and they are marvelous.

"Olas gigantes" gave collaborative pianist Michael Sherman an opportunity to create a storm in the piano and Ms. González conveyed the poet's desperation. Perhaps we are prejudiced but it seems to us that Juilliard graduates are exceptionally well trained in the art of textual interpretation and drama. Their gestures are always apt and motivated by the text.

"Tu pupila es azul" is a gentle song and Mr. Sherman's piano created gentle waves that matched the delicate coloring of the singer. We loved the typically Spanish turns in the vocal line. In "Besa el aura" we were dazzled by her control of the melismatic passages.

She also showed her skill with Russian, having chosen two delightful songs by Rimsky-Korsakov. In "The Nymph" the text speaks of a mystical being who does NOT kill the admiring sailor.  What a relief!  Not at all like the German "Lorelei".  Perhaps our favorite song of the evening was "Dream on a Summer's Night", a maiden's sexual awakening tenderly and passionately sung with beautiful arpeggios in the piano.

Tenor Michael Brandenburg, like Ms. González, has won many honors and prizes and has an instrument of considerable size. He sang three songs by Rachmaninoff, all repertory standards, with a great deal of muscle. "Spring Waters" seemed particularly apt after the torrential rains New York recently experienced! Our favorite is always "Oh, never sing to me again" which fills us with the pain of longing.

But we enjoyed his singing more in a set of songs by Joseph Marx, a composer we always enjoy.  We wonder why more singers do not choose his works for their recitals. Mr. Brandenburg's German is quite good and we particularly enjoyed "Selige Nacht" which gave the piano some interesting and gorgeous runs.

Both singers exhibited fine English diction and confirmed our opinion that Broadway music is far better in a recital than academic songs in English that tax our preference for beauty. Ms. González was lovely in Jerome Kern's "The Song is You" from the 1932 Music is in the Air, while Mr. Brandenburg was compelling in "Beloved" from Sigmund Romberg's The Student Prince.

We also got to hear the two singers in duets--"Suzel, bon di" from Mascagni's lesser known opera L'amico Fritz, which we would dearly love to see produced in its entirety.

A final duet "And this is my beloved", from the 1953 musical Kismet, was adapted from music by Alexander Borodin by Robert Wright and George Forrest. It was glorious and a fine way to end the recital.

The two voices blended beautifully in harmony and we predict that their Bohème this summer in Cooperstown will be a most worthwhile one.

(c) meche kroop

ALREADY EMERGED

Rachel Sterrenberg and Jarrett Ott--Opera Philadelphia Emerging Artists

 

 

Once opera stars are "playing in the major leagues" we can no longer call them "emerging artists". What a pleasure it was to spend an hour listening to two artists already assuming major roles with Opera Philadelphia whose Emerging Artists Program is only in its second year and already a success.

Soprano Rachel Sterrenberg and baritone Jarrett Ott are both graduates of Curtis Institute. Mr. Ott is well known to us but Ms. Sterrenberg is new to us. We foresee a glorious future for both of them.

Since we love opera and we love duets, it comes as no surprise that our favorite part of the program was the father-daughter duet from Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites--"Je vois qu'il n'y a heureusement". Mr. Ott's rich baritone and paternal concern coupled with Ms. Sterrenberg's purely voiced religious convictions had us believing the scene even taken out of context.

Their closing duet "We'll Go Away Together" from Kurt Weill's Street Scene was a more joyful one and no less enthralling.

Happily, there was more Poulenc on the program.  Happily, because both artists showed a facility with French and also because we are coming to appreciate his music more and more these days. Mr. Ott sang "Fameux représentant de toute autorité" from Les Mamelles de Tirésias. His interpretation was considerably different from the one heard at Juilliard last week. It's always interesting to hear what different artists do with the same material.

Ms. Sterrenberg performed his La Courte Paille and performed it with grace, charm and humor. We loved the lullabye "Le sommeil", the waltzy "La reine de coeur" and the adorable "Le carafon".

