PRETTY IS AS PRETTY DOES

Pretty Yende and James Baillieu onstage at Zankel Hall

Guest review by Ellen Godfrey:

On Thursday evening the great South African coloratura soprano Pretty Yende performed an evening of vocal music at the sold out Zankel Hall. James Baillieu was the stellar pianist and accompanist. Many of us came to know  Pretty Yende when she made her unexpected Metropolitan Opera debut in 2013, filling in for an ailing soprano in the little known Rossini opera, Le Comte Ory. She had only one month to learn the opera but she learned it in one week!  She was a sensation and everyone in the audience (including me) knew that we were in the presence of the next great opera singer. She was only in her late twenties, but sang with maturity beyond her years. She also has a wonderful stage presence, a radiant smile, and “joie de vivre.”

After her Met debut and some other engagements, she took some time off for further study with some of the world’s great singing teachers. She has quickly risen to worldwide renown and is one of today’s most beloved opera stars.  She has sung in all of the major opera houses both here and abroad and performs in concerts all around the world. We are lucky to have had her here to perform the great song repertoire of Schumann, Donizetti, Tosti, Richard Strauss and Johann Strauss Jr. Ms. Yende sang comfortably in three different languages-- German, French, and Italian. Of the three, Ms. Yende’s German seemed to be the clearest.

The program began with 7 songs by the the great German composer and pianist, Robert Schumann. He was long in love with Clara Wieck, who was the daughter of his piano teacher, Friedrich Wieck. Wieck tried to break up their relationship but the couple finally was able to marry when Clara became 21 years of age. They married in 1840, sharing artistic and personal collaboration. It was the year of the song for Schumann, as he celebrated his marriage by composing poetic love songs for his new wife.  In that first year he composed 130 songs, including four song cycles!

When Pretty Yende entered the stage on Wednesday night wearing an extravagantly feathered pink gown, the audience greeted her with great applause and cheers.  She sang 7 Schumann songs, four of which she had chosen.  The first song she sang was “Der Nussbaum,” ("The Walnut Tree”). It speaks of the whispering movement of the walnut tree’s blossoms and  branches; the maiden listens as she drifts off smiling into her dreams of love.  Accompanist James Baillieu began playing very softly as Ms. Yende began to sing softly as well. The rapport between them throughout the concert was wonderful. The pianist’s playing whispered the sound of the trees rustling throughout the whole song.  The minute Ms.Yende started to sing we could hear her warm, pleasing voice come through, soft at first, then louder, and then softer again.  She has great control of her dynamics. 

Another charming song was "Schmetterling" in which a child tries to capture a butterfly. Ms.Yende made it all seem so simple, using her hands to portray the butterfly in a fast moving song that went up to an A at the end. Mr. Baillieu easily conquered the extremely fast moving music. In “Loreley”, his playing of the waves that lure men to their death was vivid and captured the somewhat scary mood of the song. The other three Schumann songs were equally delightful and full of vocal color.

The second set of songs were by the great bel canto composer Gaetano Donizetti, who composed 70 operas in a little more than 20 years.  Today only about 9 are popular. He also managed to fit in the composition of other genres of classical music including over 200 songs, chamber music, and piano music. His output is amazing, considering that he died from syphilis at the young age of 51!  

Ms. Yende chose three Italian songs on the lighter side. “Il barcaiuolo” starts off as a calm ride and becomes dramatic as the boatman worries his passengers about a possible rising storm. This song gave Ms. Yende the chance to show us her great coloratura singing as the vocal line gets more dramatic. The other two songs are also charming, "La conocchia" (“The Spindle”) based on a folk tale and "Le crépuscule" (“Twilight”) a serenade with French text by Victor Hugo.

 

Perhaps the most interesting music of the evening, because it is so rarely heard, was Donizetti’s rewriting of Lucia di Lammermoor for a French version of the opera, Lucie de Lammermoor.  It premiered in Paris in 1838, and is occasionally revived today.  Donizetti re-conceived the entire opera, making Lucie a more delicate victim. “Que n’avons nous des ailes” (“If only we had wings”) is in the typical bel canto form: a slow lyric part (called a cantabile)  followed by two stanzas of showy coloratura  (known as a cabaletta). 

Ms. Yende began quietly singing alone (a capella) until she was joined by Mr. Baillieu. The cabaletta requires bravura singing as Ms. Yende went higher and higher, displaying the liquid quality of her voice and moving easily among the very high notes. Her singing was accurate and remarkably flexible The second verse of the cabaletta was even more ornamented. 

After intermission,  Ms. Yende returned with a stunning gown, very bright and shining, almost to the point of requiring sun glasses on the part of the audience!  In the third set we heard songs by the popular and  beloved Italian composer Paolo Tosti.  He was a lyric tenor who had distinguished himself as a vocal teacher in London from 1882 to 1912. He was also a favorite of Queen Victoria and taught her children how to sing. He was knighted by Edward II in 1908. Many of his songs are still very popular today.

The tone of the Tosti songs is brighter and happier than those of some of the songs earlier on the program. “Aprile" is an enchanting song performed very tenderly by Ms. Yende, happily welcoming spring and the season of love. ”It’s April” is sung three times, each time sung differently. Mr. Baillieu played the arpeggi with great dexterity.

The Tosti songs were followed by lieder of Richard Strauss who is probably best known for his 15 operas; but he also composed over 300 lieder. He began to compose songs for the soprano Pauline de Anna whom he married in 1894.  For more than a decade they performed together in concerts.  Strauss loved the soprano voice and he considered her to be the best interpreter of his songs.

“ Zueignung” (dedication), which became one of his most popular songs, was his first performed lied and his favorite. I have to say that it is my favorite Strauss song as well. Ms. Yende sang it with all the lyricism and passionate outpouring required for this song. Again Mr. Baillieu followed her singing with the same feelings. “Cäcilie”, which was composed by Strauss on the eve of his wedding, is one of the most passionate songs ever written.  With huge arpeggi on the piano brilliantly played by Mr. Baillieu and Ms. Yende’s soaring, expressive voice, it made for a wonderful ending to this group of six songs.

Ms. Yende smartly ended the concert with a work by another Strauss who was not related to Richard. Johann Strauss Jr., the King of Operetta, composed in the late 19th and early 20th century.  In the second act of Die Fledermaus, Eisenstein’s wife, Rosalinde, gets back at her wandering spouse by disguising herself as a Hungarian countess.  Ms. Yende sang the Csardas with Hungarian style, singing the first part slowly and ending with a flourish, showing her great acting and sense of comedy.

