Great Performances – Renée Fleming in Concert (3/19/21)

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.

The concert closed with ‘Wiegenlied’ by Brahms. Lullaby. And good night.

ConcertMeister