The remainder of the program was in English and the very first thing we observed was that EVERY WORD WAS CLEAR! Both of these artists must have had superior training in English diction. Of the Ned Rorem songs, our favorite was the evocative "Early in the Morning" from Evidence of Things Not Seen. It was beautifully sung by Ms. Sterrenberg and reminded us of being very young in Paris.

The romantic "A Glimpse" was given a special thrill by Mr. Ott's perfect vibrato.  Collaborative pianist Grant Loehnig was most impressive in "The More Loving One".  "For Poulenc" is a setting of text by Frank O'Hara and came from the 1968 cycle Four Songs.  Ms. Sterrenberg conveyed all the loneliness and disappointment in a way that touched our own feelings.  And isn't that what a song recital is all about?

Also included was John Musto's Shadow of the Blues, the four songs of which Mr. Ott delivered in an admirably non-fussy way, letting the irony, sadness, and bitterness speak for themselves.

Should you be inclined to give Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain another shot, you will hear Ms. Sterrenberg as Sara and you might hear Mr. Ott as Inman since he is covering the role. Worth a trip to Philadelphia?  We think so!

The program was part of a series--Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series. It is worth joining this valuable institution if only for the tickets to this series!

(c) meche kroop

GYPSY MAGIC AT OPERA AMERICA

Kathleen Kelly and Antonina Chehovska

Soprano Antonina Chehovska first came to our attention at a pair of recitals presented last June by the International Vocal Arts Institute. (reviews archived). We are delighted to report that her prodigious talent is not just a "flash in the pan" and that there is evidence of artistic growth even in the past couple months.

Thanks to Opera Columbus and the Cooper-Bing vocal competition, of which Ms. Chehovska is a winner, we had the opportunity to hear her perform a challenging program this afternoon at The National Opera Center. The competition was begun by Irma M. Cooper in 1983 just 2 years after she founded Opera Columbus. Current funding has been greatly accelerated by the generosity of Arthur and Hetty Bing who were present at the recital and who seemed to be enjoying it just as much as we were.

"Enjoying" may be considered unduly faint praise. It would be more accurate to say that we were thrilled--perhaps even to the point of being in an altered state of consciousness.

At first, this gifted soprano transported us to the world of the Roma people with Antonin Dvořak's Gypsy Songs, op. 55. The melodies and harmonies leave nothing to be desired and neither did Ms. Chehovska's performance. Her instrument and her technique (both enviable) took a back seat to her interpretive artistry as she expressed the gypsy love of music, dancing, romance, nostalgia, and freedom. Dvořak gave each song a different mood and Ms. Chehovska gave each one a different coloring. Even the joyful songs are tinged with melancholy.

We have heard these songs in English (not so good) and in German (much better) but to hear them in the original Czech was a special treat. We do not speak Czech but it was unmistakeable how Dvořak married the rhythm of the phrases to the rhythm of the music. Ms. Chehovska's special talent lay in her total immersion in the story she was telling; she wrapped herself in each story much as she wrapped herself in a huge shawl. We found ourself smiling along or getting teary-eyed as the text suggested.

Six Romances, op.38 by the late Romantic Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff were given comparable attention to detail. The songs tell of longing, love, and loss--and bring in references to elements of nature. Each one was a deeply felt miniature. As an audience member we felt invited by the artist to share her deepest feelings.

Tatiana's letter scene from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin followed. We had just last night watched Renée Fleming's performance on a 2007 DVD and felt that Ms. Chehovska's interpretation was more believable; one was able to witness the impetuous teenager with all the features entering into a first infatuation--so far out of her comfort zone. We enjoyed Ms. Chehovska's performance with IVAI enormously but feel she has dug even deeper into the character this time around.

The same care was lavished on three songs by Tom Cipullo from Late Summer, to a somewhat lesser effect, since the text was unmusical.  It would be difficult to make music from phrases like "What makes the engine go?" but the artist did her best.

We were far more enchanted by the final set on the program--songs by a 20th c. Ukrainian composer, Severyn Saprun,  who wisely chose poetry from the 18th and 19th c. which seemed to inspire lavish melodies and harmonies that we would definitely wish to hear again. We never knew how musical a language Ukrainian is!