The audience cheered and yelled for the two performers and eventually were awarded with some encores.  The first was the Neapolitan song “A Vucchella”, a Neapolitan sounding song with lyrics by Gabriele D’Annunzio.  Although Tosti was from the Abruzzo area of Italy, he wanted to prove that he could write in the Neapolitan dialect. The song has always been very popular and was sung with charm and humor by the artists. 

Throughout the whole concert Ms. Yende had a music stand with her music in front of her. She was often looking at the music more then communicating with the audience.  It wasn’t until the last encore, “Una Voce Poco Fa” from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, that she finally freed herself from the music stand and moved around the stage, flashing her wonderful smile and her impeccable singing. We finally saw the real Pretty Yende, joyous, free from any restraints, and communicating with the audience.

© meche kroop

    

    

OF LOVE AND DESIRE

Photo credits: Ian Bostridge by Sim Canetty-Clarke, Brad Mehldau by Michael Wilson

We have thrilled to the recorded sound of tenor Ian Bostridge and approached his recital at Zankel Hall with a great deal of anticipation; sadly we were woefully disappointed and are not likely to attend any of his future recitals. How could it happen that such a beautiful instrument failed to touch us? How is it possible that so many in the audience appeared to be thrilled when we were not?

It seems to us that Mr. Bostridge is a particular kind of artist that has acquired a cult following from a select group to which his particular style appeals. He seems to be intensely related to the text, overemphasizing variations of color and dynamics. His stage presence seems awkward and his physical movements distracting. He grabs the edge of the piano; he wanders aimlessly; he tilts his head forward so far one wonders how he gets that beautiful sound out. It seemed altogether mannered.

As much as he connects with the material, we didn't feel his connection with the audience. Perhaps others did but we and our companion didn't get "the feels".

At first we attributed it to the non-melodic song cycle composed by his collaborative pianist Brad Mehldau, on commission from Carnegie Hall, which was having its premiere.  A good piece of music stands on its own merit and doesn't require three and a half pages of mansplaining in the program. Apparently the cycle had something to do with desire and its protean manifestations.

For the most part some excellent poetry was selected--so excellent that attempting to set these works to music seemed gratuitous. The texts were often obscure and symbolic, requiring patient reading, reflection, and analysis. The music added nothing in our opinion. The poets included The Bard himself, represented by a pair of sonnets, and works by W.H. Auden, William Butler Yeats, and William Blake. 

Particularly disappointing was a setting of Goethe's "Ganymed" which will be sung long after Schubert's setting has been forgotten--but NOT A MOMENT BEFORE! It takes some arrogance to tamper with a song that is so perfect!

"the boys I mean are not refined" is a text by e.e.cummings, legendary for its filthiness; it rhymed and scanned and was fun to read, and was given a jazzy accompaniment.

"Über die Verführung von Engeln" by Berthold Brecht was, as the story goes, submitted to a magazine under the name of Thomas Mann as a prank. It is even filthier than the cummings and, therefore, more interesting! The English translation was not in the program but was read aloud by Mr. Bostridge in a very soft voice; we looked up the text as soon as we got home!

The closest the music came to being melodic was in an excerpt from "Sailing to Byzantium" by Yeats.

One thing that puzzled us was this.  If a composer is writing for a singer he knows well, why would he provide so many low notes that strained the singer's instrument to a point at which those notes seemed disconnected from the middle voice?

We convinced ourself during intermission that we would be sure to love the Schumann which followed. Contrary to what appeared on the Carnegie Hall website, Dichterliebe sounds nothing like a man missing his beloved. The texts chosen by Schumann from Heinrich Heine's Lyrisches Intermezzo loosely tell the story of profound disappointment in love! Heine's work comprised a prologue and 65 poems. From these, Schumann chose twenty, although the first four are rarely included. These sixteen remaining ones have a dramatic arc.

Searching for a benefit to be derived from this dispiriting evening, we decided to take pleasure in the hearing of these four songs and the gaining of  the knowledge of why they are rarely included. They are just not up to the quality of the other sixteen.

Starting with "Im wunderschönen Monat Mai", the poet sings of his ardent love for the beloved. His excitement in "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" are filled with youthful abandon. Mr. Bostridge and Mr. Mehldau took it at a very rapid tempo. 

There was no break between the songs. Mr. Mehldau's piano postlude in "Ich will meine Seele tauchen" was quite lovely. In "Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen" it was propulsive. We liked the mournful quality in "Hör' ich das Liedchen klingen", and we liked the way the chords punctuated the text in "Ich hab' im Traum geweinet". So much for the piano.

Vocally, we searched for something to admire and found it in the way Mr. Bostridge caressed each word in "Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen"; but we feel compelled to mention that the consonants were given short shrift more times than we could count--particularly the final "ch".

The audience was very enthusiastic and there were three encores. The first was a jazzy number from Noel Coward's Cavalcade, given a contemporary political twist; we could not make out the words. The second was "These Foolish Things" by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, with music by Jack Strachey. Mr. Mehldau exhibited his jazz chops and Mr. Bostridge bent the notes like a jazz singer.

The final offering was Cole Porter's "Every Time We Say Goodbye", another jazz standard which, along with the second encore, was made popular by Ella Fitzgerald.

© meche kroop

HOW YA' LIKE THEM APPLES?

Natalia Katyukova and Paul Appleby at Zankel Hall

Tenor Paul Appleby is another artist who began his career about the same time as we began writing about the vocal arts, a simultaneity that leads to our deep investment and joy in his success.  Instead of writing yet another encomium, we invite you, dear reader, to use the search function to read dozens of reviews of this outstanding artist. We would prefer to get right into last night's program which was so carefully designed by Mr. Appleby, with intentions described in detail in the program notes.

We will skip right to the Schubert which is where the pathway from our ears to our heart was direct. Every recital we attend leaves us with an "ear worm" and we cannot silence Mr. Appleby's tender tenor timbre ringing in our ears as he performed "Ständchen". It took us back about five years when he performed an entire program of serenades in Santa Fe. Mr. Appelby can serenade us any time at all!  What a treat!

For reasons elucidated in the program notes, our terrific tenor reordered the seven Rellstab songs to fit in with the theme of the program. We had no objections to the reordering although we did not quite grasp the storyline he devised. No composer has equalled the lied output of Franz Schubert; his major-minor shifts and modulations of key seem to wrench our heart in a most satisfying way.

Both Mr. Appleby and the superb collaborative pianist Natalia Katyukova brought out the emotions of the songs. The natural elements like babbling brooks and rustling tree tops were finely limned on the piano. The mood of anxiety in "Aufenthalt" was countered by the lively and cheerful "Abschied". The grim "Kriegers Ahnung" has a low tessitura that did not daunt Mr. Appleby.

