TRIUMPHANT LOVE

Anna Smigelskaya and Carolina López Moreno

Two remarkable artists performed a recital of art songs, the likes of which we have not heard in a long while. Could a graduation recital at Manhattan School of Music surpass so many given at Carnegie Hall by famous singers? Yes, it could and it did!

Although some credit for the magnitude of our pleasure could be given to the astute choice of material, we have a sense that these two lovely ladies working together in sublime harmony could have pleased us with any program they chose.

We first were exposed to the gifts of soprano Carolina López Moreno in 2018 in a Talents of the World competition when we enjoyed her Juliette and her Violetta--two very different heroines, both successfully realized. Her Manhattan School of Music performance as the lead in Nino Rota's rarely heard one-act opera I Due Timidi was another feather in her artistic cap. In 2019 we had yet another chance to enjoy her artistry at a Classic Lyric Arts salon at which she performed Leïla in a duet.

However, art song is completely different from opera and it's a rare artist who can do justice to both forms of vocal artistry. Both Ms. Moreno and her collaborative pianist Anna Smigelskaya have plenty of stage presence and the audience was engaged from the beginning.

The program opened with three charming songs from Rossini's Soirées musicales. In the first song "La promessa" we could immediately identify a lovely legato that persevered throughout the smooth upward leaps, some graceful portamenti, a variety of dynamics, some clear staccato passages, and a sincerity of emotion. Ms. Smigelskaya underscored the vocal line with some lilting arpeggi.

"L'invito" manifested a seductive invitation with some well-executed turns, all laid over a gorgeous carpet of sound in the piano. In "Pastorella delle alpi", the singer created a welcoming character, reveling in some melismatic arpeggi. We enjoyed the brief shift to a minor key. To say we were enchanted would be an understatement.

We would have been content to enjoy more of the same for the remainder of the evening but it was time to move on to some lieder from Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch, somewhat in keeping with the first set if not linguistically at least culturally. We are delighted to report that Ms. Moreno's German is perfect, but one would expect that since she grew up in Germany.

The flirtatious "Du denkst mit einem Fädchen mich zu fangen" has a cute twist at the end as the woman turns the tables on a man. Not all of von Heyse's poetry portrays an elusive woman. The singer in "O wär dein Haus durchsichtig" is completely devoted to her beloved. The poor girl in "Mein Liebster singt am Haus im Mondenscheine" is being serenaded by her sweetheart but cannot respond because of a watchful mother. Like any histrionic teenager she is "crying tears of blood"! Ms. Smigelskaya's piano was filled with longing in a minor key.

Three songs in English followed and we were astonished by the perfect enunciation that made every word clear, even at the upper end of the register. Samuel Barber's setting of James Agee's "Sure on this shining night" was followed by Charles T. Griffes' setting of Sydney Lanier's "Evening Song", filled with exaltation. Our favorite of this set was Frank Bridge's "Love went a-riding", a setting of Mary Elisabeth Coleridge's charming text, filled with wonder.

Debussy's setting of Paul Bourget's Two Romances evinced long lyrical lines in the Gallic tradition of mélodie; the singing was delicate in "L'âme évaporée" and "Les cloches", as was Ms. Smigelskaya's delicate accompaniment.

Spanish was next on the program, to our delight. Who could not succumb to the eroticism of "Del cabello mas sutil" from Fernando Obradors' Canciones clásicas españolas! In the central section, Ms. Moreno began humming and opened up her voice to a captivating vocalise, whilst Ms. Smigelskaya produced ripples of arpeggi in the piano.

Following the serious passion of that song was the charmingly silly folk song "Chiquitita la novia" which opened and closed with a flamenco inflected vocalise. There was a powerful high note to bring the song to an end.

The "dessert" of this tasty meal was in Russian and we heard three of our favorite songs by Rachmaninoff from his Twelve Romances. "Zdes' khorosho" or "How fair this spot" transported us to a special place and was marked by expressive dynamics. "Jeshchjo v poljakh belejet sneg" or "Spring Waters" is filled with the ecstacy of the arrival of Spring after a long winter.

Still, our favorite was and always will be the melancholic "Ne poy, krasavica" or "Do not sing to me" which speaks of longing for what is gone and never fails to touch our heart. All of these emotions were limned by our two artists in tandem.

The audience demanded an encore and we got the impression that none was prepared because the duo performed a welcome repeat of "Love went a-riding".

We are noted for being nit-picky but this was one recital of which we would not have changed a single note. From technique to story-telling, everything achieve a rare perfection. We hope that the two artists will stay together because their rapport was matchless. We foresee a great future for them.

We are not alone in our admiration. There have been countless awards, scholarships, and much recognition as well as plenty of engagements. What excites us most in her future is a debut as Violetta. If anyone can portray the three phases of our favorite heroine it is she. It is said that Violetta requires three different singers but one versatile soprano like Ms. Moreno will likely fulfill all the requirements.

© meche kroop

UNCOMPROMISING ARTISTRY

Julia Bullock and John Arida onstage at Weill Recital Hall

There is an air of devoutness about soprano Julia Bullock!  There is such devotion to her art and to whatever she chooses to put on her program that she inspires devotion in her audience. Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall was not nearly large enough to hold the legions of her fans; but her artistry is so intimate that the hall is a perfect fit! Perhaps she should have been given a second night to accommodate everyone that clamored to hear her. We feel a sense of privilege to have been there.

We have been writing about Ms. Bullock since we began this blog. However, she first came to our attention when Lachlan Glen presented his year-long Schubertiade, employing the services of his fellow students at Juilliard. Sadly, the website for which we wrote is no longer extant and we cannot access those reviews.

But for the past 6 years, Ms. Bullock has had our admiration in a number of operatic roles (Cendrillon and Vixen Sharp-Ears are best remembered), at New York Festival of Song, in solo recitals, in Juilliard liederabende, at a Juilliard Vocal Arts Honor Recital, at a Young Concert Artists recital, and a Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert. Did we miss anything? Oh yes, a master class with Eric Owens.

Let us take a closer look at the reasons for our consistent admiration. Ms. Bullock is blessed with a gorgeous instrument which has darkened and expanded with time. We heard some impressive tone at the lower end of the register in the last set of songs on the program.

But there is so much more to her artistry. She does occasionally repeat a song from one recital to the next but mostly she tackles new material. She translates the songs herself and there is never any doubt that she is immersed in the text.  We have no doubt that she is visualizing what is in the text and we see it through her eyes.

