BWW Reviews: DiDonato Trades Pyrotechnics for Mood on A JOURNEY THROUGH VENICE at Carnegie Hall

With a pair of soulful arias by Vivaldi, mezzo Joyce DiDonato and her pianist David Zobel let the audience know right away that they were in for a different part of her artistry than we heard at her concert performance of Handel's ALCINA (also at Carnegie) a week earlier. With an emphasis on thoughtfulness rather than pyrotechnics, the result was less fun but nonetheless rewarding for the listener, with the program's "power to transport," as the singer put it.

VENICE starts in Rome?

The recital was entitled A JOURNEY THROUGH VENICE, with the mezzo describing it as a trip "navigating the canals, the reflecting light on the waters, the lapping waters against the gondola; this is a city that has inspired poets and artists and lovers..." So it was odd that she chose the songs by Vivaldi to kick things off, since they were written in 1793 for the opera house in Rome, even though Vivaldi was identified closely with Venice (where he was known as 'the Red Priest' because of his hair color). Taken from an opera written in 1723, ERCOLE SU'L TERMODANTE, "Onde chiare che susurrate" and "Amato ben" were mesmerizing, with DiDonato showing off the colors of her voice exquisitely.

From there, she went to a cycle of French art songs by Gabriel Faure ("Cinq melodies 'de Venise,' Op. 50"), music that we don't generally associate with DiDonato, but she definitely seems to connect with. She explained that they reflect "the world of light, and dancing shadows and shifting colors, through the chromatics and the wandering melody that you're never quite sure where it ends. But," she added, "arching over it all is the idea of love, though not so tangible in this case."

The heart of the music

Considered one of the composers greatest cycles, though the songs are very short, DiDonato gets to the heart of them, shifting moods and tone Faure combines a joking mood in "Mandoline" with the gorgeous, floating lines of "En sourdine" then the eager love of "Green" and sensuous mood of "A Clymene" ("your eyes, the color of skies.") He ends with "C'est l'extase" ("Ecstacy"), which is tied musically to earlier pieces and DiDonato brings to a dreamy conclusion.

Now for something completely different, in tone and style: A cycle of songs, "Peches de viellesse"("Sins of Old Age"), written by Rossini long after he had given up on opera, burnt out by his enormous output by 1829 yield these three songs about Venice. These seemed more operatic, nonetheless, than the other pieces of the program. "La regatta veneziana" ("The Venice Regatta") tells of a woman watching her lover competing in the race across the Venetian Lagoon. DiDonato effortlessly shifting from coquettish to anxious to joyous. It was a pleasure to watch her own pleasure in these songs.

Rossini's "Willow Song"

The second half of the program began with Rossini's "Assisa al pie d'un salice" is the "Willow Song" from his version of OTELLO, which has Desdemona written for a mezzo. Despite the commitment of the singer, and the thoughtfulness of her interpretation, one can't help but think of Verdi's take on this scene and how much more beautiful the music.

From there, DiDonato turned to a pair of more modern views of Venice, the Briton Michael Head's "Three Songs of Venice," which she learned when she was still a college student, and Venezuelan Reynaldo Hahn's (Selections from) Venezia.I particularly liked Head's "St. Mark's Square," which catches the appeal of the landmark, as much through Sobel's nimble keyboard work as through DiDonato's attentive, agile singing and perfect enunciation. Perhaps the best known of these songs--written in Venetian dialect-- is "La barcheta" ("The Little Boat"), a charming piece of seduction that finds DiDonato and her voice at their most alluring, although "L'avertimento" ("The warning") gave DiDonato an opportunity to cut loose and draw on her well-known comic timing.

A well-done program, an unexpected one as well, but I for one missed some of the vocal glamour she gave us in ALCINA. Take a listen for yourself: It will be streamed on medici.tv for the next three months.

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Photo by Chris Lee

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