Toronto Summer Music
Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano; Bradley Moore, piano at Koerner Hall Monday, July 25.
The highlight each year for Toronto voice fans is the mainstage vocal recital of the Toronto Summer Music Festival. Great singers the likes of Karita Mattila and Sondra Radvanovsky have appeared under the auspices of TSMF. This year, it’s the terrific American mezzo, Jamie Barton. The Georgia native leapt to fame when she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the spring of 2007. The twists and turns of that competition were documented for posterity in The Audition. Toronto audiences first heard her as Emilia in Otello for the Canadian Opera Company in 2010. In 2013, she won the title of Cardiff Singer of the World, one of the most prestigious of vocal competitions. Last year, she was a sensational alto soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
She appeared last evening in recital at Koerner Hall, with collaborative pianist Bradley Moore, in a program of songs by Turina, Chausson, Schubert, Dvořák, plus three American spirituals. The crowd wasn’t as large as she deserved, but those that were there were discerning and appreciative. She began with three Joaquin Turina songs. The moment she opened her mouth, my jaw (figuratively) dropped. What a voice…a true force of nature. Her mezzo is rich, smooth, creamy, voluminous, even up and down the scale, and used with style, taste and musicality. She followed it with three familiar songs by Chausson. Mostly soft, languid pieces, exquisitely sung in a honeyed mezza voce, particularly “Le Temps des Lilas.” Total, uncompromising technical control, a voice so rock solid that it sounds like it can do anything. Every note, every line was seamless and well supported, the mezza voce always caressing, the fortissimi pin you to your seat. The timbre maybe on the cool side, but her radiant smile truly exemplifies the joy of singing.
The last group in the first half was four very familiar Schubert songs, including “Gretchen am Spinnrade” and “Rastlose Liebe.” One couldn’t help but marvel at the gleaming tone, the evenness of production. If I were to quibble, I do find her vocal expressions to be a bit generalised when we are talking about the actual sound, although her facial expression and gestures amply demonstrated the requisite textual nuances. I also find her French and German diction to be a bit idiosyncratic. I can’t comment on the Spanish or the Czech, but I know the Chausson and Schubert pieces well. No matter, with such an exceptional voice, I found myself just luxuriating in her sound.
The second half opened with the seven songs that make up Dvořák’s Gypsy Songs. This is a very famous cycle, not least of which is song No. 4, known in the English-speaking world as “Songs My Mother Taught Me.” He composed these in 1880 set to text by Adolf Heyduk. It was originally composed for an Austrian tenor, in German. Today it’s almost always sung in Czech. The songs are heavily influenced by local folk songs. It’s said that there’s a subtext in the songs, as the Gypsy is a strong symbol of freedom in the culture of Mitteleuropa. You also find that in Janacek’s cycle, The Diary of One Who Disappeared, which is about a man who runs away with a gypsy girl. The hidden message in the Dvorak cycle reflects the urge of the Czech people to be free from the ruling Habsburg Empire. Real or imagined? No matter. Barton sang these with great expression and attention to the text.
She concluded the formal part of the program with three American spirituals, including “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Ride on King Jesus.” Barton explained that as a native of Georgia, she grew up not with opera and classical music, but with Blue Grass and spirituals — “since I’ve been given ears by God!” She also showed her down home style by saying to the audience: “Let’s get comfortable” and proceeded to kick off her shoes! She delivered the spirituals magnificently, with admirable sincerity and simplicity. Nothing like an easy-going Yankee diva. And I can’t say enough about the wonderful pianism of Bradley Moore, playing with rock solid security and sensitivity, unwavering in support of the singer, everything that a collaborative pianist should be. Bravi tutti!
By then, the audience was eating out of her hand and wouldn’t let her go. She was visibly moved by the generous ovations, rewarding the audience with first a Sibelius song, which is on her upcoming CD. Her second and last encore was Principessa di Boullion’s aria, “Acerba volutta” from Adriana Lecouvreur by Cilea. Okay, I’m biassed — I really don’t care much for this verismo potboiler, even though my all-time favourite singer Renata Tebaldi made a meal of Adriana in the second half of her career when her voice was in decline. Barton pulled out all the stops, giving us torrents of sound, basso profundo chest tones and long, long, long-held high notes. This was the only opera in the whole program, and as expected, it brought huge cheers. A most satisfying end to a great recital.
Don’t miss her upcoming appearance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in the fall, as the soloist in Mahler Third — a piece light years away from Adriana Lecouvreur. I will be interviewing her for an article in Musical Toronto.
#LUDWIGVAN
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