BEAUTIFUL AND BIG

Siyi Fang and Jessine Johnson

We hear so many young sopranos with beautiful voices and tons of talent that we wonder whether sufficient roles will be available for them.  But once in awhile we hear one of those big beautiful young women with big beautiful voices, voices that are less common and possibly more in demand.  Such was the case yesterday evening at Juilliard when we heard soprano Jessine Johnson who seems to have the potential for Wagnerian and Verdian roles.

She chose wisely for her opening aria--"Non mi dir" from Mozart's Don Giovanni.  Her sizable voice has a nice gleam to it without a hint of harshness.  She attacked the high notes as fearlessly as the daunting coloratura passages, demonstrating considerable flexibility.  It was all there--the good Italian, the legato phrasing, the variety of dynamics and color, the facility with the flights of embellishments.

We were already wondering what she would do with the Wagner songs which closed the program and we were not at all disappointed.  We greatly enjoyed three selections from Fünf Gedichte von Mathilde Wesendonk.  Both she and her superb collaborative pianist Siyi Fang made the most of the rising four-note scale passage (familiar from Tristan und Isolde) in "Im Treibhaus"; the lower tessitura was well handled. There was sufficient urgency in "Stehe Still" with its glorious piano writing. "Träume" was no less terrific.

Encores are not generally performed in graduation recitals but the thunderous applause generated a thrilling rendition of "Dich Teure Halle" from Tannhäuser, resulting in still more accolades.

What we really appreciated in Ms. Johnson's German was her crisp enunciation of the consonants, accomplished without sacrificing the value of the vowels. Many young singers, even those giving professional recitals, have demonstrated discomfort with the final "ch", a pet peeve of ours.  Not so here!

Let us not neglect what came between the Mozart and the Wagner.  We heard two light-hearted chansons by Debussy from his Quatre Chansons de Jeunesses.  In "Pantomime" the mood was frisky until the final tender verse, given its full emotional value by both Ms. Johnson and Ms. Fang.

We also heard four songs by Robert Schumann, three of them which were full of threat and menace ("Warnung", "Muttertraum", and "Der Soldat") and one in a lighter vein "Mein schöner Stern"--a consoling contrast to the darkness.

As far as the Libby Larsen cycle Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII, we found the texts sufficiently interesting to read up on Tudor history. But as many times as we have heard the cycle, we have not succeeded in finding the vocal line sufficiently interesting, even though Ms. Johnson sang it well.  The piano score is interesting but neither the piano writing nor the vocal line seemed to illuminate the words, which can easily stand alone as historical documents.  But they are not poetry!  We find no pleasure in musical settings of prose.

This recital was given to fulfill one of the requirements for receiving a Master of Music Degree from Juilliard but it was totally worthwhile as an evening's entertainment.  We foresee a fine future for both artists.

(c) meche kroop

GREAT COACHING=GREAT PERFORMANCE

Mitchell Lyon, Bretton Brown, Elizabeth Sutphen

Once more, a "cocktail hour" spent at Juilliard was more intoxicating than a cocktail.  This "six à sept" was notable by the fact that it comprised only Italian canzone and that the singers were coached by Diego Tornelli.  When all of the actors in a play are terrific, we generally acknowledge the brilliance of the director.  When all the singers are terrific, some credit must go to the coach.

The lovely soprano Elizabeth Sutphen opened the program, along with her collaborative pianist Bretton Brown, singing Rossini's "L'invito"; she has a fine vibrato in her voice with an open-throated upper register and a warm sincere stage presence.  In Ponchielli's "Piangea", Robynn Quinnett's violin wept along with the sad text.  In Ponchielli's "Eternamente", Mitchell Lyon's cello made some beautiful harmonies with her voice.  We have enjoyed witnessing Ms. Sutphen's growth as an artist on her way through Juilliard.

The same could be said for tenor Nathan Haller, whose piano partner was Valeriya Polunina.  He gave a rather subdued performance of Verdi's "Non t'accostare all'urna", a song of bitterness that we have cherished as one of Verdi's best songs; he was absolutely undaunted by the low notes, starting pianissimo and building to a passionate crescendo.  He followed up with some Tosti songs; we thought that "Ideale" suited his voice perfectly and observed a deep connection with the text and a sustained mood.  In Respighi's "Invito alla danza", he loosened up and evinced a lot of charm.

Also on the program were some singers we had not heard before but hope to hear again.  Tenor Hyunho Yoo, accompanied by Miles Fellenberg, sang Cimara's "Non più" with a sweet sound and legato phrasing.  He also sang a few songs by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, our favorite of which was "Al tè", a charming song with a lighthearted text describing conversation around a tea table.  But we noticed the most connection with the text when Mr. Yoo sang about nature, as in Davico's "O maggio bello" in a later set.  Mr. Fellenberg shone in Campogalliani's "Piangete occhi".

Also new to us was mezzo Avery Amereau who sang early 20th c. canzone by Santoliquido.  Ms. Amereau has a true mezzo sound, and a most agreeable one at that, in contrast with many young mezzo-sopranos who tend to sound like sopranos with low notes.  We liked the way her voice opened up when she sang the passionate "L'incontro".  Her pianist was Art Williford and they worked well together.

The program closed with baritone Elliott Hines, accompanied by Siyi Fang who has a lovely delicate touch, performing songs from several different periods.   Calestani's 17th c. "Accorta lusinghiera" was the earliest and Castelnuovo-Tedesco's charming "Nova angeletta" the most modern.  Mr. Hines seemed as comfortable with the baroque as with the "modern".  The final work on the program was Schubert's "Il traditor deluso"; had we not read the program we would never have recognized Schubert's compositional hand.  What a surprise!

We left Paul Hall feeling as if we'd taken a course in the history and evolution of canzone.  We also observed the value of having the singer do his/her own translations.  This was a real Halloween treat, the only "trick" being the Schubert!

© meche kroop