We loved the way he asked the questions "Hinab?", "Warum?" and "Und Du?" in "Frühlingssehnsucht" which ended with a powerful and passionate "Nur Du!" The set ended with a Seidl song "Die Taubenpost", notable for its rollicking rhythm and charming text. We always have a quibble and here it is. The consonants were not crisp throughout the entire Schubert cycle. 

By contrast, the diction for the songs in English was perfect and every word was clear. Songs of Imagined Love by contemporary composer Hannah Lash were based on four of the Schubert songs which would be heard later in the program. This was a world premiere and was commissioned by Mr. Appleby who sang them off book.

We daresay that Ms. Lash's songs will be performed long after Schubert's are forgotten--and not a moment before! They are not bad; they were just not interesting to us. When there is no melody in the vocal line our attention focuses on the piano and we enjoyed some pleasing tinkling sounds.

We did not enjoy the unpleasant sounds of George Crumb's "The Sleeper" in which the piano was violated.  The music desk was removed and the pianist stuck her hand inside and groped. We call this a case of "piano abuse".  If a composer wants plucking he can call upon the all-too-willing harp who flaunts her strings! The piano likes her strings tapped gently, if you please.

This was the first time we heard Benjamin Britten's Winter Words: Lyrics and Ballads of Thomas Hardy. We are a huge fan of Hardy's novels and have always thought that the stories would make great operas. But his poetry left us cold, as did Britten's setting. Clearly Mr. Appleby loves this cycle and poured his heart and soul into the performance.  It just is not our taste.

We did enjoy Mr. Appleby's melismatic singing, especially on the word "journeying" in "Midnight on the Great Western" in which Ms. Kotyukova produced the clacking of a railway train. We also admired the way Mr. Appleby colored his voice differently for the narrator, the child, and the convict in "At the Railway Station, Upway".

Also on the program was a short setting of a John Milton text by Handel--"Thus when the sun from's wat'ry bed" from Samson. The text rhymed and scanned and the melody was memorable with a fine opportunity for Mr. Appleby's melismatic singing.

We hoped for an encore from Candide but instead we got two pleasing songs--"Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms" by Thomas Moore, and Frank Bridge's charming "Love Went a-Riding".

(c) meche kroop

REMEMBERING DMITRI

The cast of Talents of the World paying tribute to Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Dmitri Hvorostovsky brought us to tears twice.  Once when he sang Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo at the Met, and once when he died prematurely. Honoring this legendary baritone was such a splendid idea! In a recital produced by Talents of the World at Zankel Hall last night, his friends and colleagues from all over the world joined together onstage for a generous program of operatic arias, Neapolitan songs, and Russian romances.

Baritone David Gvinianidze, president and founder of Talents of the World is much honored and also beloved from his hosting a TV show in his native Georgia. He took it upon himself to sing the aforementioned aria  "O Carlo, ascolta...Io morró", which must have been even more emotional for him than for us.

A duet from the same opera--"Dio, che nell'alma infondere" was sung in perfect harmony by tenor Raúl Melo (who actually sang this duet with Hvorostovsky) as the eponymous Don Carlo, and baritone Oleksandr Kyreiev taking the role of Rodrigo.

In a long and varied program such as this, we get the opportunity to hear singers in a variety of roles and languages. We have to say that we enjoyed Mr. Melo the most when he sang opposite another singer. For example, his duet with mezzo-soprano Nino Surguladze--the final scene from Bizet's Carmen--was riveting, not just vocally but dramatically.  We believed every horrifying moment, even minus sets and costumes. We enjoyed this more than his solo song--Leoncavallo's "Mattinata" in which he performed for the audience rather than getting the message of the song across.

Regarding Mr. Kyreiev, we enjoyed him most when he sang in his native tongue. The song was not on the printed program so we were unable to identify it but there was no mistaking Mr. Kyreiev's ease, which allowed the timbre of his voice to be appreciated, along with variety of color and dynamics.

His voice blended well with others but his solo aria "O Vin Dissipe la Tristesse" from Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet seemed unidimensional and needed more variety.  What singer does not love a good drinking song! It's the operatic equivalent of an actor's death scene. He could do so much more with it!

"The impossible dream" from Man of La Mancha revealed an excellent facility with English but was plagued by the same lack of variety noted in the Thomas aria.

Obviously Russian songs (here we must admit to the error of lumping together Russian, Ukrainian, and Georgian) bring out the best in Russian singers.  A highlight of the program was Mr. Gvinianidze's performance of "Tolko raz", a sentimental song about longing that was sung with great depth of feeling.

This same intensity of feeling was noted in the performance of "Core 'ngrato" by Giovanni Formisano, a tenor with such an Italianate sound that the scent of garlic permeated Zankel Hall! He also wowed us with Federico's lament from Cilea's L'Arlesiana.

Speaking of being wowed, we took great pleasure in the performance of baritone Junhan Choi. This artist impressed us with his sincerity in every role he sang. There was no trace of "showiness" but rather a dedication to the character he was performing.

He made a believable Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, singing the duet "Pronto io son" with soprano Olga Lisovskaya, who kept trying on faces and gestures with which to convince the titular character that she was an innocent convent girl. 

He absolutely shone in the warhorse "Largo al factotum", bringing new life to an overheard aria, showing a lot of personality and variation in color. Some of the embellishments sounded original to our ear and the tongue-twisting patter moved briskly along.

Ms. Lisovskaya is not only a wonderful singer but also a director, teacher, and producer, serving as director of Talents of the World. She made an excellent host for the evening and made a brief appearance as Oscar in a scene from Verdi's Ballo in Maschera in which Mr. Melo used his gorgeous instrument to portray Riccardo's anguish over his illicit love for Amelia.

Mezzo-soprano Nino Surguladze made several appearances, all of them excellent, giving evidence of her versatility. She made a fine Dalila, seducing Samson in "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from the Saint-Saëns opera. There was a lovely decrescendo to an almost whispered pianissimo, a distinctive timbre to her voice, and variety of dynamics that contributed to a highly expressive delivery.

We had never heard of El Salvadorean pianist William Gomez and we will be ever grateful to Ms. Surguladze for introducing us to his arrangement of "Ave Maria". The lovely melody sounds nothing like other contemporary music but neither does it owe anything to the Schubert setting. The sound of Spanish fell on the ear gently. There is even a humming section!

Her duet with Mr. Gvinianidze--Albinoni's "Adagio" was lovely.

Soprano Anni Kolkhida performed "Vissi d'Arte" from Puccini's Tosca, creating a nice spin in the upper register but not exhibiting enough breath support in the middle and lower parts of the register. Her dramatic skills emerged in "Mira, d'acerbe lagrime", her duet with Count di Luna (Mr. Gvinianidze) in which she tries to save the life of her lover Manrico. The pair also did well in Vincenzo Di Chiara's isolated hit song "La Spagnola".

