Sunday, February 05, 2017
Winterrreise: Alice Coote, Julius Drake, Zankel Hall, February 4, 2017
This was a knock-out performance.
It was the first time I've witnessed Winterreise sung by a woman. When trying to recall
the last time a notable woman sang it in the New York City area, people I know could only
summon Elisabeth Söderström from 1985.
Alice Coote had a stand with the music by her side. Although she did refer to it now and then, by the end I felt it was more of a "security blanket" than an excuse for lack of memory. She clearly had thought out every line and understood every word. I set my program and texts aside and watched the entire time--she not only made great effort to connect with the audience, but at times it felt so intense I wanted to turn my eyes away.
I might be mistaken (or sexist) in my perception, but I wondered if being a woman gave her greater license to move, gesticulate slightly, and articulate with greater freedom than a man. (I'm thinking (recovering?) from Mark Padmore's recital some months ago and how his rendition was very restrained, so that any small deviation was all the more noticeable.) Probing my own expectations, I think there is an expectation that a woman will be more overt with expressing emotions (whereas a man will be more reserved). Ok - point your arrows.
Being a mezzo soprano, Coote took most (but not all) the songs down a half or whole step. She has a register break in the middle of the staff (somewhere around G-A) and her choice of keys seem perfectly suited to her voice. Whether the tessitura was in the high or lower higher area, the choice of keys suited he voice so that only a few songs had her transversing the break. At the times she scaled that break, she was able to embue the sound with an emotion that suggested a traveler whose hope is broken (this happened a handful of times - one I remember was in Der greise Kopf).
This ability to change her sound depending on the register added to her already impressive ability to shape words and phrases while summoning many different "colors" and shades to her sound and articulation of words.
If I think of the Winterreise in my mind, there were a number of surprises. Many of the tempi were unexected, for example, I felt Gute Nacht went at a good clip, whereas Der Lindenbaum was very broad. But at no point did it seem that Coote (or Drake) couldn't sustain what was started. Drake especially didn't seem purely as an accompanist but seemed to have a very dynamic impact on many of the songs. At points his loudness (never ugly) seemed surprising, but it added to the intensity of Coote's interpretation. Quite a number of times he segued directly into the next song without a break - that definitely added to the intensity of the evening.
I should've written this last night when it was still fresh I could point to a number of details which have now receeded from memory. But the lushness of her voice, a intense and heartfelt interpretation, and a searing intensity to her presence made this a wonderful recital.
(Originally posted to LIEDER-L)
Alice Coote had a stand with the music by her side. Although she did refer to it now and then, by the end I felt it was more of a "security blanket" than an excuse for lack of memory. She clearly had thought out every line and understood every word. I set my program and texts aside and watched the entire time--she not only made great effort to connect with the audience, but at times it felt so intense I wanted to turn my eyes away.
I might be mistaken (or sexist) in my perception, but I wondered if being a woman gave her greater license to move, gesticulate slightly, and articulate with greater freedom than a man. (I'm thinking (recovering?) from Mark Padmore's recital some months ago and how his rendition was very restrained, so that any small deviation was all the more noticeable.) Probing my own expectations, I think there is an expectation that a woman will be more overt with expressing emotions (whereas a man will be more reserved). Ok - point your arrows.
Being a mezzo soprano, Coote took most (but not all) the songs down a half or whole step. She has a register break in the middle of the staff (somewhere around G-A) and her choice of keys seem perfectly suited to her voice. Whether the tessitura was in the high or lower higher area, the choice of keys suited he voice so that only a few songs had her transversing the break. At the times she scaled that break, she was able to embue the sound with an emotion that suggested a traveler whose hope is broken (this happened a handful of times - one I remember was in Der greise Kopf).
This ability to change her sound depending on the register added to her already impressive ability to shape words and phrases while summoning many different "colors" and shades to her sound and articulation of words.
If I think of the Winterreise in my mind, there were a number of surprises. Many of the tempi were unexected, for example, I felt Gute Nacht went at a good clip, whereas Der Lindenbaum was very broad. But at no point did it seem that Coote (or Drake) couldn't sustain what was started. Drake especially didn't seem purely as an accompanist but seemed to have a very dynamic impact on many of the songs. At points his loudness (never ugly) seemed surprising, but it added to the intensity of Coote's interpretation. Quite a number of times he segued directly into the next song without a break - that definitely added to the intensity of the evening.
I should've written this last night when it was still fresh I could point to a number of details which have now receeded from memory. But the lushness of her voice, a intense and heartfelt interpretation, and a searing intensity to her presence made this a wonderful recital.
(Originally posted to LIEDER-L)
Labels: Alice Coote, Julius Drake, Lieder, Winterreise
