Susan Graham - mezzo soprano, with Malcom Martineau - piano
Was quite wonderful. i drove to downtown st paul by myself with no idea about parking and paid the price. drove around forever [MAD] and finally just parked at TeRy's apt building. A 15 minute walk but a guaranteed spot. Theoroi is fun to see shows with and even though i was right on the nose on time, tix were delivered with smile and i was seated with other members of the group. Back at Ordway, i feel we've all gained some level of familiarity, and therefore perhaps more honesty about the show, despite its aforethought exclusivity.
She sang songs (lieder) from a wide variety from many eras of composers writing on themes of french (poulenec), german (goethe), and english poetry (shakespere). Her voice is an accomplished instrument and she brought passion and emotion to the program. The whole performance surpassed all my expectations, because while i fully expected musical virtuosity, i did not expect to be so engaged with the music and selections and depth of the pieces.
The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation - Henry Purcell
Mad Bess (Bess of Bedlam) - Henry Purcell
Baroque. English. Beautiful control and articulation. Delicious poetry. Here, taste.
Mad Bess (Bess of Bedlam)
From silent shades and the Elysian grovesLa mort d’Ophélie - Hector Berlioz
Where sad departed spirits mourn their loves
From crystal streams and from that country where
Jove crowns the fields with flowers all the year,
Poor senseless Bess, cloth’d in her rags and folly,
Is come to cure her lovesick melancholy
Honestly, this is harder to recall the music. berlioz can be hard to whistle the next day, though. Also some lovely lyrics here, and french mid-century tone poetry.
Songs from Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister - A variety pack of composers from across the 19th century writing Goethe inspired lieder. Very different, short pieces of music. i really enjoyed hearing the Tchaikovsky sung in the original Russian. This type of grouping illustrates for me the gravity of Goethe on art, music, and theater. Time to hit up the library.
Heiss mich nicht reden - Franz SchubertAnd of course the encore. Which was salty and sweet.
So lasst mich scheinen, bis ich werde - Robert Schumann
Kennst du das Land - Franz Liszt
Nyet, tol’ko tot, kto znal (None but the lonely heart) - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Romance de Mignon - Henri Duparc
Heiss mich nicht reden - Hugo Wolf
I Can be a Sexy Lady was written for Ms. Graham by Ben Moore because she's so often cast in less feminine, if even female roles with her strength as a mezzo. So this bit of, er, jazz? was a fun and flirty way to dabble outside the yoozh. Also to remind us that starlets are also muses for admirers.