There was also a strange iteration of Robert's aria from Tchaikovsky's Iolanta performed by Mr. Gvinianidze, Mr. Kyreiev, and Mr. Choi! Not bad, just odd.

Whenever you get a soprano, a mezzo, a tenor, and a baritone in the same room, you just know you will get the final quartet from Verdi's Rigoletto.  And we did. Mr. Formisano sang the Duke, Ms. Lisovskaya sang Gilda, Ms. Surguladze sang Maddalena, and Mr. Kyreiev sang Rigoletto.

The two pianists for the evening were Alexandra Naumenko and Victoria Ulanovskya, who played an improvisation dedicated to Mr. Hvorostovsky entitled "The world is empty without you".

We miss Dima and he is not replaceable, but our world will never be empty as long as there are singers and songs!

The proceeds of the concert will go to organizations researching childhood cancer, a superb way to honor an artist who gave many concerts to benefit children in need.

(c) meche kroop

THE SINGER'S SINGER

Donald Sulzen and Anna Caterina Antonacci (photo by Sarah Shatz)

Zankel Hall made a fine home for an unusual recital by "the singer's singer" Anna Caterina Antonacci and the collaborative pianist who partners her well, measure by measure, phrase by phrase. The recital was presented by New York City Opera and the excitement began at the end when impressario and General Director Michael Capasso got down on his knee (we kid you not) to present flowers to Ms. Antonacci.  Now that is something we have never seen before, but exactly right when one encounters royalty!

There were so many opera lovers wanting to hear Ms. Antonacci that we had to wait for the second night to get tickets. The recital was eagerly awaited; we don't believe Ms. Antonacci has performed in New York City since 2013 when she gave an outstanding performance of baroque music for Lincoln Center's White Light Festival. That was quite a show involving unusual staging, scenery, and costuming (review archived and available through the search bar).  Last night's recital was also unusual, but unusual in a different way.

We begin by saying that our taste in music was best met by the encores. The brief piece by Girolamo Frescobaldi entitled   "Se l'aura spira" thrilled us to the bone and lingers in our ears like the early 17th c. jewel that it is.

The second encore astonished us by making the familiar fresh. Ms. Antonacci sang the "Habanera" from Carmen as an intimate chanson rather than an operatic aria. One must recognize Ms. Antonacci as an idiosyncratic artist who will put her individual stamp on things!

The program itself held surprises for us. Most impressive was Francis Poulenc's major concert aria "La Dame de Monte Carlo" which is almost an entire opera in and of itself, or at the very least, a character study of a depressed widow, addicted to gambling. and down on her luck. No longer young and loved, she plans on drowning herself in the Mediterranean. Ms. Antonacci brought out every nuance of despair and bitterness.

There were further contributions from Poulenc on the program--Le Travail du Peintre is a cycle of songs, settings of text by Paul Éluard who created verbal descriptions of the famous painters of the early 20th c.  Poulenc created the musical portraits and Ms. Antonacci gave us an aural tour which reminded us conceptually, but not musically, of Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Perhaps it is only coincidence that we favored the magic realism of Marc Chagall as we visualized the huge murals at the entrance to The Metropolitan Opera!

Another surprise was the nearly perfect English with which Ms. Antonacci sang Benjamin Britten's On this Island. We are not wild about W.H. Auden's text nor Mr. Britten's music but we definitely enjoyed the artist's ironic delivery of "As it is, plenty". This is a difficult text to make sense of, but she succeeded.

"Nocturne" , from the same cycle, began meditatively, grew in emphasis and power, and ended in a quiet postlude.

The program also comprised Debussy's lovely settings of Paul Verlaine's evocative text, of which our favorite was the sensuous "C'est l'extase langoureuse" in which Ms. Antonacci seemed to savor every word.  This made a nice contrast to the opening "Mandoline", a frisky affair.

We have heard a great deal about Nadia Boulanger as a composition teacher to many 20th c. composers, but had never heard her own vocal compositions. "Versailles" struck us as ethereal but we preferred the melody of "Cantique", with text by Maurice Maeterlinck.  "Elle a vendu mon coeur" , text by Camille Mauclair, is an affecting tale of betrayed love and consequent bitterness.

With so much French on the program, we were happy to hear some Italian. Ottorino Respighi's Deità Silvane gave Mr. Sulzen a chance to shine with some rippling figures in "Crepuscolo". However, we found the marriage of text and music most impressive in "Acqua".

We are happy indeed that New York City Opera is bringing us more than opera! We have feasted on music today and are replete.

(c) meche kroop

ÜBERWÄLTIGT!

Malcolm Martineau and Dorothea Röschmann

Dear Readers!  Picture your tireless reviewer sitting in Zankel Hall, or at least corporeally, but emotionally in a very private world with Ms. Röschmann and Mr. Martineau, virtually oblivious to the rest of the audience.  Did every audience member feel that way?  We have only the word of our companion who felt similarly transported.

It is rare for lieder to bring those pearly dewdrops to our eyes, especially lieder we have heard many times before with no equivalent effect; yet when we heard this artistic partnership perform Schubert's Mignon songs we gained an expanded emotional connection to Goethe's text, taken from his bildungsroman, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre.

Since Goethe never acknowledged receipt of these settings, we cannot tell if he was similarly moved or even appreciated what Schubert's genius added.  We do know that "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt" evoked floods of memories and a mirrored emotional response.  For our companion, it was a different song that grabbed the heart.

Schubert wrote and rewrote these songs, achieving a perfection that was matched by the performance of soprano Dorothea Röschmann and pianist Malcolm Martineau. These two artists so perfectly matched each other in phrasing, dynamics, and style that they seemed like two aspects of the same artist.

Ms. Röschmann's presence is unfussy. She seemed to be a conduit or channel into the mind of Goethe and the heart of Schumann. The exceptional quality of her instrument is, well, selbstverständlich, and always used in the service of the material. We saw several young singers in the audience and hope they took the evening as a lesson in how to give a lieder recital.

Mr. Martineau is a collaborative pianist of the highest order. He manages to bring the singer front and center without fading into the background. His gifted fingers brought out every reference to nature and every emotion.

We also love Mahler's Rückert Lieder and enjoyed the way Ms. Röschmann filled "Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder" with her own personality, by means of physical gesture. What she does in terms of word coloration is remarkable. She seemed to be enjoying the taste of the language, something we also feel when we speak in German. Es ist eine leckere Sprache.

We were particularly drawn to the romantic sentiment of "Ich atmet' einen linden Duft" and the passionate "Liebst du um Schönheit", on which Mahler lavished his most tuneful melodies.