Her programming is highly personal and a bit idiosyncratic. We go where she leads and take pleasure in the novelty. She began the program with four lovely Schubert songs which reminded us of our first exposure to her artistry in a church on the Upper East Side, at the Schubertiade we mentioned above.

Ms. Bullock clearly expresses her feminism and anti-racism. The opening song "Suleika I" was written not by Goethe, as she pointed out, but by his lover Marianne von Willemer. Accompanied by the superb collaborative pianist John Arida, we could feel the breeze created by rippling piano figures. The last verse was repeated twice, deeply felt, and differentially colored each time.

Friedrich Rückert's charming text for "Lachen und Weinen" provided opportunities for major-minor shifts. The confused adolescent mood was sustained through the piano postlude. Goethe's text for "Wandrers Nachtlied II" held us in a peaceful place.

The strophic "Seligkeit" was written by Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty, a man of the cloth who abdicated for a life of poetry. In this song we hear a tribute to earthly bliss.

Dear readers, were you waiting for me to complain about Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs?  You will be surprised to learn that we actually enjoyed them. Props to any singer who can show us what there is to appreciate about a  previously disparaged work of art. It's something like sitting down with a person you thought little of and learning that they have a lot to offer!

So what helped us turn that particular corner?  We suppose it was that Ms. Bullock's aforementioned devoutness gave us insight into people who choose a life of devoutness and monasticism. Her intense involvement with the songs was matched with superlative English diction such that we understood every word. In "Saint Ita's Vision" we saw in our mind's eye the woman clasping the baby Jesus to her breast!

The good cheer of "The Heavenly Banquet" gave way to the grief of "The Crucifixion".  But our favorite was and always will be, "The Monk and His Cat" which struck us as a great recipe for a good relationship--alone together, each with his own work, neither hindering the other, without tedium or envy.

Focusing on feminism, Ms. Bullock chose selections from a late work by Gabriel Fauré--La chanson d'Ève. She spent some time explaining the work and its theme of unfolding as the biblical Eve tries to find her place in the world.

There was quietude and simplicity in the piano at first but we heard some lovely rippling figures in "Veilles-tu, ma senteur de soleil".

The last set comprised bluesy and jazzy numbers highlighting the Afro-American experience, and especially that of women. Ms. Bullock took pains to tell us when the female member of the composing team had been neglected, like Pat Castleton, the wife of the credited composer Spencer Williams, for the song "Driftin' Tide". It was here that we began to appreciate the artist's strength at the lower end of the register.

Maceo Pinkard's "You Can't Tell the Difference After Dark" was written for Alberta Hunter. Sometimes humor can be a good method of confronting prejudice.  We also heard "Downhearted Blues" made famous by Bessie Smith, and "Our Love is Different" by Billie Holliday.

Two Nina Simone songs made an appearance. "Revolution", in an arrangement by Ms. Bullock herself, was sung a capella and ended in a stunning vocalise. Using a prepared piano, Mr. Arida accompanied Ms. Bullock in the very upsetting "Four Women", utilizing a repetitive and insistent motif.

As encores, we heard Connie Converse's "One by One" and finally, to make sure the audience left in a cheerful mood, Josephine Baker's "La Conga Blioti" which was so well done that we speculated on Ms. Bullock doing a one-woman show about Ms. Baker.

What an incredible evening!

(c) meche kroop

GANSON SALMON MASTER'S RECITAL

Brianna Han and Ganson Salmon

Getting a Masters in Music degree from The New School Mannes is a big deal, big enough to draw a highly enthusiastic crowd of fellow students and big enough to bring to New York Mr. Salmon's beautiful Nana--all the way from Indiana! Of course, master teacher Arthur Levy was also in attendance, with everyone bursting with pride. We personally take great pleasure in witnessing the culmination of years of vocal study and the threshold of a professional career.

Mr. Salmon chose an ambitious program, one that showed off his storytelling skills. We long ago lost track of the number of times we have heard Robert Schumann's intense song cycle Dichterliebe, but we always hope to find something new in the songs, rich as they are.

The cycle traces the arc of a love affair gone sour and requires the singer to evoke a wide spectrum of moods and emotions. It is such a general human phenomenon that it is easy to relate to, given a singer who is not afraid of his emotions.  Just such a singer is Mr. Salmon. Accompanied by the superb collaborative pianist Brianna Han, every emotion was explored. Mr. Salmon did not appear to be acting but rather seemed to inhabit the songs from within.

The opening lied "Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" was sung with tender expressivity, achieved by dynamic variety.  In "Aus meinen Tränen spriessen" Mr. Salmon appeared to enjoy the taste of the text, poetry by Heinrich Heine. We loved the coloration on the word "nachtigall". The enthusiastic "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" was filled with energy and excitement, and the singer seemed particularly involved in "Wenn ich in deine Augen seh".

Ms. Han had her chance to shine in the rippling accompaniment Schumann wrote for "Ich will meine Seele tauchen" and the ponderous chords of "Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome".  We always love "Ich grolle nicht" for its bitter irony, well captured by the two artists, the mood recaptured in "Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen" with it's energetic hurdy-gurdy music in the piano.

"Allnächtlich im Traume" was sung with astute recreation of the wonderment of the dream state in which the dreamer fulfills his wishes. In the end he wants to bury his sorrow and his lost love in a coffin and give them a burial at sea.  What a heartbreaker!

The second most impressive part of the recital was the final entry in which Mr. Salmon performed "The Stage", a poem he wrote in college about the particular thrills and chills of expression on the stage, set to music by his lady love Tatev Yeghiazaryan who commanded the piano. We do not know if this was a premiere of the work but we were touched by the sincerity.

According to the composer, she was inspired by Mr. Salmon's words to create a melody and then the harmonies. To our ears, the melodies evoked Armenian folk music in their flexible alternation of modes; the harmonies were original and quite lovely.

Also on the program was the cycle Tre Sonnetti di Petrarca performed with Ms. Han at the piano. She has very soft hands and produced some gorgeous arpeggi in "Pace non trovo" and a marvelous piano interlude in "I vidi in terra".  Mr. Salmon's voice has the loveliest overtones in the middle of the register.

We haven't much to say about Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, except that 19th c. Germany and Italy felt much more relevant than James Agee's text about 20th c. Kentucky! The text is descriptive and seemed not to inspire a very interesting vocal line. Mr. Salmon brought out the loathed music stand which he seemed not to need!

There are some interesting operatic roles in Mr. Salmon's future and one just passed that we hated to miss--The Fall of the House of Usher. We are sure there will be much to look forward to from this fine young artist.

