POLENZANI WITH POLISH

Matthew Polenzani (photo credit -Dario Acosta)

Perhaps there is no tenor in his generation who can fill the Metropolitan Opera with so much beautiful sound.  Nonetheless it is a special thrill to experience his artistry in a smaller house.  It is over a year since we heard his recital at the Morgan Library as part of the George London Foundation recital series--a return which celebrated his 1998 award.  And this week we had the pleasure of hearing him once again, this time at Alice Tully Hall as part of the Lincoln Center Great Performers series  "The Art of the Song".

And Art it is with a capital A!  Mr. Polenzani's generous Italianate tone is replete with resonance and his diction, thankfully, makes every word count--even in French which seems to be the downfall of most American singers.  Still, the house lights were kept at a level that permitted those who do not understand foreign languages to read the translations.

The sound is huge and operatic when passionate intensity is called for-- but our preference was for the tender passages in which he mined great depth of feeling at even the most pianissimo level of dynamics.

Accompanied by the fine pianist Julius Drake, he opened the program with Beethoven's youthful masterpiece "Adelaide", in which he achieved variety in the many repeated phrases.

His set of five songs by Liszt included "Die stille Wasserrose" which we had hoped to hear him sing again, having enjoyed it so much at the George London recital.  It's just one of those memorable moments that linger and bear revisiting. To hear what he did with the word "vergehn" was to be thrilled to the very toes.  As a matter of fact, there were several instances where a single word achieved great importance, often at the climax or end of the song.  In "Wie singt die Lerche schön" the vibrato on "sonnenschein" was incredibly lovely.  In "Der Glückliche", something special was going on in "schlummernden" and "geruht".  We wondered whether anyone else felt that special feeling.

We loved the rippling arpeggios in Mr. Drake's piano in "Im Rhein, im schönen Strome".

After the Liszt songs in German, the duo moved on to four Liszt songs in French, all settings of texts by Victor Hugo.  What a gorgeous Gallic line we heard in "S'il est un charmant gazon".  In "Enfant, si j'étais roi", the sweetly imploring "Pour un regard de vous!" and "Pour un baiser de toi!" moved us deeply.  But it was "Oh! quand je dors" that held the audience spellbound, hushed and breathless until Mr. Drake ever so slowly lifted his hands from the keys.  Magic!

On a lighter note, Erik Satie's Trois mélodies injected notes of humor into the program.  The wit of "La statue de bronze" was reinforced by Mr. Drake's bouncy accompaniment and Mr. Polenzani's swallowing of the insects at the conclusion. Wisely, Mr. Polenzani explained the wordplay of "Daphénéo".  As a matter of fact, he frequently introduced his songs with small bits of information that served to engage the audience on more than one level.  

His Cinq mélodies populaires grecques were well remembered by us from his George London recital and we delighted in hearing them again.  His performance of "Quel galant!" was well served by his portrayal of a cocky fellow addressing his lady love. So much was said with vocal color and physical posture in a short minute!

We do not consider ourself fans of Samuel Barber but Mr. Polenzani sang the Hermit Songs very well and we enjoyed the very brief sardonic "Promiscuity" and the charming "The Monk and his Cat".

Of course the audience would not let Mr. Polenzani off the stage without an encore. It was here in "La Barcheta" from Reynaldo Hahn's Venezia that we got to hear the artist in his gentle mode, singing in Venetian dialect, which he translated beforehand for a grateful audience. We would love to hear the entire cycle and hope that Mr. P. will offer that at his next recital.  His diminuendos are like no others!

Yet another encore was offered, Frank Bridge's "Love Went a-Riding", a setting of a poem by Mary Coleridge, composed in 1917.  A standing ovation paid tribute to this amazing artist and his fine collaborative pianist. Our wish for the future would be to hear the entire Venetian cycle by Hahn.  Always leave them wanting more!

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LA CHANTEUSE ET LE CHANSON

Alice Coote

Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote and collaborative pianist Graham Johnson gave a highly pleasurable recital last night in Zankel Hall.  We have enjoyed Ms. Coote at The Metropolitan Opera in Two Boys and in Der Rosenkavlier, but last night we felt that we got to know her prodigious talent in a new way.  For one thing, she has a consummately expressive warmth in her voice; she seems to caress each word and imbue it with color.  For another thing, her French diction rivals that of a native French speaker.

Instead of performing a set of songs by each composer, she grouped together songs with similar moods.  She appeared onstage in a black pants outfit with a gossamer black and white coat on top and sang songs of nostalgic love.  When singing of rapturous love, a vibrant fuschia coat replaced it; when singing of mournful love she exchanged it for a black coat.  It was not just a fashion exercise; it reflected the way she "wore" each song and made it her own.  This variety ensured that an evening of chanson and mélodie would never be perceived as boring or effete. 

Mr. Johnson is a quiet pianist and perfectly captured the delicacy of the music without compromising the harmonic richness.  He never overwhelmed the voice and never went in for showiness.  We loved his piano work in Saint-Saëns "Soirée en mer" as we heard the rowing and the swelling of the waves.

