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Brewer, a
Wagnerian soprano of great integrity and artistry |
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CHRISTINE
BREWER, Soprano
In the past twenty years, there have been a parade of Wagnerian sopranos who came and went – Jane Eaglen, a sizeable voice with a limited emotional palette; Waltraud Meier, a wide emotional palette but a smallish voice; Linda Watson (L.A. Opera’s current Brünnhilde), a fine voice albeit unfairly reigned-in by directorial constraints. Christine Brewer’s voice encompasses a wide range and is capable of staggering volumes as well as subtle hues of emotion. It is a big voice that has an exhilarating top, a shimmering middle and a heartwarming bottom. This big, exciting voice was immediately evident in the opening number, Gluck’s “Divinités du Styx”, in which the voice soared and bloomed rapturously over the aria’s long phrases. Next came Wagner’s song cycle of five poems by Matthilde Wesendonck, the Wesendonck Lieder. Most memorable were the third and fifth songs (Im Treibhaus, Träume), in which the voice wrapped sensuously around the haunting harmonies evoking the mystical world of Tristan und Isolde. Ironically, the only Wagner songs on the program were not the heroic kind usually associated with big Wagnerian dramatic sopranos. Instead, they lie low in the vocal register and showcased Ms. Brewer’s radiantly beautiful lower voice. Joseph Marx (1882-1964) was mainly known as a composer of orchestral songs in the shadow of Richard Strauss. The Late German Romanticism in the two songs “Selig Nacht” and “Hat dich die Liebe berührt” was heard in the gently rushing piano figures and long arching vocal lines. Pianist Craig Rutenberg proved a capable and sympathetic partner for Ms. Brewer. The piano lid was lifted way up, but the sound of the piano never once overwhelmed Ms. Brewer’s herculean instrument, nor could it if it had tried. Post-intermission, German art songs gave way to lighthearted British parlor songs and folk songs. Benjamin Britten’s Cabaret Songs saw Ms. Brewer at her most vivacious, romping through “Calypso” with tremendous gusto and giving “Tell me the truth about love” a touch of the blues. The main program concluded with six British Isles songs, each a tribute to a famous soprano of the past – Kirsten Flagstadt, Helen Traubel, Eleanor Steber among Ms. Brewer’s illustrious predecessors. During The Voice of Firestone song “If I could tell you”, the soprano walked around the piano to face her fans sitting behind the stage (and perhaps not able to hear her too well), and softly spun the romantic ballad to a shattering, poignant climax, then slowly bringing it to a whispered close. It was a magical moment one would not soon forget. Ms. Brewer gifted her fans (and many new converts) with a string of encores. The success of her recital was due in no small part to her generosity as well as her great artistry.
Opera today would be
better served by singers of high integrity and artistry such as
Christine Brewer, with less extra-musical interventions from
directors. The aforementioned singers of the past all did their own
makeup, bought their own costumes, and developed their own distinct
styles. I sure hope someone from the Los Angeles Opera staff was
there in the audience last night. Wagner’s Ring Cycle may be the
Gesamtkunstwerk of all the arts, but the human voice still
reigns supreme. To
purchase tickets for Los Angeles Philharmonic's 2009/10 season, call
(323) 850-2000 or visit online
www.laphil.org
Truman C. Wang is editor-in-chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News, other Southern California publications, as well as the Hawaiian Chinese Daily.
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