(c) meche kroop

TRIPLE THREAT

Scott Rednour and Xiaoming Tian at Elabash Recital Hall

It's been over two years since we reviewed Xiaoming Tian's Masters Degree Recital at Manhattan School of Music when we made some puns about the English meaning of his name.  We wound up inventing our own name for him...Triply Talented Tian. The reason was that he ended the recital singing a highly heartfelt song whilst accompanying himself on the piano. It was a colleague of his who told us that Mr. Tian composed the song himself!

Now that Mr. Tian is enrolled in the Ph.D./D.M.A. Program at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, perhaps he is no longer so gripped with modesty because he announced himself as the composer when he performed the same incredible feat last night as an encore to his excellent recital. Although the words were not printed in the program,  the artist supplied us with the text, 

It is a lovely text, filled with nostalgia and references to elements of nature. The sounds of sung Mandarin rose and fell with the music in perfect partnership and delighted the ear. Mandarin is a musical language to start with and lovely to listen to.The song "Don't Cast Away" began with delicacy but became vigorous at the climax. His piano writing is melodic and included some wonderful arpeggi.

One of the things we most admire about Mr. Tian (aside from his compositional and pianistic skills) is his musicality. The phrasing is always apt and his control of dynamics excellent. Added to this is a facility with languages.

It seems as if singers, for whom English is a second language, have better English diction than native English speakers. Since the Masters recital, Mr. Tian's English diction has improved to the point that every word of the Barber songs was clearly enunciated. English will never be our favorite language for singing but it was a pleasure to hear it so well sung.

His French is also excellent and we were very glad to hear his Ravel once more. We just wrote about Don Quichotte a Dulcinee a few days ago but last night's performance took us back to the earlier graduation recital and gave us an opportunity to measure his artistic growth. We would call this cycle his "signature".

He invested "Chanson romanesque" with sweetness, "Chanson epique" with devotional piety, and "Chanson a boire" (our favorite) with flights of extravagant melismatic singing.

He has equal skills with German, evincing a fine vibrato in the vowels with no cheating of the consonants. We were happy to hear our favorites--"Die Nacht", "Allerseelen", and "Zueignung" from Op. 10 of 1885 composed when Strauss was only 20 years old! (What's YOUR 20-year-old doing with his time?) From the 1894 Op. 27 we enjoyed "Morgen!" with it's lovely piano interlude and "Heimliche Aufforderung". These are Strauss' most romantic and passionate songs, of which we never tire.

Fortunately, Mr. Tian chose some of Rachmaninov's best songs, of which we prefer "Do Not Sing To Me My Beauty" because of its melancholy text and haunting vocal line.  "In the Silence of the Secret Night" is another winner and "Christ is Risen" recalled the despairing condition of the world today. Mr. Tian has a flair for Russian, as we recall when we heard him sing Eugene Onegin,

Rounding out the program were two lovely songs in Mandarin by Qing Zhu about the Yangtze River, one a personal revelation of longing and the other about an historical event. We suspect that the extensive program notes were a product of Mr. Tian's scholarship.

Mr. Tian studies with Robert White who was in the audience and whose pleasure seemed on par with our own.  Accompanist for the recital was Scott Rednour.

(c) meche kroop

SANTA FE OPERA DOES VANESSA

VANESSA by Samuel Barber at the Santa Fe Opera (photo by Ken Howard)

Samuel Barber's opera premiered at The Metropolitan Opera in 1958 after a long and difficult gestation.  Ultimately, Barber's partner Gian-Carlo Menotti completed the libretto, inspired by the atmosphere of Isak Dinesen's Seven Gothic Tales. Last night the Santa Fe Opera presented this opera with an all-star cast that did justice to Barber's score.  We rarely experience such perfect casting with nary a weak link.

As the eponymous Vanessa, Canadian soprano Erin Wall, whom we have greatly enjoyed as Strauss heroines right here at the Santa Fe Opera, performed the role with total commitment, employing her lustrous soprano to convey a complex character, a woman of single-minded hopefulness but blind to reality. Her voice soared with passion.

No less wonderful in the role of her niece Erika was French mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez, who not only created a believable character but mastered the difficult task of making the English language comprehensible. This role is her Santa Fe Opera debut and we were thrilled to see her onstage here after enjoying her many performances in New York City. Her delivery of the most famous aria of the opera "Must the Winter Come So Soon" was perfection.

As the mysterious Anatol, Zach Borichevsky utilized his terrific tenor and dramatic skills to create another fascinating character--a glib fellow who has no use for depth of character--an opportunistic rascal courting aunt and niece simultaneously.

As the Doctor, bass-baritone James Morris commanded the stage as he usually does with his marvelous instrument and presence.  With all those complex characters, the story needed one who was straight-forward. A heavy story like this one also needs some moments of lightness, and a score light on memorable melody needed those precious moments when the Doctor attempts to teach Anatol to dance to a beautiful folk tune "Under the Willow Tree". His scene during the New Year's Ball in which he inebriatedly  contrasts his experience with women as patients and women as dancing partners was memorable. His elegiac aria about time and memory was riveting. It tickles us to learn that Mr. Morris was an apprentice here in 1969!

Mezzo-soprano Helene Schneiderman had little singing to do but her onstage concentration as the silent Baroness was compelling. As a very funny Major-Domo apprentice tenor Andrew Bogard demonstrated a winning manner as he coveted the furs of the wealthy guests. Apprentice bass-baritone Andrew Simpson made a fine footman.

For those who do not know the story, we see it as a character study--one of three generations of women insulated from the outside world and cosseted by servants. They live isolated and locked into Vanessa's illusory hope that the man she loved twenty years earlier would return at any time. In what amounts to a folie a deux, her niece Erika plays along, ordering special dishes for dinner and laying a place for him. Clearly, she worships her aunt and supports her.

The elderly Baroness has stopped speaking to her daughter and actually doesn't even speak with the Doctor, only with her niece. Erika confides in her grandmother but has a guilty secret that she cannot share with Vanessa.  This guilty secret is that she had intimate relations with Anatol the night he arrived at their country home after Vanessa had fled from him.  You see, this is not the Anatol that abandoned Vanessa 20 years earlier!  It is that man's son who has heard a great deal about Vanessa from his recently deceased father. He has come to take his father's place. It is likely that he is a gold digger.

Erika's character is just as uncompromising as her grandmother's. Anatol is interested in marrying her, perhaps out of guilt but also for financial reasons.  But Erika, who has fallen wildly in love with him, knows that he doesn't love her sufficiently and rejects him. She does this in spite of her grandmother's urging her to marry him and preserve her honor.