Hector Berlioz and Charles Gounod wrote some of the earlier pieces on the program.  Gounod's "Sérénade" in waltz time was one of our favorites of the evening with Ms. Coote's  beautifully executed runs and the lovely text by Victor Hugo.  Berlioz' "Spectre de la Rose", a setting of text by Théophile Gautier, delighted us with its charming story and wide vocal leaps.

Later songs by Gabriel Fauré, Ernest Chausson, Camille Saint-Saëns, Emmanuel Chabrier, Alfred Bachelet, Claude Debussy, Reynaldo Han, Erik Satie and Charles Koechlin made up most of the remaining program.  Songs that stood out for us were Hahn's delicate "L'heure exquise" with text by Paul Verlaine, his languid "Fumée" (text by Jean Moréas) and his morose "La chère blessure" (text by Augustine-Malvina Blanchecotte.  Chausson's "Le Temps des lilas" with the sadly nostalgic text by Maurice Bouchor simply broke our heart. And Satie's "Je te veux" with text by Henry Pacory absolutely charmed us with its sumptuous melody.

Songs by Francis Poulenc were the most modern of the evening.  True Gallic nostalgia was evinced by the program opener "Les chemins de l'amour" with text by Jean Anouilh.  Poulenc's music also closed the program with texts by Guillaume Apollinaire--the lively "Voyage à Paris" and the langorous "Hôtel" being our favorites.

Zankel Hall is a mid-sized venue and lends itself to voice and piano recitals far more than Stern Auditorium.  The only thing that interrupted the feeling of intimacy was Ms. Coote's performance "on the book".  We kept hoping she would ditch the music stand but she did not.  We were somewhat surprised that titles were not projected.  The lights were quite dim and we noticed many in the audience squinting at the printed translations.  We guess that the majority are not French speakers and wanted to understand the text. And who could fault them for that!

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HYONA KIM'S JOY IN SINGING

HyoNa Kim (photo by Devon Cass) and Bretton Brown (photo by A. Moeller)

Our idea of a great recital isn't that different from our idea of a great meal.  Each "course" has different flavors, colors and textures; there are dishes one has never tasted before; one leaves feeling nourished and replete and yet...somehow wanting more.  Such was the case last night at the Joy in Singing presentation of their 2013 Award Winner mezzo-soprano Hyona Kim with her collaborative pianist Bretton Brown who was with her in total support every step of the way.  What a team!

Ms. Kim is so secure in her terrific technique and so poised onstage that she can afford to immerse herself in the texts and make each audience member feel as if she is singing just to them.  Indeed, she weaves a spell that draws people in.  We witnessed an amazing control of dynamics.  When she lets go the very molecules of air dance to her vibrato; when she spins a thread of soft sound, we lean in to meet her.  The colors in her voice are multiple and augmented by gesture and facial expression.  There are stories to be told and she tells them.

The program opened with Sieben Lieder von Elisabeth Kulmann by Robert Schumann who set the texts of this unfortunate poet who lived a sad life and died at 17.  She lives on in this gorgeous music brought to life by Ms. Kim in German so crisp that we never had to look at the translations.  We particularly enjoyed Mr. Brown's evocative pianism in "Die letzen Blumen starben".  The deeply sorrowful mood was lifted by the humor of Erik Satie's chansons which followed.  Ms. Kim is anything but pompous and had a great time illustrating the bronze statue of the frog who provides nighttime lodging for sleepy insects.  The program notes gave a fine explanation of the French wordplay in "Daphénéo" which we wished we had figured out on our own!  "Je te veux" was incredibly romantic.

Three lovely settings of texts by Pushkin followed and we were delighted to be hearing the seldom heard music of Nikolai Medtner which gave Mr. Brown the opportunity to indulge what must be a Russian soul.  Ms. Kim conveyed two different types of lost love--one that had passed by and one towards a lover that had passed away.  Our eyes were not the only ones that filled with tears at this passionate music.

In this carefully wrought recital, nothing was commonplace.  After the intermission we heard a set of light-hearted songs by a multiplicity of composers dealing with animals--as in Noah's ark.  Ned Rorem composed two songs about the same animal--"Snake" and "Serpent".  We preferred the latter for its clever rhymes.  ("All this is futile, I do not like to bang or tootle").  We do enjoy English most when there are clever rhymes!  David Sisco's "Judged by the Company One Keeps" had the audience chortling with glee.

The final set of the evening comprised songs about biblical King David and his prayers.  We love our Dvořák and his setting of "Sing to the lord a new song" was music to our ears as well.  Ravel's "Kaddish" was movingly sung in Hebrew.  As encore Ms. Kim and Mr. Brown performed a setting of "The Lord's Prayer" by UnYoung La, sung in Korean.  That makes six languages heard in one recital, all beautifully handled--an international meal for the musical epicure.

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