Kathleen Kelly's sensitive accompanying is not to be overlooked. We particularly enjoyed the pianism in Rachmaninoff's "Daisies" and in Saprun's "I love, I love". Ms. Kelly can be forceful when the song is robust but delicate when the song is melancholy.

The recital was the first in this season's  Emerging Artist Recital Series held by Opera America at the National Opera Center. If you are not already a member of Opera America, we would urge you to join. Membership cost is nominal and the benefits are huge for singers and accompanists, and those who love them. 

(c) meche kroop

UNDER MS. HORNE'S WING

Michelle Bradley and Michael Gaertner

As part of Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital Series, Marilyn Horne Song Competition Winners of 2014 presented a recital at the National Opera Center. Ms. Horne and the Music Academy of the West foster young artists with high potential and soprano Michelle Bradley and collaborative pianist Michael Gaertner certainly demonstrated high potential last night. This was the final stop on a tour that these two artists were awarded along with cash prizes.

Ms. Bradley's voice somehow made us think of a sunflower--a sturdy stem with a huge bloom on the top. She is one of those singers employing an economy of gesture with much of her expressiveness showing mainly in her face. The most remarkable thing about her recital was her perfect English diction. We grow weary of complaining about otherwise fine singers whose English leaves us wondering what in the world they were singing about.  Not so here!

Toward the end of the recital, this talented duo performed a cycle previously unknown to us--Five Songs of Laurence Hope.  This is a pseudonym for Adela Florence Nicolson whose text was set by H.T. Burleigh. The poetry was exotic and interesting and Mr. Burleigh's music quite lovely. The voice and piano were equally fine and we particularly noted the exoticism in the piano. Mr. Gaertner is a fine collaborative artist--the kind that breathes with the singer, attentive and supportive. His presence is however suitably authoritative.  He commands the piano.

The sincerity of the spirituals which followed--"Give Me Jesus" and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"-- was unmistakable and clearly the audience was touched by Ms. Bradley's communicative skills. Even more astonishing was her comfort while sitting at the piano accompanying herself in a work she wrote entitled "Trust".

Ms.Bradley has an ample voice, perhaps heading into the dramatic soprano fach. How well she negotiated the highs and lows of "Vissi d'Arte" from Puccini's Tosca.  And how we wished for some dynamic variety! 

This was true to a lesser extent in the difficult concert aria with which she began the program--Beethoven's "Ah! Perfido", which we had just heard Sunday. The woman singing the aria has been dumped by her lover and she is alternatively furious, imploring and pitiable. We heard a nice blend of chest and head voice on the low notes and an impressive flight of scales at the end. But we longed for more variety of color and dynamics.  We are sure this will develop in time.

A set of French songs followed and we didn't find them to be the best choice for the singer at this stage of her development. For one thing, the diction was wanting and so was the phrasing and Gallic style. Clearly the songs were learned phonetically.  In Fauré's "Notre amour", she lightened up somewhat to good advantage but variety of color in the description of love by Armand Silvestre begged for some distinction between "chose légère", "chose charmante", "chose sacrée", "chose infinie", and "chose éternelle".  A singer could have a field day coloring each verse!

Mr. Gaertner's piano was particularly fine in the arpeggios of Bachelet's "Chère nuit".

We found similar flaws of diction and phrasing in a set of Strauss songs. As many American singers do, Ms. Bradley cannot pronounce the "ch" sound.  We didn't hear it at all or we heard something like "ish". This could easily be corrected.

We did like the way she became more gentle in "Freundliche Vision" allowing some more expressiveness to come into the voice and we liked the change of color in "Cäcilie" when the middle verse of Heinrich Hart's text describes the dread of lonely nights. So what we are looking for is not out of her reach.

Hers is a large instrument and perhaps it will take considerable training to bring it under dynamic control and to produce more colors. We think it will be worth the work or we would not have coaxed ourselves into identifying the shortcomings.

(c) meche kroop