Meanwhile the scoundrel is also courting Vanessa who, lost in her own joy, fails to notice what is happening with her niece. When, after Erika's failed suicide attempt (and miscarriage), she confronts Anatol asking him to reveal all, he gives her the reassurance she has hoped for.  And so does Erika. They all collude to support Vanessa's illusion and Vanessa departs for Paris with Anatol, whom she has wed.  Erika is left behind to care for the aging Baroness and to inherit the lavish manse. 

Her isolation is one of disappointment and despair, whereas Vanessa's was one of hope.  But both women covered the mirrors as a denial of the passage of time.

The story has been set at the turn of the 20th c. in a Scandinavian country manse. Director James Robinson has updated the tale to about 1940 to no major disadvantage (or major benefit for that matter). He told the story well in a manner that held our interest throughout.  When we think of opera we think first of the Italians of the 19th c. and then of German and French composers. Contemporary operas in English generally strike us as "plays with music". So let it be noted that this worked extremely well as theater!

But what about Barber's music? He certainly knew how to write melodic vocal lines but eschewed them here with the exception of Erika's aria and the Doctor's. The final quintet however was magnificent. Barber used the orchestra to reflect the various moods of the piece and we have no complaint on that count. Leonard Slatkin's conducting captured the many moods.

Allen Moyer's scenic design was perfect.  The white and grey set reflected the coldness of the clime and the chill atmosphere of the manse.  As part of the design, a huge cracked mirror was revealed when the drapes were opened. A mirror reflects not quite perfectly but a cracked mirror reflects the distorted understanding of the characters.

James Schuette's costumes were appropriate to the period.  Although we would have preferred seeing the fashions of the original time period we were satisfied that the costumes established congruency with the intended updating.

Including this work in their season was a courageous move by The Santa Fe Opera and a wise one. It was an evening in which every element worked together to provide artistry and entertainment both. We have rarely enjoyed a 20th c. opera as much.

(c) meche kroop

FROM MIGNON TO MIGNON

Christiane Karg and Malcolm Martineau

Superb German soprano Christiane Karg made her New York recital debut last night at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall; she took the stage with perfect poise and carried the enthusiastic audience on a journey through Europe starting and ending with two settings of the story of the mysterious Mignon, a character in Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre.

This tale has inspired numerous composers.  Our journey began with "Kennst du das Land", the familiar version by Hugo Wolf, and ended with the somewhat less familiar "Romance de Mignon" by Henri Duparc.

And what a journey that was!  Ms. Karg is a wonderful guide and storyteller. Although there is nothing unusual about her instrument, it is a pleasing one; what astonished us is the way she employs it to squeeze every drop of meaning from each word and phrase. She seems to be tasting every word!

Such intense involvement with the text is exactly what makes a fine lieder recital. It seems to invite the audience to share the singer's experience. And we felt that involvement from the very first phrase. The trick is to make the performance seem, no matter how rehearsed, to be created spontaneously at that moment.

What a pleasure to hear Wolf's intricate songs flowing forth so effortlessly from a native speaker of German. Although the opener was our hands-down favorite, we loved the selections she chose from the Italienisches Liederbuch. There was the sad song of leave-taking "Mir ward gesagt", the frustrated maiden's "Mein Liebster singt am Haus", the ironic "Ich liese mir sagen", and the humorous "Mein Liebster ist so klein" and "Ich hab in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen".

No less pleasurable were the selections from Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch. We particularly enjoyed the tender "In dem Schatten meiner Locken" in which the singer allows her lover to sleep, disdaining to wake him.

We do so love to be introduced to composers and songs that were unknown to us. Jesús Guridi composed his Seis canciónes castellanas in the early 20th c. and we hope we get to hear them again in the near future.  We do so love folk songs!  Our favorite, "Sereno!" had the most gorgeous melody and one would search far and wide to hear a more romantic song than "Como quieres que adivine".

The second half of the program was entirely in French, and sung with quite nice French diction. We were delighted to hear the familiar gem by Henri Duparc "L'invitation au voyage" sung with such sensuality.

Ms. Karg took no breaks for applause and launched right into Ravel's "Cinq mélodies populaires grecques"--a collection of charming folk songs that cover all the emotional bases. The romantic "Chanson de la mariée", the arrogant "Quel galant m'est comparable", the lively "Tout gai!"--all were performed with panache.

Malcolm Martineau's always wonderful piano partnership here became appropriately delicate.

There were two sets of songs that we'd never heard.  We know Reynaldo Hahn as the composer of very singable melodies that echo much earlier music. We'd never heard "Études latines" but did not care for the classical texts all that much.

There was also a trio of Charles Koechlin songs from his Op.56 and Op.84 which did not resonate with us as much as the rest of the program.

With a quartet of songs by Francis Poulenc we were back in more familiar territory; they were all settings of texts by Apollinaire and filled with irony, which Ms. Karg brought out splendidly.

The final song, the aforementioned "Romance de Mignon" sounded far more passionate than any Duparc songs we've ever heard.  The text for this one was written by Victor Wilder and it was quite lovely.

Ms. Karg and Mr. Martineau generously provided three encores which Ms. Karg fortunately announced clearly.  Might we add that her English is superb!

The first was Hahn's "A Chloris" which is the Hahn we know and love. The second was Barber's "Solitary Hotel", the setting of a text by James Joyce. And the final one, "Nana", a lullabye by Manuel de Falla, reminds us to mention the excellent Spanish with which Ms. Karg performed the Guridi songs.

Ms. Karg has some exciting opera appearances coming up. She is someone to watch, for sure!

(c) meche kroop

JOY QUADRUPLED

Lachlan Glen, Dimitri Dover, Steven Eddy, and Lilla Heinrich Szász

Joy of Singing was born in 1958 as an award program to foster the performance of art songs with special attention paid to interpretation and communication.  It was begun by Winifred Cecil, a noted singer and teacher. The program continues and is flourishing under the musical direction of Paul Sperry . Every year the winner of the competition is given a recital. This year, the quality of the competitors was so high that the judges were obliged to share the prize.

Thus it was that we had the opportunity last night at Merkin Concert Hall to hear two gifted singers and two exemplary collaborative pianists perform a program of art songs in several languages and a variety of styles.

Soprano Lilla Heinrich Szász has impressed us since her days at Juilliard, eventually winning their 2013 Honor's Recital among many other honors, all richly deserved. She has a lively winning onstage personality and a glorious ringing instrument that she easily bends to her will.

Her collaborative pianist, Australian Lachlan Glen, is also well known to us for several years, having won us over by his producing all of Franz Schubert's songs over the period of a year--a delicious extravagance never to be forgotten.  If there is a better interpreter of Schubert alive today we would be surprised. Besides this, he has incredible sensitivity to the singer. We noticed him actually breathing with Ms. Szász in rhythm.