Richard Wagner set poetry written by his lady love Mathilde Wesendonck at the height of their love affair whilst he was composing his opera Tristan und Isolde. We are not in a position to evaluate the worth of her poetry but we can say that we personally love the imagery, the symbolism, and the way it rhymes and scans. It is just the kind of text that gives a composer the opportunity to write beautiful music and Wagner certainly did so.

We were not nearly so taken with Schumann's last song cycle Gedichte der Königen Maria Stuart. This was purported to have been written by Mary Queen of Scots in French and translated into German by Gisbert von Vincke. And therein lies the problem, as we see it. The text seemed clumsy and the rhymes often forced. Missing is Schumann's lavish piano score. Perhaps we might enjoy it after several more hearings but last night it paled in comparison with the rest of the program.

The three encores seemed like generous gifts that arrive after the party ends. They were three in number.  First was Liszt's "Es muss ein wunderbares sein" a paean to love that was well suited to the night before Valentine's Day.  The second was Schumann's "Die Lotosblume ängstigt" in which Heinrich Heine's text describes the lotus flower's love for the moon. Now this is the romantic Schumann we know and love!

The audience clamored for more and we were gifted with a third encore--Hugo Wolf's "In der Fruhe" which is not about love but about nocturnal anxiety giving way to the optimism of the rising of the sun. Möricke's text was well matched by Wolf's music and we left Zankel Hall feeling uplifted and more satisfied than we are usually. A great recital will do that for you!

(c) meche kroop

HONORING MARILYN HORNE

Warren Jones, Martin Katz, Nicole Cabell, Susanna Phillips, Beste Kalender, Isabel Leonard, Marilyn Horne, Leonardo Capalbo, Russell Thomas, Lester Lynch, and Edward Parks

Music lovers from all over the world come to Carnegie Hall every January for The Song Continues. This year is Marilyn Horne's last year as artistic advisor; the celebration was a bittersweet one in which singers she has fostered heaped gratitude upon her but also shed some tears as well, as did members of the audience. Anyone who loves the art of the song owes a huge debt to Ms. Horne for going the full mile to see that this art form survives.

We ourselves have attended The Song Continues for the past 15 years at Carnegie Hall. Before then we heard her young singers at St. Bartholomew's Church and before that at the Kosciuszko Foundation. We have lost count of all the incredibly talented singers to whom she has introduced us. But we will be eternally grateful to her for her devoted service to the field.

For yesterday's celebration, eight splendid singers graced the stage of Zankel Hall and performed a program that only hints at the scope of art song; it held the audience spellbound for a good two hours, or should we say a wonderful two hours.

If there were one quality all the singers had in common it was the ability to inhabit a song and turn each one into what Renée Fleming, in her master class of the prior day, called a "3-minute opera". These singers were all storytellers and did not rely solely upon their vocal gifts to entertain us. Rather, they used their artistry to pull us into the world of the poet and that of the composer.

Opening the program was mezzo-soprano Beste Kalender who used facial expression and ample gesture to carry us to Reynaldo Hahn's Venice. She chose three selections from his Venezia. We loved the romantic "La barcheta" for its stunning vocalise and "Che peca!" for its wry humor. The songs were sung in Venetian dialect and delighted us thoroughly.

Leonardo Capalbo has always tantalized us with his garlic-infused tenor and yesterday he introduced us to a trio of songs by Pietro Mascagni; we always love hearing songs that have been undeservedly neglected on concert programs. There was a lovely pianissimo in "Serenata" which was matched by pianistic delicacy on the part of the peerless Warren Jones whose artistry supported the four singers on the first half of the program. Mr. Capalbo invested the songs with dynamic variety.

Baritone Edward Parks, whose performance of the role of Steve Jobs in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs was so completely honest and believable, performed three songs by Charles Ives. "In the Alley" is a wry look at an unrequited infatuation-- and a lot of fun. Not so much fun was "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" which made us feel as if we were missing something. "Berceuse", on the other hand, showed off the lovely soothing quality of his instrument.

Closing the first half of the program was the lovely Susanna Phillips whose soprano always gives us pleasure and whose interpretations are always spot on. She gave us three songs by Richard Strauss. "Muttertänderlei" is a cute song about an overly proud mother whose child is, of course, exceptional. The passionate "Cäcilie" was given an enthusiastic reading, but it was "Morgen" that brought us to our knees. Mr. Jones took a slower tempo than usual and played with an ethereal delicacy that created an otherworldly mood, causing us to question our assumptions about the text. We love an interpretation that shows us something new! Ms. Phillips' singing sustained the mood.

For the second half of the program, Martin Katz took over as collaborative pianist. Soprano Nicole Cabell chose three selections by three different composers to show off three different styles. "Del cabello más sutil" is perfumed with sensuousness and comes from Fernando Obradors' Canciones clasicas españolas; it contains some marvelous melismatic writing, beautifully negotiated by Ms. Cabell. Henri Duparc's "Chanson triste" created a tender mood, and Ricky Ian Gordon's "Joy" gave the singer an opportunity to be more expansive. Ms. Cabell shows a deep understanding of what she is singing about.

Lester Lynch has a big baritonal sound that we almost called baronial. There is so much power there that Mr. Katz could pull out all the stops without holding back. The voice is well suited to Schubert's "Gruppe aus dem Tartarus" and to Barber's "I hear an army"; but we preferred the tenderness he exhibited in Brahm's "Wie bist du, meine Königen", a lovely romantic tribute.

Tenor Russell Thomas opened his set with Stefano Donaudy's familiar ode "O del mio amato ben", causing us to look at his bio to make sure he is a tenor. It sounded great but not nearly as tenorial as his performance of two Tosti songs which followed--"Non t'amo più" and "L'alba sepàra dalla luce l'ombra"--a memorable performance indeed.

The program ended with the matchless mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard singing a heartfelt rendition of "Take Care of This House" from Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Of course the song is about The White House which could use some care right now, but we also took it to mean caring for Carnegie Hall, our cultural house.  She also sang "Greeting" from Arias and Barcarolles but when she got to the final selection "Somewhere" from West Side Story, she asked the audience to sing along with her--a capella!

There were two notable encores: Warren Jones dedicated his amazing arrangement of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" (one of her signature songs) to Ms. Horne and the entire cast raised their voices in tribute. We have never appreciated the song so dearly!

Mr. Katz also contributed an encore, Richard Strauss' "Zueignung".

We do not want to leave our readers thinking that Ms. Horne is retiring or anything that unbelievable.  Although Renée Fleming will take over the helm of The Marilyn Horne Legacy at Carnegie Hall, Ms. Horne will likely stay involved. Similarly, Ms. Horne is retiring as director of the voice program at Music Academy of the West but will stay involved there as well. When you are that large and generous a personality, you just can't stop giving!

