A quick news flash....
I attended Karen's Monday evening group recital at the National Theater's
Monday night series in Washington, DC. It was Karen and four other singers,
including another list member, mezzo soprano Marje Bunday. The program was "An
American Tribute", and consisted mostly of songs by American composers,
including Berlin, Gershwin, Bernstein, Copland, and Barber. Everyone on the
program sang well and it was a very enjoyable hour of music. I had not heard
Marje sing before, and I liked her voice and singing a great deal. And I
thought she communicated effectively her love of the terrific songs by Copland
(Why do they shut me out of heaven), Barber (Sure on this shining night), and
Billy Strayhorn/Duke Ellington (Lush Life & Come Sunday).
Karen sang Bernstein's "A Simple Song", Victor Herbert's "'Neath the Southern
Moon", and one of the program's 2 or 3 arias (depending on if you count
Summertime as an aria), "The Empty-Handed Traveller" from Menotti's "The
Consul". Karen's singing was good in all of her selections. But her
performance of the Menotti was on another level entirely. It gave me
goosebumps, even out of context, with an upbeat song like "Simple Gifts"
preceding it. I felt like it wasn't Karen, a singer, performing the aria, but
rather that Karen WAS the aria, the vessel through which Menotti's character
and music were transmitted to us. She made the aria sound like it was written
with her voice in mind. Very impressive. You GO girl!
Peggy
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Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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