Naturally, Schubert songs were selected to open the program and we were glad for it. "Vedi quanto adoro ancora ingrato!" is a bit unusual for Schubert; it is sung in Italian, the setting of a text by Pietro Metastasio. It was the perfect vehicle to show off both passion and delicacy in both artists.

We also heard the sorrowful "Die Liebe hat gelogen", the gentle "Der Jüngling an der Quelle" in which Mr. Glen's piano became rather spry, and the intense "Die junge Nonne", the most familiar of the set. The two artists drew us in totally with Ms. Szász seemingly losing herself in the throes of religious ecstasy and Mr. Glen creating quite a storm in the piano.

From a century later came four folk songs set by Zoltán Kodály which Ms. Szász, whose roots are Transylvanian, sang in Hungarian.  Fortunately she translated them herself for the program. We heard cries of despair and poverty, not the cheerful folk songs of Brahms. Our favorite was the final song which bore a mournful melody. The final note hung suspended in mid air.

The final set comprised songs by Benjamin Britten, the first of which was a setting of a W.H. Auden poem "Fish in the Unruffled Lakes" which did not make much sense to us. We greatly preferred "The Salley Gardens" to a text by W. B. Yeats.  The final song "Calypso" from Cabaret Songs had an urgent rhythm, with Mr. Glen creating the sound of a railroad train in his piano.

The second half of the program was given over to the other prize winner--baritone Steven Eddy and collaborative pianist Dimitri Dover. The two seemed to enjoy a special partnership, opening with one of our favorite Brahms songs "Meine Liebe ist grün". Another Brahms song "Botschaft" was performed later and we would have preferred hearing them in the same set. They are both so melodic and romantic.

Instead, there were two songs by Clara Schumann interposed. The first, "O weh des Scheidens, das er tat" was a sad one and seemed unresolved at the end.  The second "Liebst du um Schönheit" was quite lovely but suffered a bit by comparison to the Richard Strauss setting with which all lied lovers are far more familiar. (We couldn't help thinking of the Löwe setting of Frauen Lieben und Leben which one rarely hears because of Schumann's arguably better setting.)

Mr. Eddy excelled in his interpretation of Barber's Mélodies passagères. We enjoyed Barber's music so much better in French and we think that Rilke's poetry inspired him to new heights. Mr. Eddy's French served the music well and the fact that he translated them himself likely increased his involvement.  Particularly suited to his voice was "Le clocher chante" and Mr. Dover's piano made sure we heard the carillon. We also liked "Départ" a great deal.

Mr. Eddy explained the Jake Heggie songs which followed.  They were written for baritone Nathan Gunn and were inspired by paintings in the Dallas Art Museum. We found the concept more interesting than the music. Mr. Eddy's English diction is better than most but we still missed a lot of the words and there was no text provided to read. Our English-speaking companion was of the same opinion.

Fortunately the remainder of Mr. Eddy's program was thrilling. We love Dvorák's Gypsy Songs and have mainly heard them in German. Mr. Eddy, to our delight, sang them in Czech. We do not understand the language but loved the way the melody and the rhythm of the words lined up It was a spirited song about a folk dance and we were ready to get up and dance!

Similarly, we loved Respighi's "Invito alla danza", a more sedate and romantic song and perhaps our favorite song by this early 20th c. composer. Following along with the dance theme was Camille Saint-Saëns' "Danse macabre" and that's one dance we'd like to pass up!

If all we had heard were the encore we would have considered it a successful evening. That's just how wonderful it was!  From a rare Donizetti opera entitled Il Campanello di Notte, we heard the Brindisi "Mesci, mesci". Mr. Glen joined Mr. Dover for a four-handed accompaniment while Ms. Szász and Mr. Eddy performed with gusto and glee. We considered ourselves well prepared for the champagne reception upstairs!

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HOW TO FILL THE EMPTY CHURCHES

Renate Rohlfing and Julia Bullock

It was excessively warm and close inside of St. Michaels's Church on the Upper West Side where Carnegie Hall offered one of its neighborhood concerts yesterday. Nonetheless, the church was packed with worshippers--music worshippers!  Even the priest noticed that the church had never been that full.

The air was still.  The worshippers were still. No one dared risk missing a single note of what amounted to a devout performance. Soprano Julia Bullock is nothing if not devout in her commitment to vocal artistry. It is not just the superlative soprano instrument but the fact that she serves the music and text equally, while serving up her soul from deep within.  Every song is filtered through her personalized nature and made her own. Do we sound like a fan? We are in good company. There are so many of us.

Accompanied by the gentle hands of collaborative pianist Renate Rohlfing, Ms. Bullock began her program with a startling work by John Cage on prepared piano entitled "She is Asleep". The vocal sounds and the piano sounds were novel--meaningless syllables, something sounding like bird calls, all expressed with variety of color and dynamics. Who else could have sung this?

The pair of artists then shifted from this 1943 work to a 1960 cycle by Francis Poulenc entitled La courte paille, setting of texts by Maurice Carême, composed toward the end of Poulenc's life. We are not sure why the title "the short straw" was chosen. The songs refer to childhood--a tender lullaby entitled "Le sommeil", some fantasies "Quelle aventure!" and "Le carafon" (our personal favorite), and a few surrealistic pieces. All were performed with a depth of understanding that was communicated successfully to the audience.

Modest Mussorgsky's The Nursery always delights us. A good performance of these songs requires that the singer draw forth images of childhood innocence and curiosity; this, Ms. Bullock accomplished completely. Even her appearance was transformed and one could easily picture her as the child relating to her nanny, her fear of the bogeyman, her wish to hear good stories, her saying her prayers, her request for her mother's sympathy. We sat transfixed.

Songs by Samuel Barber followed with the strange "My Lizard", the accessible "The Daisies" and "Nuvoletta" from James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake which seemed to be a tale of suicide obscured by wordplay. As the character leans over the "bannistars", Ms. Bullock leaned over the strings of the piano. We felt a chill.

Richard Strauss' Drei Lieder der Ophelia were movingly sung and Ms. Bullock seguéd directly into the fine spiritual Harry T. Burleigh's "Deep River" and closed with Billy Taylor's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free".

As encore, we heard "La Conga Blicoti", popularized by Josephine Baker. It was a generous performance by a most generous artist and her fine accompanist.  Bravissime!