(c) meche kroop

DOWN HOME DIVA

rom

Jamie Barton at Zankel Hall (photo courtesy of Carnegie Hall)

Within our blog reside about ten encomia directed toward this arresting mezzo-soprano. What more can we say about her commanding stage presence, her chocolate stout timbre, her perfect phrasing, and her linguistic skills?

Let us just focus on last night's sold out recital at Carnegie Hall which drew torrents of applause, a standing ovation, and demands for encores. The particular encore that closed the recital was, interestingly, the same aria that we sat in the rain to hear at the Naumberg Bandshell in Central Park! The occasion was a celebration of Richard Tucker's 100th birthday.

Permit us to quote from the August 2013 review..."Mezzo Jamie Barton tackled "Acerba voluttà" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur as if it were a piece of cake.   Her creamy lush voice and intense stage presence were a joy to behold."

Last night we were indoors and well sheltered from the elements. Moreover we were able to hear every dramatic phrase of this aria sung by the soon to be discarded Princesse de Bouillon, bearer of the poisoned violets. This was a real barn burner and far outweighed the rest of the program.

Ms. Barton always creates her own programs, this time in collaboration with her excellent pianist Kathleen Kelly. With the confidence of knowing that her audience will follow her wherever she goes, she makes every program unusual and interesting with the old and the new, the borrowed and the blue. She's one of those artists who could hold our interest if she sang the phonebook and there were moments when we thought she was.

Take for example Iain Bell's setting of text by e.e. cummings. The poetry has a certain amount of visual interest as the words are scattered upon the page but the music they inspired was not music to our ears. The work was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and, since this was a world premiere, it generated a certain amount of excitement, especially as performed by Ms. Barton. We do not care to ever hear it again.

On the other hand, we absolutely loved what we considered to be the centerpiece of the program, which we have heard and enjoyed many times, but more than ever last night as Ms. Barton put her own original and highly dramatic stamp on it.  We are speaking of Joseph Haydn's secular oratorio Arianna a Naxos.

Poor Arianna (Ariadne) saved the life of Teseo (Theseus)  and sailed away with him only to be "ghosted". Although the work dates back to about 1789, the theme could not be more contemporary, as experienced by women attempting to date in the electronic age.  It was far more contemporary than Libby Larsen's setting of three mid-20th c. American women poets in Love after 1950, from which we heard three selections.

There was plenty of humor and irony and the musical styles varied from the bluesy sound of "Boys Lips" to the rock and roll sound of "Big Sister Says". Again, it was Ms. Barton's delivery that made them interesting.

Ms. Barton had a theme for the evening, wanting to present works that were somehow overlooked because of the gender of the composer or poet, or works that are not generally sung by a woman. She is good at breaking barriers, she is! 

Her delivery of Ravel's "Chanson à boire" from Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée was sheer glee and, indeed, the first time we have heard it sung by a woman. Singers love to play inebriation as much as actors love death scenes. And why shouldn't a woman enjoy getting tipsy and very very happy! We are thinking of "Je suis grise" from Offenbach's operetta La Périchole.

Henry Duparc's "Phidylé" was sung with initial delicacy and final expansion and gave us maximum aural pleasure, as did Richard Strauss' "Cäcilie".

If we have said nothing about the opening songs by Elinor Remick Warren, Amy Beach, and the sisters Boulanger, it is because we neither loved them nor hated them.

This recital was part of the excellent Jula Goldwurm Pure Voice Series at Zankel Hall. 

Ms. Barton deserves every accolade, every standing ovation, every prize she has gotten, and all that audience adulation.  She is every inch a star. We confess that of all the times we have heard her, our favorite moment was up close and personal at the Greene Space of WQXR when we felt like we got to know her in a more personal way. She is truly our Down Home Diva.

(c) meche kroop

A BEAUTIFUL PERSSON

Malcolm Martineau and Miah Persson at Zankel Hall (photo by Fadi Kheir)

What is a recitalist to do when her vocal partner becomes indisposed?  Soprano Miah Persson was scheduled to give a recital with baritone Florian Boesch who was indisposed. We were not there behind the scenes to tell you how it went but we were in the audience in Zankel Hall and witnessed the end result. There was a revision in the program and in exchange for what we missed, we heard a lovely program from soprano Miah Persson who looks as beautiful as she sounds. One is not supposed to notice things like a singer's physical beauty but we confess it certainly adds to the experience.

Ms. Persson focused her program on songs by Schumann and was able to perform Frauenliebe und Leben in its entirety, a far better enterprise than singing excerpts. We love this cycle and never tire of it. We are always tuning our ears into the changes in a woman's life cycle and if Adalbert von Chamiso's text sounds sexist in our day and age, we care not a whit. It is fine for us to recognize how women's lives have changed and if 19th c. women derived their sense of self from the man that chose them, well, that's okay with us.

What we do miss, however, is what happened between the birth of the subject's baby and the husband's death.  Perhaps he died prematurely but, never mind, it's a wonderful cycle and we hope we never have to hear it sung by a man!  (LOL). Last night, Ms. Persson gave it all she had, and what she had was substantial. She captured the bedazzlement of a young woman meeting someone considered beyond her reach; she limned the incredulity of being chosen; she illustrated the call to maturity brought upon by her engagement followed by the excitement of the wedding which she shared with her sisters, whose childhood games she would leave behind.

Pregnancy brought new joys and the ecstasies of motherhood were beautifully captured; we cannot recall a more authentic performance of the phrase "Du lieber, lieber Engel, du, Du schauest mich an und lachelst dazu!" but it sounded so real that we wondered whether Ms. Persson has experienced motherhood herself.  Likewise, we felt all the mixed emotions one feels when a life partner dies--there is anger at being abandoned, mixed with the grief of loss, and the feeling that life (at least as one knows it) has ended.  Ms. Persson's effective coloring succeeded in showing the subject's maturation.

For us, this performance was the highlight of the evening and we greatly admire the manner in which Mr. Martineau gently supported the vocal line and the pathos of the postlude in which he repeats the melody of the first song "Seit ich ihn gesehen". Mr. Martineau has soft hands and a light touch; he is the perfect partner for Ms. Persson. His superb playing never ever upstages the singer and it is only when one submits to the mood of the song that one realizes the magnitude of his selfless contribution. Fortunately, Mr. Martineau had a solo on the program--Schumann's "Traumerei"--in which the silences spoke as effectively as the notes. We have noticed that in singers but rarely in the piano.

