Monday, May 10, 2010

Frederica von Stade

Wow. This was really, really fun and really touching!




















From the Tribune review:
Unlike those singers who keep performing well past their sell-by dates, Frederica von Stade is going into retirement in good vocal shape, head held proudly. Her Chicago farewell recital Monday night in a packed Harris Theater was an occasion for the beloved American mezzo-soprano to look back fondly on a remarkable career that has spanned 40 years, through songs that hold personal significance to her.

It was evident from the good-natured rapport the singer enjoyed with her audience and with her fluent pianist, Jake Heggie, what a treasurable artist she remains, even as grandmother-hood beckons. Von Stade could have had no finer musical partner than Heggie, in whose opera "Three Decembers" she is starring this week at Chicago Opera Theater, which presented Monday's event. The composer has long been her close friend, muse and collaborator. It was only fitting that she should include two excerpts from "Paper Wings," a song cycle he wrote for her, based on her own texts.

Heggie isn't the only prominent American composer whose songs she spun into vocal gold. Ned Rorem was represented, as were Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson. Lee Hoiby's "The Serpent" and William Bolcom's "Amor" reminded one what a wonderful storyteller she can be.

"Most of my career I have spent playing naughty young boys," the singer observed before plunging into selections that portray both naughty boys (the gavotte from Thomas' "Mignon") and bad girls (Ravel's saucy "Nicolette"). Complementary mugging was thrown in at no additional charge.

Von Stade leavened her mostly lightweight program with more serious songs, including Charlotte's aria from Massenet's "Werther" (interrupted by overeager applause) and Sondheim's bittersweet "Send in the Clowns," sung so that every word mattered. Another Heggie song, "Primary Colors," brought the program to a quiet close before triggering a roaring, standing ovation.

The relatively short program could have stood a few more encores than the three the artist offered. They were Leonard Bernstein's "Greeting," "I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No" and "Ah, quel diner," her signature turn as Offenbach's tipsy Perichole. By then cameras were clicking all over the hall, in delirious defiance of house rules.

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