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NATHANIEL OLSON

Nathaniel Olson (photo courtesy of Carnegie Hall)

Sometimes we can tell everything there is to know about a singer from the first set of songs.  In the case of the fine young baritone Nathaniel Olson, presented at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, we didn't really "get" him until the encores, of which there were two.

In the first, Mr. Olson sang "Die Neugierige" from Franz Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin and he sang it with all the youthful wonder and tenderness that is demanded by Wilhelm Müller's text.  We wanted to hear him sing the entire cycle.

The second encore was Aaron Copland's setting of an agrarian protest song from the post-Civil War period entitled "He's a dodger". This folk song was composed to discredit a presidential candidate who has been long forgotten.  But the song remains and Mr. Olson introduced it with a wonderfully original and persuasive preamble that revealed the personality that was rather hidden during the rest of the program.  The song pokes fun at the dishonesty of lawyers, politicians, salesmen, ministers and lovers--indeed, of everyone.

As far as the main body of the program, there was nothing to criticize except for the insecurity and inconsistency of the pronunciation of the final "g" and "ch" in German--a flaw commonly heard in American singers.  Sometimes the sound is omitted and sometimes it comes out as "ick". This should be simple to correct.

And yet, there was nothing in the program that thrilled us.  We wondered if Mr. Olson really loved the songs he sang.  In the program notes, he told of loving German lieder and Swedish songs since childhood.  So why then did his opening set of Schumann's Liederkreis, Op. 24  strike us as bland?  We adore Schumann and expected to be thrilled.  We were not.

Again, nothing was bad, and Mr. Olson clearly showed a lot of connection with his able accompanist and mentor Kevin Murphy.  Was it us?  Our companion was likewise unmoved by these poems of love yearned for, love anticipated, and love lost.  The lovely melody of "Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden" gave way to bitterness.  We heard it but we weren't "feeling" it.

The early 20th c. Swedish composer Ture Rangström set texts by many different poets but seemed to have a penchant for the unhappy. The songs fell on our ears with no more pleasure than the Schumann. Although Mr. Olson himself did the translation, we did not feel the connection we wanted to feel.

It is a rare recital in which we prefer the American songs but we thought Mr. Olson did justice to the lovely "Beautiful Dreamer" by Stephen Foster.  Many singers who have been associated with Marilyn Horne's program have paid tribute to her by including it in their programs and it is always lovely to hear.

Ned Rorem's "Early in the Morning", the setting of a text by Robert Silliman Hillyer, lent a note of charm and good feeling to the evening and Mr. Olson sang it beautifully with his pleasing baritone.  For once, we could visualize the circumstance and feel the pleasure of the poet.

Similarly, Aaron Copland's setting of the traditional folk song "The Little Horses" continued the pleasant feeling.  Mr. Olson and Mr. Murphy took the tempo very slowly allowing us to savor every word, and Mr. Olson exhibited a fine messa di voce.

We were unable to savor the set of Hanns Eisler songs from Ernste Gesänge which were filled with negativity, perhaps not the best choice of material.  The piano writing is jumpy and dissonant and the vocal line verges on the bombastic.

Of the Four Songs, Op. 13 by Samuel Barber, we most enjoyed the lighthearted "The Secrets of the Old" by William Butler Yeats in which three women are relishing the certain privileges of advanced years--the memories and the gossip.

We are holding open our opinion of Mr. Olson, hoping that the next time he presents a recital, he will let loose and reveal his personality. Perhaps someone told him to take it seriously but we'd like to tell him to lighten up!

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MUSIC FOR MOTHERS...AND OTHERS

Gyu Yeon Shim, Rachael Braunstein, Jimin Lee, Margaret Newcomb, Paull-Anthony Keightley

Whether any mothers of these five promising artists were in the audience we do not know.  But if they were, we are quite sure they would have been proud of their offspring who are finishing up their year at Manhattan School of Music--some graduating and others finishing their first post-graduate year, two of them familiar to us and three of them new.  We were happy to be a maternal stand-in.

Collaborative pianist Jimin Lee demonstrated consummate expressiveness in her playing and admirable flexibility working with diverse materials and singers with varied styles.  It was a program designed, we believe, to show off these qualities.

Mr. Keightley (does that rhyme with knightly?) whose Papageno we so greatly admired, showed a very different side of himself in Schumann's profound song cycle Dichterliebe.  His German diction was just about perfect and allowed us to give his performance our full attention, instead of looking at translations.  But Mr. Keightley's attention was divided between his score and his audience.  It would not be honest to deny that this was distracting.  We are sure there was a good reason for it but we have criticized some very famous singers for this misdemeanor.  Granted, it is NOT a felony!

He has a fine baritone and uses it well.  We particularly enjoyed the livelier songs like "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" and "Aus alten Märchen winkt es".  Both baritone and piano shared a lovely crescendo and decrescendo in "Ich hab' in Traum geweinet".  The sense of drama in "Die alten, bösen Lieder" was in fine contrast with a lovely pianissimo.

It is too early to assign a singer to a particular category but, at this point, we will offer an opinion that Mr. K. belongs on the opera stage where his larger-than-life personality and agility can achieve full expression.  Perhaps grim material is too restraining.

Soprano Gyu Yeon Shim had only three songs to touch our heart and she succeeded.  She sang Amy Marcy Cheney Beach's Three Browning Songs, op. 44.  She has a light and well-focused soprano with a pleasing vibrato and sings without visible effort.  We were especially fond of "I send my heart up to thee!"

Mezzo Rachael Braunstein sang Three Songs, op.45 by Samuel Barber with a rich sound and fine diction.  We favored "A green lowland of pianos" in which she captured all the surreal humor that the poet (Czeslaw Milosz) had in mind.  We believe Milosz' verse was based on that of the Polish Jerzy Harasymowicz.

Closing the program was soprano Margaret Newcomb who pleases us every time she performs.  She sang selections from Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins.  She succeeded in bringing out the drama of the two Anna's by employing different voices.  She did particularly well acting out the seductiveness of "Pride" with a louche appearing Mr. Keightley.  We would someday love to hear her sing the entire roster of Sins--and we would especially love it if she sang Brecht's original text in German.  We are not sure whose translation was used but we felt a disjunction between the words and the musical phrasing.  This is so often the case and begs for presentation in the original language to avoid such awkwardness.

It was a fine recital and we look forward to future hearings of these promising artists.

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WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE....

Lachlan Glen and Kyle Bielfield (photo by Jordan Chaplecka}

What is the difference between a recital and a CD?  That's not a riddle but a question we have been asking ourselves during the fortnight since we came into possession of the chart-topping CD recorded by tenor Kyle Bielfield and collaborative pianist Lachlan Glen.

