Sort of.
This performance was recorded at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC on August 1, 2020. No audience; no applause; no regular concert vibe. First things first, Ms. Fleming sang beautifully and was accompanied on piano, by Robert Ainsley, magnificently. Now a bit of bad news, I did a cursory online search trying to find a printed program. No quick luck, so you’ll have to slog through this rendition of my scribbled notes. The program was broken up into small segments, as a song recital would be. Ms. Fleming spoke and explained a few things as she went along. Ready for the ride?
The concert opened with an a cappella version of ‘And the People
Stayed Home’ by John Corigliano (poem by Kitty O’Meara). It was modern but not
harsh, and haunting yet hopeful. Next was a recitative and aria by Handel ‘Calm
thou my soul … Convey me.’ (This is my best guess—see ‘scribbled notes’ above.)
It was also in a solemn mood. Ms. Fleming noted that these two songs, written
300 years apart, felt quite similar.
Staying with Handel, an aria from Samson was in a brisker tempo
and much more florid, as was an aria from Semele, though this one had a few
more vocal pyrotechnics. A Reynaldo Hahn song followed which was calmer but not
somber.
Two songs by Joseph Canteloube were next (from Songs of the
Auvergne perhaps?). The first was up tempo and had a nice piano interlude
between the two verses. The second slowed things down a little, and was more
familiar to me. It was a lovely rendition with a true vocal/piano
collaboration. We next went into full-fledged aria mode, with a piece from
Massenet’s Manon. It had varied intensity and vocal contrasts.
Switching gears, we heard the ‘Letter Aria’ from Erich Korngold’s
opera Die Kathrin. It was a song of lost love. The Marschallin’s monologue from
Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier followed, and it was clear to me that this
holds a special place in Ms. Fleming’s heart—and voice.
An aria from La Bohème sounded to me almost like operetta (in style)
but with major operatic sound. Oh, it was written by Leoncavallo. A classical
classic followed—‘O mio babbino caro’ from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. What can
I say? It was a classical classic.
Sort of classical classic, an arrangement of Harold Arlen’s ‘Over
the Rainbow’ was next. To my ear, it was a hit and miss arrangement, with both
tune and lyrics altered a bit too much for my taste.
