Vocalists give audience nice, comfortable feelingAkron Beacon Journal - March 30, 2006Opera stars' friendship shines through in warm Tuesday Musical performanceFrom the opening chorus of Happy Birthday that the audience sang to a delighted Samuel Ramey to the final encore, a homemade birthday tribute from the bass's recital partner, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, Tuesday's recital at E.J. Thomas Hall had a warm glow of friendship about it. The two singers have been international opera stars for 30 years. For this Tuesday Musical recital, they left the opera hall and visited the world of cabaret, treating the audience to their artfully conceived performances of songs by George Gershwin as well as Cole Porter, Jerome Jern, Oscar Hammerstein and others. Martin Katz, their marvelous pianist, got his own well deserved bravos at the end of the night. On Monday, von Stade told students at a University of Akron master class that they needed to communicate the story behind the song. On Tuesday night, she practiced what she had preached. The recital opened with a delicious little known set of art songs by the pianist/singer Pauline Viardot. Never mind that the lyrics were in french: you only had to follow von Stade's expressions to understand the gist of each vividly defined emotion in them. In a set of Spanish-flavored songs by Ravel that flowed nicely after the Viardot, Ramey's rich bass, with its powerhouse vibrato, reminded a listener that he is used to filling an opera house to the rafters. He also knows how to hold back for effect: in fact, this concert was all about wise, experienced use of vocal resources. The lyrics of familiar songs in English, like How Long Has This Been Goin' On?, The Man I Love and Send in the Clowns were treated to an expertly judged balance of respect and interpretive latitude. Von Stade's substantial low note are still something to hear, but the delight of this recital was how these performers relished the meaning of what they sang. That, and the connection among the three musicians, who meshed so well. A highlight was a group of Aaron Copland songs, with von Stade and Ramey taking turns-von Stade heartbreaking in Simple gifts,Ramey bringing his famous villainous charm to The Dodger-and then coming together for a final reverie of barnyard sounds in the song I Bought Me a Cat. It was little touches like the birthday tribute (it was Ramey's 54th), the singers' comments to the audience and the addition of their own verse to Let's Call the Whole Thing Off that gave the whole polished evening such a warm, spontaneous feeling. Call it off? Even after two hours and 20 minutes, this listener gladly would have stayed for more. |
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