There were other wonderful Schumann songs. We particularly enjoyed the ethereal "Mondnacht" with Joseph von Eichendorff's evocative text; Mr. Martineau's prelude and interludes painted some exquisite aural pictures. Friedrich Ruckert's text for "Schneeglockchen" evoked a completely different but charming vision--that of the floral herald of Spring. Schumann had a real feel for Ruckert but Eduard Morike's "Er ist's" filled us with a similar but more passionate anticipation of Spring.

Ruckert's "Der Himmel hat eine Trane geweint" filled us with wonder and also makes us wonder why today's poets are producing such unlikeable poetry, leading to such unappealing settings! We also loved the charming "O ihr Herren" in which a poet, symbolized by a nightingale, seeks a quiet corner for his songs.

Robert's wife Clara appeared on the program as well with the passionate "Er ist gekommen" and the gentle strophic song "Liebst du um Schonheit". Although Mahler set the same text so beautifully, Clara's setting owes no one an apology. The melody remains in one's memory and pleases enormously.

Robert Schumann also set texts by Goethe and his music for "Nachtlied" amplifies the concise but pungent text. 

Mary Stuart's words written prior to her death (translated into German by Gisbert Freiherr von Vincke) did not thrill us like the rest of the program. It was a grim way to end such a glorious recital and we were quite relieved by the beautiful encore which we believe was Edvard Grieg's "Jeg elsker dig" and which we believe was sung in Danish. Please overlook our inability to distinguish one Scandinavian language from another! In any event it lifted our sunken spirits.

As one may have expected from a Swedish soprano, there were six additional songs by the Norwegian Grieg on the program. Grieg was influenced by Schumann and had a vast output, although there are only a handful performed regularly on recital programs. We favored the delightful "Lauf der Welt", sung in German, with Mr. Marineau's frisky piano adding to the fun. Grieg wrote for his wife Nina and the ecstatic "Ein traum" is one of those thrilling songs that deals with love fulfilled.

Fulfilled might be the best word to describe how we felt at the conclusion of this fine recital. If we have failed to mention Ms. Persson's pleasing instrument and her musical phrasing, it is because we were most taken by her artistry as an interpreter.

(c) meche kroop

THEY CAME FOR THE SONATA...

Jonathan Biss and Mark Padmore at Zankel Hall

"They came for the sonata and stayed for the lieder" was the thought we entertained last night at Zankel Hall . It is rare that we attend a vocal recital without knowing at least a dozen people in the audience; last night there was a different audience from the one we see at vocal recitals and we had wondered whether they would enjoy the Schubert lieder on the second half of the program.  We needn't have concerned ourselves. The audience was held spellbound by Mr. Padmore's artistry and if they were not fans of lieder before the recital they surely will now be converts.

Although Mr. Padmore is a mature artist, the timbre of his voice is very youthful whilst his interpretive skills have been earned by experience. Moreover, he addressed the audience in a most gracious manner and spoke about the program, something we always appreciate.

The generous program comprised songs written toward the end of Schubert's tragically interrupted life with his full awareness that his time on earth was limited. A case has been made for how this influenced his song output but we cannot add to that argument.  All we can say is that we found a wide range of emotion in the chosen songs and that Mr. Padmore colored them with subtlety and communicated a depth of feeling.  And, for us, that is what lieder singing is all about.

A case was also made that Schubert's late songs give less melody to the vocal line.  Frankly, if modern composers paid half as much attention to a melodic vocal line we might enjoy contemporary music considerably more. The melodies are swirling around in our head even now. Some credit must go to the poets he chose to set--Johann Gabriel Seidl, Karl Gottfried von Leitner, Ludwig Rellstab, and, of course, Heinrich Heine.

Taking a closer look at our personal favorites, Rellstab's "In der Ferne" employed a dactyl meter in short punchy phrases that rhymed throughout, lending an impressive unity to the song, emphasized by Schubert's rhythmic setting. Rellstab's "Aufenthalt" followed the dactyl unit with a final stressed syllable, giving the song an insistent and propulsive feeling that echoed the rushing stream, the falling tears, and the beating heart.  In his "Herbst", the rhythm of the piano reminded one of "Gretchen am Spinnrade".  We are not suggesting that these songs sounded alike. Mr. Padmore made each song his own.

Von Leitner's poetry is different altogether and Schubert responded to it differently. In "Der Winterabend", so appropriate for last night, von Leitner wrote about the moonlight slipping lightly into his solitary room, spinning and weaving a shimmering veil ("schimmerndes Schleiertuch"); Shubert's music, as interpreted by Mr. Padmore, similarly spun and wove a shimmering veil over the audience.  We were transfixed!

In his "Des Fischers Liebesgluck", the piano introduces the strophic barcarolle in a minor key and plays the same theme as an interlude  between each stanza, a theme that once heard can never be forgotten. Mr. Padmore colored it beautifully and negotiated the upward leaps effectively. Strophic songs can become boring but not this one!

In Schubert's setting of Heine's "Die Stadt", the composer conveys both breeze and moisture by some kind of compositional legerdemain and the two artists ensured that we felt both. This was tonal painting at its apex!

The program ended with a setting of Seidl's cheerfully charming "Die Taubenpost".

The first half of the concert belonged to Jonathan Biss alone as he performed Schubert's Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959 which was published posthumously. Mr. Biss' fingers literally flew over the keys in virtuosic splendor. It's always impressive when a superstar of the piano can also perform equally well as a collaborative pianist.

(c) meche kroop

A WINTER'S JOURNEY

Julius Drake and Alice Coote

Winterreise! We know of no other piece of music that can keep us spellbound for well over an hour. Wilhelm Muller's poetry may have been meant to be satirical of Romantic era themes but taken up by Franz Schubert, it became art of the highest order. It is the kind of text that begged for musical setting. Schubert heard the call and answered by composing a cycle of songs that are unmatched in variety and depth of feeling. We are almost as fond of Die Schone Mullerin which keeps our interest by virtue of telling a story, whereas Winterreise relies solely on an inner journey of despair and madness in 24 shades of black.

Composed in 1827, shortly before Schubert's death, the work's exploration of the inner life of an isolated human being, tipped over the edge by a romantic rejection, is just as relevant today as it was then.  Just as the poetry begged to be set, the composition begs to be interpreted by a singer and pianist of great artistry.  Last night at Zankel Hall the work received just such an interpretation.

As the performance began we experienced two reservations, one of which disappeared within moments and the other remains one upon which we stand our ground. The first reservation was about a woman performing a work that we associate strongly with a youthful male voice. Still, famous mezzo-sopranos have tackled the work with varying degrees of success and the work received its first performance at Carnegie Hall 60 years ago, by a contralto. Within moments we lost all sense of gender.

Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, receiving superb support from collaborative pianist Julius Drake, conveyed every nuance of madness, loneliness and despair by means of widely varying dynamics and highly effective word coloration. Moreover there was an arc to the performance--not one of starting gently and building to a climax, but one of ups and downs--just as a depressed individual may achieve moments of hopefulness before crashing into despair.

Each song was a gem all on its own but the work as a whole was given a shape.  Mr. Drake's participation was remarkable. He was always right there supporting the vocal line, but let loose when Ms. Coote was silent. He brought out every element of nature in the text and made the visual audible.

It is obvious that the pair invested a great deal of time and effort to make the performance seem spontaneous. And now we come to the reservation that just won't leave us. Regular readers will recall how we feel about singers performing on the book. Our experience was that every time Ms. Coote drew us in with a moment of deep connection, there was a downward glance, a flip of the page, and the spell was broken.

As an experienced recitalist performing for a Carnegie Hall audience, Ms. Coote might have considered committing the work to memory, as so many others have done before her. That would have made the evening perfect.

Of course, audience members are not expected to commit the work to memory and, therefore, projected titles would have been welcome for those who do not understand German. It was unfortunate to see so many people with their noses buried in their libretti and missing Ms. Coote's excellent performance.

And now, we are wondering if Schumann's Frauenlieben und Leben has ever been performed by a man. The idea does not particularly appeal to us but neither did the idea of a woman singing Winterreise.  One never knows!

(c) meche kroop

MARILY HORNE SONG CELEBRATION

Ken Noda, Gerald Martin Moore, Javier Camarena, Eugene Villanueva, Mario Chang, Valeriya Polunina, Michelle Bradley, J'Nai Bridges and Warren Jones

Whether we call it "Marilyn Horne's Birthday Week" or "The Marilyn Horne Legacy" or "The Song Continues 2017" it still adds up to be the exciting week in January when we get to celebrate the art of the song recital  Last night's "Marilyn Horne Song Celebration" at Zankel Hall (of Carnegie Hall) delivered the goods, bringing together four rising stars in the vocal firmament and superstar tenor Javier Camarena. The programming was superb and the audience was highly appreciative.

Several of the singers and collaborative pianists are well known to us and have been reviewed multiple times. Readers will recall how exciting it is for us to watch their growth over the half dozen years we have been writing. Among these singers, and standing out in our memory for having delivered a performance of perfection, is mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges whose constant appearances at award recitals stands as testament to her talent.

Ms. Bridges has always had a flair for French with consummate skills at diction, phrasing, and the creation of long lyrical lines. Dressed in a slinky turquoise gown that made her look like a mermaid, her voice was as seductive as that of the Loreley of German fame, the one whose compelling voice lured sailors to their doom.  But in this case, the luring was toward acoustic delights. Her interpretation of Claude Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis was right on point. She captured the innocence of the young girl in "La flute de Pan", the developing sensuality of the young woman in "La chevelure" and the disillusionment of a mature woman whose love has gone sour in "Le tombeau des naiades".

Warren Jones' delicate touch served to add to the spellbinding performance, no less excellent in Ernest Chausson's melancholic song of regret "Le temps des lilas" and in two songs by Georges Bizet. We loved the long arching phrases of "Chanson d'Avril" and the "Orientalist" fantasy of "Adieux de l'hotesse arabe" who cannot seem to keep her young European lover. There are endless colors in Ms. Bridges' vocal palette.

Variety of vocal colors seemed to be exactly what was missing in the otherwise fine performance of Richard Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder by the powerful soprano Michelle Bradley, about whom we have also written before. This is a grand and glowing instrument with great promise and one that will take some time to get under firm control. The composer's swan song comprised the four last songs he wrote that were put together by his publishers. They are autumnal in quality and begged for more variety and gesture. Valeriya Polunina's accompaniment served her well with notable inclusions of the song of larks.

Warren Jones' piano contributed similarly to the performance of baritone Eugene Villanueva, whose talents are new to us. After hearing a set of Brahms songs and a set of Hugo Wolf songs, we have concluded that this fine young singer is far more interesting when he has a character to portray. And Wolf gives the singer plenty of characters! In "Der Rattenfanger", he gave the character a seductiveness of menace, not like Schubert's jolly ratcatcher!  Mr. Villanueva really got into the role and showed a great deal of personality.

A different sort of personality was called for in "Abschied" in which Morike's text describes an unwelcome visit from a critic whom the poet kicks down the stairs with great relish. Mr. Villanueva clearly enjoyed singing these characters and we enjoyed his performance. We would propose that the next time he sings Brahms' lovely "Von ewiger Liebe",  he might put himself into the mind of the cautious young man and the passionately committed young woman. We longed to hear the two voices colored differently. We enjoyed his voice most when he sang pianissimo.

Tenor Mario Chang is another singer we have been enjoying for several years; we were pleased that he chose several Spanish songs. Joaquin Turina's early 20th c. cycle Poema en forma de canciones begins with a selection for piano entitled "Dedicatoria" in which collaborative pianist Ken Noda established an Iberian flavor for the songs that followed, all expressing various ironies of love.

Mr. Chang has some beautiful technique at the ready and we heard a delicate decrescendo in "Nunca olvida". Similar to our critique of Mr. Villanueva, we longed to hear a different color for the woman who expresses her anxieties in "Los dos miedos".  The man narrating should sound different than the woman he is describing.

We heard another notable decrescendo in Tosti's "Ideale", a good choice for Mr. Chang. And we have heard him sing Miguel Sandoval's "Sin tu amor" before and consider it Mr. Chang's signature piece. There were a few times in his performance that he was pushing at the top of his register.  He does not always do this and when he does we wish he would lighten up. He has the notes  and higher doesn't always mean louder.

Such pushing was not heard in tenor Javier Camarena's performance of Liszt's Tre sonetti di Petrarca! So many fine singers have come out of Mexico and he is one of them. His guest appearance with collaborative pianist Gerald Martin Moore was pure pleasure. He has a gorgeous instrument and colors to spare--enough actually for the singers on the program who were deficient in that regard.

His delivery provided all the variety of dynamics one would wish for; he can achieve maximum volume without shouting or pushing his voice. One doesn't often here such an exquisite messa di voce. The depth of his feeling is operatic and we loved it. We are still hearing that long downward sigh in "Benedetto sia'l giorno" and a finely floated high note in "I' vidi in terra angelici costumi".

It was an altogether fine note and a fitting capstone for a week of celebration. Too bad we have to wait another year for a similar celebration.

Lovers of song will find other recitals in other venues--we recommend Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song for a different kind of song recital, and Joy in Singing for yet another. Watch the calendar at Opera America for more.

(c) meche kroop