A great soprano returns to St. Paulby John Birge, Minnesota Public Radio Frederica von Stade says she's still learning how to use her voice 37 years after her Metropolitan Opera debut. (Photo courtesy of the Schubert Club) St. Paul, Minn. — Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade is one of America's finest opera singers, but she grew up with the Broadway tunes she heard on her mother's records. On Wednesday night, von Stade joins her friend, bass Samuel Ramey, for a Schubert Club recital of both opera favorites and Broadway show tunes. In the 37 years since her Metropolitan Opera debut, von Stade has earned a reputation for a repertoire that ranges from the Baroque to works by contemporary composers. Twin Cities composer Dominick Argento wrote two song cycles and the opera "The Aspern Papers" for her. In a conversation with Minnesota Public Radio's John Birge, von Stade talks about her life as a mezzo-soprano, the future of opera and her admiration for her recital partner, Samuel Ramey.
Two opera greats turn the Ordway Center into a living-room party with a casual set of show tunes.By Michael Anthony, Star Tribune Put one singer onstage, and you might have a fairly serious evening. Put two onstage together, and the tone tends to turn lighter with touches of added bravado and showmanship. The singers are relating not only to the audience but to each other, and the party mode is a definite possibility. Certainly, there was the aura of a party at the Ordway Center on Wednesday night in the enjoyable duo recital offered by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and bass Samuel Ramey, part of the Schubert Club's International Artist Series. In a novel touch, the second half of the program was devoted to Broadway show tunes. The singers alternated solo numbers and duets, one seated on a piano stool as the other got up and sang, which made it seem as if they were performing for friends in someone's living room. Von Stade, one of the opera world's most revered mezzos, has a flair for Broadway material, as it turns out. Unlike most opera singers who tend to over-sing popular songs, drowning the melodies in their pear-shaped tones, Von Stade gave them just the right touch, phrasing the words naturally and conversationally and using -- but never over-using -- the sheer beauty of her voice, couching Gershwin's haunting "How Long Has This Been Going On" with a touching plaintiveness, while unearthing the tenderness and resignation in Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns." Ramey, one of the great operatic basses of recent decades, was not quite so natural a fit in these songs. For one thing, Broadway composers seldom write for the bass voice, the high baritone being the standard male register on the Great White Way since the 1920s. There are exceptions, of course, and Ramey did two of them: "Old Man River" from "Show Boat" and "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha," both impressively sung. He had fun with a comic number, "Just Another Rhumba," but his booming sound and heavy vibrato tended to engulf "Embraceable You," which he seemed to wrestle to the ground and nearly choke the life out of. The final duet, however, was a nice choice, "An Old-Fashioned Wedding," which Irving Berlin composed at 78 for the revival of "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1966. Warren Jones, the esteemed pianist, gave all these songs the kind of dancing accompaniment that makes them come alive. Von Stade, who looked exceptionally lovely, sang an opening set that included one of Ned Rorem's most revered songs, "Early in the Morning," and then acknowledged some local history, delivering a radiant account of the "Robert Browning" song from Dominick Argento's "Casa Guidi," which she premiered here with the Minnesota Orchestra during the Neville Marriner years. Ramey's impressive opening set was devoted to three of the great operatic villain roles on which he has put an indelible stamp: works by Berlioz, Gounod and Boito. Michael Anthony • 612-673-4445 Top-notch singers get to show they know their tunesOrdway audience has an enjoyable evening with a pair of tremendously skilled operatic heavy hitters.St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
March 1, 2007 Author: ROB HUBBARD Pioneer Press As the snow fell on St. Paul Wednesday evening, it was probably not a great night for making a difficult trip. So these operatic heavy hitters made it a light night. They filled their dual recital with show tunes from the pens of Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein and others -- as well as Aaron Copland songs theatrical enough to fit right in -- visiting the realms of art song and aria only briefly. And, while some were likely disappointed by the choice of material, it was nevertheless an enjoyable evening with a pair of tremendously skilled singers. When opera singers delve into works from the musical theater, there's always a danger of distance: Too often, the casual colloquialisms and witty wordplay fall flat because the singers have a hard time tossing off their formalism. And there were times Wednesday night when von Stade, the marvelous mezzo, seemed too stiff and staid to find the jazz elements in Gershwin's work. She was in territory once dominated by singers like Ella Fitzgerald but didn't seem entirely confident there. A more contemporary show tune, Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns," proved a small tour de force for her. She suffused the song with a heartfelt melancholy that was likely palpable in the Ordway's upper reaches. Ramey seemed far more comfortable with the theatrical fare, lending it not only a rich booming bass voice but also a playful way of selling the songs, turning each into an engaging short story. While his vibrato-laden sound has grown a bit rougher with age, he's as flamboyant a performer as ever. Three devilish arias from Berlioz, Gounod and Arrigo Boito set the evening alight early on, and his contributions to the Copland songs were consistently strong. But perhaps his most impressive performance came when he and von Stade traded Gershwin tunes. He delivered one of the most movingly tender versions of "Embraceable You" imaginable, then had infectious fun with "Just Another Rhumba." When the repertoire expanded to other composers, he could take even a warhorse like "The Impossible Dream" and make it as inspirational as it must have felt when first heard. Rob Hubbard is an associate producer for American Public Media's "Performance Today." He can be reached at rhubbard@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5247.
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