Last recital of the 2007-2008 series:
Felicity Lott & Graham Johnson
May 7, 7:30 pm Embassy of Austria
The following are excerpts of a review of Dame Felicity's recent recital in London, Feb. 26, Wigmore Hall.
"Everything about Dame Felicity Lott delineated her star status at this Wigmore Hall recital, from the nobility of her bearing to the finesse of her technical preparation, her easy platform manner and her spectacular gowns.
And whilst she has more claim than most to be referred to as a diva, only the positive connotations of that word apply to Dame Felicity, who performed with generosity, virtuosity, and a warm, intelligent musicianship.
It was staggering to hear her voice in the knowledge that she celebrated the 30th anniversary of her Wigmore Hall debut in 2005, for she betrays very few signs of having aged at all, still producing her characteristic fresh, lustrous timbre throughout the majority of her range with, if anything, more flexibility than she used to have. If time has slightly weakened her lowest register, she has gained a new facility in pianissimo top notes that more than compensates for such minor shortcomings.
Truthfully however, questions of vocal technique pale into insignificance alongside Dame Felicity's use of language, phrasing and gesture while she is performing.
She opened her all French programme with Ravel's 'Manteau de fleurs' and it was immediately apparent that not only is her diction clear, but her pronunciation and inflexion is so good that those who understand French scarcely need refer to the printed texts at all to understand the poetry. This meant that the artless simplicity with which she delivered lines such as 'Il engraisse comme une oie' at the end of Ravel's 'Le cygne' allowed the words to have their full effect.
Dame Felicity's natural, unfussy interpretation of the four Ravel songs on the programme was entirely appropriate to pieces which were set very directly by the composer, calling for little in terms of vocal display...
After these three settings of Louise Lalanne, Martineau and Dame Felicity gave us two Poulenc cycles, 'Tel jour, telle nuit' and 'La courte paille'. There were many magical moments from both artists, but the daring pianissimo in the repetition of the first lines of 'Une herbe pauvre', and the breadth of the line at the end of 'Nous avons fait la nuit' were especially arresting. 'Lune d'Avril' was a very fine close to a programme characterised by variety but unified by rare distinction.
Of the three Poulenc encores we were given, 'Les chemins d'amour' was quite amazing. Dame Felicity's languorous, wistful but erotically charged take on it was irresistible, and given the number of people I heard humming it to themselves on the way out of the hall, I don't think I will be alone in thinking it an unforgettable gem from a beautiful evening.
John Woods for MusicalCriticism.com |
Please note: The Embassy has increased their security with a metal detection system which will be in operation at the upcoming recital and in the future. |
Also of interest at the Embassy under the auspices of
the Austrian Cultural Forum
Randall Scarlata, baritone
Thomas Bagwell, piano
June 23, 2008 at 7:30 pm at the Embassy of AustriaAdmission free. RSVP required: 202-895-6776 or rsvp@austria.org
The World Premiere of
Wolfram Wagner: Three Songs of Weldon Kees
and
Lieder by Schubert, Poulenc, and Lowell Liebermann This concert is made possible with the generous support of the Vocal Arts Society. |
