New Jersey State Theater, New Brunswick. Orchestra (Seat S116, $27.50).
Program
Vocal recitals usually are not my “thing.” However, when I saw the TodayTix APP offering
$20 tickets, I couldn’t resist. It is
Renee Fleming, and it is at the State Theater, a little over 20 minutes away
from my house.
It was a worthwhile experience, even though my
appreciation and knowledge of the vocal art remain quite limited.
First, it was a well-designed program. It led off with five of Brahms’ songs. Fleming talked a bit about them, what stood
out were “Meine Liebe ist grun,” with text written by Robert and Clara Schumann’s
son Felix, who died in his early twenties from tuberculosis; and “Wiegenlied,”
the famous lullaby that is sung in every country. The first song (Vergebliches Standhen) calls
for a male and female voice, and Fleming sang both. She also did that with the last piece in the
regular program. All the songs talk
about love, realized or unrequited, and Fleming brought out the emotions well.
This was followed by selections from a suite written by Puts,
based on letters Georgia O’keeffe wrote to Alfred Stieglitz, who would
eventually become her husband. The three
selections from the composition painted a picture of the New Mexico
landscape. I remain puzzled why the song
“Canyon” talks instead about the sky and the flat prairie land. Fleming said the composition is being
expanded to include Stieglitz as well. A
search of the web seems to indicate this is an opera, go figure.
Fleming has been involved with music for many films. Three were selected for the first half. Of course both “Tis the Last Rose of Summer”
and “You’ll Never Know” are well-known in their own right.
At the conclusion of the first half of the program. I was seated reasonably close to the stage, but failed to get any reasonable shots.
After the intermission Fleming started with a group of
arias from “standard” operas, although the only one (of the four) that I was
familiar with was Turandot. I didn’t know
Leoncavallo wrote La Boheme, about the same time Puccini did his. Even though the premiere was well received,
the opera is nowadays rarely performed.
The Musette aria reminded me of Carmen’s Habanera.
The program concluded with four broadway songs. As with the last number in the first half, Fleming
used a microphone for that, explaining Broadway singers needed the mike for the
flexibility, and to survive the brutal schedule of eight shows a week. For the last number she sang all the parts,
including that of mother, grandmother, and the chorus.
She did three encores: “Summer Time” by Gershwin, “I
could have danced all day” from “My Fair Lady” where she invited the audience
to sing along, and “O mia babbino caro” from “Gianni Schicchi.”
Another blurry shot. A different dress for the second half.
The pianist evidently has been a long-time collaborator with Fleming. He certainly didn't get as much billing as the last vocal recital I saw. The pianist in that case? Daniil Trifonov.
In general, it was a delightful evening, and the audience
was thrilled. I have heard Fleming
multiple times before, notably in Thais, Rusalka, and Otello, yet today she
sounded edgier (or harsher) than usual; I wonder if it was the acoustics of the
hall. She did get some words wrong, but
it was a long program. What was
inexplicable was the slight intonation program that crept in every now and
then. My ears have been ringing a little
bit lately, I wonder if that’s why I think people are out of tune …
We bought two tickets, but Anne decided not to go. The hall was reasonably well occupied, but I
do wonder how many tickets were heavily discounted – my seat was quite good, in
fact excellent if one takes into account how little I paid for it.
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