A number of answers come to mind but the most obvious one is that a recital is evanescent and very much "of the moment" whereas a CD is forever.  If you like it you can listen to it again.  And if you love it, as we do this recording, you can play it every day and find new delights each time you listen.

Another difference is the perfection that can be achieved in a recording studio that one cannot expect in a live recital. One other difference in this particular recording is that the songs have not been arranged in "sets" containing the works of one composer as they would be in a recital; rather they have been arranged to provide a balanced listening experience and to create a variety of moods by varying the tempi.

What is remarkable about "Stopping By" is the exquisite partnership between Mr. Bielfield's sweet tenor and Mr. Glen's fine collaborative piano.  All the songs are treated with equal respect.  The program notes distinguishe between "classically oriented" and "Americana".  We make no such distinctions.  Brahms set many folk songs which seem to our ears no less worthy than settings of renowned poets.

Our particular taste leans toward settings of text that rhymes and scans.  Thus it is that the songs of Stephen Foster, called "the father of American song" filled us with pleasure.  Made famous by Marilyn Horne in our own time, "Beautiful Dreamer" is here given an exquisite performance with a perfect ending in the upper register; in Foster's setting of the sad "Gentle Annie" Michael Samis' cello makes a lovely contribution.  Here is proof that a folk tune can be made into art.

Going from the earliest entry in this survey of American song to the most recent, Leonard Bernstein's "Dream with Me" tickled our ears with excellent phrasing on the part of all three artists, as did his "Spring Will Come Again" in which Mr. Bielfield seems to caress each word. Again, Mr. Samis' cello was a welcome addition to the music.

But our absolute favorite song in the album is Irving Berlin's "Change Partners"; anyone who has yearned for a person who was "taken" can relate to the futile hopefulness.  Mr. Bielfield's heart and soul was in this one!

A special treat is hearing three settings of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".  The splendid poetry seems to have inspired three equally fine but different compositions.  Perhaps the most accessible is that of Samuel Barber and the most melancholy that of John Duke in which the piano is given a superb prelude and postlude.  But Ned Rorem's is no less terrific for its spareness.

Two folk songs arranged by Aaron Copland captured the ear with their directness and simplicity: "Long Time Ago" and the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts".  Paul Bowles' "In the Woods" requires the singer to whistle in imitation of birdsong; to our ears it sounded exactly like a mating call; we loved it.  Ned Rorem's brief gem "Snake" had a slithery vocal line and a churning piano.

"From the Land of the Sky-Blue Waters" by Charles Wakefield Cadman is a lovely old-fashioned ballad with some nice figuration in the piano.  Charles Griffes "The Water Lily" has an impressionistic feel.  Songs by Amy Beach, Celius Dougherty and Mark Abel are also represented in this compendium of American song.

By now you will have realized that this banquet of song offers something for everyone to enjoy.  We have mentioned our favorites but with further listening we are sure to appreciate some of the less accessible songs.  Please feel free to comment below on your favorites!

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SOME ENCHANTED AFTERNOON

John Relyea and Lori Guilbeau

"Some Enchanted Evening" was chosen by soprano Lori Guilbeau and bass John Relyea for their encore duet at the George London Foundation recital this afternoon.  Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, it became an enchanted afternoon with marvelous Warren Jones at the keyboard keeping pace with the artists.

We remember Miss Guilbeau as a promising young voice from her days at Manhattan School of Music and are happy to report that she has fulfilled that promise, opening the program with a stirring rendition of "Dich, teure Halle" from Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser. Her sizable soprano filled the hall at the Morgan Library--and then some.  Not only is the instrument one to celebrate but the feelings were up front and personal as she rejoiced over her lover's imminent arrival.  No wonder her career has taken off!

We are not great fans of Samuel Barber but we admired the crisp diction that made his English words totally understandable in "Give me some music" from Antony and Cleopatra; Ms. Guilbeau's acting chops were on fine display as she brought the seductive Cleopatra to musical life.  We preferred Ms. Guilbeau's choice of Rachmaninoff's Midsummer Nights.  "Lilacs" was sung and played with delicate filigree; "To Her" was filled with sad longing; "The Pied Piper" was suitably jaunty and the passionate and familiar "Spring Water" seemed quite timely.  In the final offering of the recital, "Or siam soli...Una donna son io" from Verdi's Forza del Destino we loved the way she portrayed the desperate Leonora seeking refuge from the guardian at the monastery, stunningly portrayed by Mr. Relyea whose booming base lent authority to the role.

We liked Mr. Relyea best in this operatic role, much as we loved his portrayal of The Water Sprite in Dvořak's Russalka, just seen at The Metropolitan Opera.  He is as well known as a recitalist as he is on the opera stage and we did enjoy his performance of Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death in which he employed his sizable bass to good advantage.  The songs involve Death as a character who comes to relieve the suffering of a sick child, then as a knight to rescue a sick young woman, then as a woman to escort an elderly drunk to his final rest and ultimately to gloat over all the bodies in a battlefield. Thinking of Schubert's "Erlkonig", we would have liked a little more variety of color between the two characters in the first song as the mother dialogues with Death.

Mr. Relyea's choice of Strauss songs appeared to us as unfortunate. Our ears yearned for a far higher register than a bass can muster! Nonetheless, we greatly enjoyed Mr. Jones piano and the variety of colors he evinced.

The many pleasures of the afternoon served to overcome the lassitude engendered by the sleep deficit caused by the onset of Daylight Savings Time and we emerged into the still-sunny afternoon with a lighter step.

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NADINE SIERRA'S FULL PALETTE

Bryan Wagorn and Nadine Sierra

Soprano Nadine Sierra has earned her meteoric rise in the operatic firmament and yesterday, in a new-this-year season of vocal recitals has shown her mettle as a most engaging recitalist.  This young woman has it all--a silvery and focused soprano instrument, marvelous musicianship, perfect poise onstage, glamorous good looks and winning personality.

Along with the always excellent collaborative pianist Bryan Wagorn she delighted the audience who could not restrain themselves from applauding after every single song, and once before the song was over.  With great tact, she accepted the applause and moved on.  She is an artist from whom you cannot take your eyes--or your ears!

The first half of the program was Strauss, all Strauss and nothing but Strauss.  You won't hear any complaints from us on that account since it fits her voice like the proverbial glove.  If curator Matthew A. Epstein was responsible for that choice, we thank him.  We can never get enough Strauss. 

