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Stars wow enthralled fans
Leonard Turnevicius
January 2006
Hamilton SpectatorBook them and they will come. Big names equal big crowd.
Opera Hamilton's inaugural Great Singers Recital Series got off to a great start with a great turnout at Hamilton Place on Sunday afternoon to hear two big names in opera, both proud Canadians: soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and baritone Russell Braun, each accompanies by their respective spouse at the pinao, Serouj Kradjian and Carolyn Maule.
The first half was devoted to art songs, but things began on a soft and mildly timorous start in Robert Shumann's duet, Er and Sie. I'm sure Bayrakdarian would like to take back her first couple of notes. Likewise, Schumann's So wahr die Sonne scheinet didn't fell totally "internalized" as both singers read off music placed on a stand in front of them.
The rest of the program, sung from memory, had each singer appearing in alternation. During three songs by Clara Schumann, Bayrakdarian's German wasn't quite echt on the 2words zieht, neu and reizendes. Yet, Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen was an emotionally charged number. The Lebanese-born Bayrakdarian hit her stride in four Armenian songs by Komitas, music sung straight from her soul. In Ervoom em/Shogher Jan (I'm Buring With Love/Dear Shogher), Bayrakdarian's swaying head and gently swivelling hips told more of the story than could be found in the program booklet's translations.
Similarly, the German-born Braun has German art songs coursing through his veins. His diction was superb in three songs from Schumann's Liederkreis op. 39, though he took two oddly placed snatch breaths in Mondnacht. Hoever, Braun's French wasn't as crystal clear early on onin Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée.
Rounding out the first half, Maule and Kradjian presented the pinaon four-hands Prelude, and Intermezzo Nationaltanz from Schumann's Spanische Liebes-Lieder.
The program heated up with operatic arias and duets from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, and Don Giovanni, as well as Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. Braun's voice was hardy in Vedrò mentr'io sospiro. Bayrakdarian countered with a lovely rendition of Canadian composer Derek Holman's clever elaboration on Giunse alfin il momento/Deh vieni, non tardar.
With arias such as Dh vieni alla finestra, and Finch' han dal vino, Braun gave us a tantalizing taste of Don Giovanni that Opera hamilton fans were to have heard in February. (That production is now slated for the fall, but without Braun.) Thee was a cute ending to Là ci darem la mano, where Maule broke up the hanky-panky between Giovanni (Braun) and Zerlina (Bayrakdarian) with a forcefully played cadence.
Braun began Figaro's largo al factotum from the wings, glad-handing as he ran past the front row before bounding onto the stage. The entire area was a tour de force that received a rousing response from the audience. Not to be outdone, Bayrakdarian's rendition of Una voce poco fa, sung with a lighter voice, had lots of vocal fireworks. Bayrakdarian's florid ways showed with Rossini's original melodic line in the duet Dunque io son. The audience rose to its feet.
Each pair gave an encore: Bayrakdarian and Kradjian with Rossini's delightful Canzonetta Spagnuola; Braun and Maule an old-time Canadian parlour song, once a Caruso favourite, Geoffrey O'Hara's Your Eyes Have Told Me What I Did Not Know. I don't know how Opera Hamilton's general director David Speers is going to top this recital next season.
Leonard Turnevicius is a music educator and organist.
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