First we heard Acht Gedichte aus Letzte Blätter, Op10 with texts by Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg.  Ms. Sierra's fine vibrato and expressiveness well served the passionate "Zueignung", one of our favorites.  The jaunty "Nichts" followed and then the lovely "Die Nacht" on which Ms. Sierra impressed her own stamp of lovely stillness.  She seems to caress each word and lend it the appropriate color, and does she ever have a palette full of colors!  The set closed with the lyrically passionate "Allerseelen", another favorite of ours.  In that set, we particularly enjoyed Mr. Wagorn's pianism in "Die Vershwiegenen".

In the next set, Ms. Sierra's "Ständchen" was an invitation that no one could refuse; the charming text was by Adolf Friedrich, Graf von Schack who also provided the text for the following tender "Breit' über mein Haupt".  Have we ever enjoyed "Morgen" or "Cäcilie" more?  We think not!

The second half of the program began with Cuatro madrigales amatorios by Joaquin Rodrigo Vidre.  So you think you've heard them many times?  Think again.  Ms. Sierra invested them with deep Iberian feeling and rhythm.  The melismatic singing in "De los Alamos vengo, madre" was exceptional.

For Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5, Ms. Sierra was joined by the superb guitarist João Kouyoumdjian.  The text by Ruth Valladares Corrẽa was preceded and followed by the melody without words that allowed us to appreciate the beauty of the singer's tone.

The program concluded with Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs, Op.29.  Our favorite of this set was "The monk and his cat".  Ms. Sierra excels at painting a picture, but it is a picture that exists for just that moment in time, making it all the more precious.

Two encores were planned and the audience did not have to beg for them, a practice which we personally find distasteful.  The first was Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" sung as a tribute to Marilyn Horne whom Ms. Sierra credited for all the guidance she received from her.  (Before you ask, we found Ms. Horne's version on youtube.com and yes, it is gloriously inspiring).  The second encore was "Cuando m'en vo" from Puccini's La Bohème, sung in honor of Barry Tucker whose Richard Tucker Music Foundation supports this valuable series.

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EMALIE SAVOY RECITAL

Emalie Savoy and Nimrod David Pfeffer

We are thrilled to report that soprano Emalie Savoy's third season with the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program has resulted in a finished artist who would grace any opera stage with her exciting voice, physical beauty and relatedness.  We have long admired the purity of her voice and her musicality but this past year has put the finishing touches on her performance.  The connection with the material has increased in depth and consequently, the connection with her audience.  There is a new relaxation and welcome warmth about her that was evident from the first song.

The program opened with Poulenc's Banalités which gave this dazzling soprano an opportunity to explore many moods from the languor of "Hôtel" to the sadness of "Sanglots" to the utter joy of "Voyage à Paris", the latter being our personal favorite.  We were ready to go home and pack our bags!

Hugo Wolf's Mignonlieder was sung with intensity and dramatic artistry; one could feel a deep connection with the tragic character from Goethe's 1795 novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre.  Ms. Savoy's German diction was just as fine as her French.  This set of songs also gave collaborative pianist Nimrod David Pfeffer an opportunity to play a stunning postlude in "Mignon III" and to indulge in some wildly powerful playing in "Kennst du das Land".

The final set was Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs.  We especially enjoyed Ms. Savoy's warmth in "St. Ita's Vision", the lightheartedness of "The Heavenly Banquet", the terror of "Sea Snatch", the humor of the brief "Promiscuity" and the gentle "The Monk and His Cat".  With her expressivity of voice and gesture, each song had great character.  Mr. Pfeffer's piano was no less expressive.  There was a bone-chilling eerie quality in "The Crucifixion" and he made the roaring of the sea audible in "Sea Snatch" as well as the pouncing of the cat in "The Monk and His Cat".

As encore, Ms. Savoy and Mr. Pfeffer let loose with "Il est doux, il est bon" from Massenet's Hérodiade; he played some marvelously articulated rolling chords and she stunned us with a huge high note at the climax. 

One may no longer consider this prize-winning artist an emerging artist.  To our ears, she is now a fully fledged star.  Another triumph for the Lindemann program.

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GEORGE LONDON FOUNDATION FOR SINGERS

Emalie Savoy

Anthony Dean Griffey

The Morgan Library has a comfortable recital hall that lends itself beautifully to the vocal arts--just the right size to insure intimacy and blessed with fine acoustics.  Yesterday's recital, in collaboration with The George London Foundation for Singers, featured the esteemed tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, rising star soprano Emalie Savoy and beloved piano partner Ken Noda.

It isn't every day that one gets to hear such a wide variety of early 20th c. music on a recital program and the contrast was rather amazing. The Banalités of Francis Poulenc are settings of poetry by Apollinaire and seem influenced by dadaism.  Ms. Savoy captured the varying moods with presence and charm, but not always the clearest diction.  We especially enjoyed her dancing around the stage in "Voyage à Paris".  This is an artist who has learned to relax over the past couple years to the delight of her audience.

The silly nature of these songs contrasted sharply with the serious nature of Samuel Barber's settings of texts by James Joyce.  As is common in 20th c. music, the most interesting writing takes place in the piano part, rather than the vocal part.  Nonetheless, Mr. Griffey with his beautifully colored voice made excellent sense of the text.  "I hear an army charging upon the land" opens with some stentorian verses and ends in agony and despair.  Mr. Griffey aims for a Mid-Atlantic accent, neither British nor American.  This is most pronounced in the "a" sound.

"Jimmy's aria" from The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Kurt Weill allowed Mr. Griffey to show another side of his interpretive chops.  This jazzy score, attacked with relish by the versatile Mr. Noda, is meant to satirize opera and reveals yet another aspect of early 20th c. music.  The aria, libretto by Berthold Brecht, is an intense display of bitterness and despair.  We wondered how it might sound in German.  We had ample opportunity to admire Mr. Griffey's German in two of our favorite Schubert lieder from Schwanengesang, D. 957--"Liebesbotschaft" and "Ständchen".

Ms. Savoy contributed "Bella mia Fiamma, addio!" by Mozart and "Le perfide Renaud me fuit" from Gluck's Armide.  At times Ms. Savoy pushes her high notes giving them a strained sound.  We trust that she is working on this detail and look forward to hearing her float them.

Mr. Griffey opened the program with three songs by John Dowland from the late 16th or early 17th c., settings of anonymous texts.  What is remarkable about these songs is that what Dowland wrote follows the rhythm of the English language while engaging the ear with melody, something rarely seen in 20th c. vocal writing, except on Broadway.  A closing duet by both artists gave a fine illustration of that point with George Gershwin's "Let's call the whole thing off" from Shall We Dance;  we were so charmed that we did not protest the absence of an encore.

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