Review: Barton, Appleby and Goerke - No Greenhorns at the Greene Space and WQXR Concert

When I heard mezzo Jamie Barton at the Metropolitan Opera's recital in Central Park in the summer of 2014, she would have knocked my socks off--if I hadn't been wearing sandals. This time around­--newly anointed winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award--at a concert presented by WQXR at New York's Greene Space in SoHo, I was wearing my argyles and, sure enough, I went home barefoot. Barton proved, once again, that she's "the real thing."

For those of us who go to the opera, every once in a while we hear someone on stage and know that there are gods who walk among us (and not just in works by Richard Wagner). Tenor Richard Tucker was one of those, though he was too modest to describe himself that way. This year's winner of the Tucker Award--presented by the foundation that bears the tenor's name--mezzo Barton, is another, though this fresh-faced Georgia country girl would probably deny the description as well.

She does, however, revel in hearing others describe her accomplishments, as William Berger did at length, hosting the live webcast that went out over WQXR, the public radio station in New York. Her kudos include being named winner of both the Main and the Song Prizes at the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Having heard Barton at much larger venues, I wondered how she'd scale down her large, luscious voice at the tiny Greene Space, but my fears were unfounded. Neither were any concerns about the chance to warm up on such a short program. She just let the music pour (and pour and pour) out and the audience ate it up: Beginning with a pair of songs by Jean Sibelius, first "Var det en drom?" ("Was it a dream?") and then "Svarta rosor" ("Black Roses"), the musicality was there but so was the warmth of her personality.

She followed up the songs a bit later in the program with a gorgeous performance of "Stella del marinar," Laura's aria from Ponchielli's LA GIOCONDA (the opera of Tucker's debut at the Met). She left me wanting more--and will happily oblige, as Giovanna Seymour in the run of Donizetti's ANNA BOLENA opposite Sondra Radnovansky, that begins during the opening week of the Met's season. (After singing BOLENA on September 26, she makes a mad dash for Rome, Georgia, her hometown, to do a benefit for the local theatre, billed as "An Evening with a Down-Home Diva," where she's planning on everything from church music to the Beatles' "Blackbird" to a few opera interludes.)

The concert was filled with tantalizing tidbits that made me yearn for the new opera season to hurry up and get started. It also gave us a taste of two other singers whom the Tucker Foundation has honored and we'll also be hearing this season at the Met.

Tenor Paul Appleby, two-time winner of Tucker grants and a 2009 winner of the Met Council Auditions, made New York audiences sit up and take notice as a bold-voiced David, Hans Sachs's apprentice and, perhaps even more so, as Tom Rakewell in last season's revival of Stravinsky's THE RAKE'S PROGRESS. Here, he showed his broad range of styles and finesse starting with Mozart's "Dies Bildnis sind bezaubernd schoen" from DIE ZAUBERFLOTE, then Robert Schumann's "Schoene Wiege (Fair Cradle)" and finishing with "New York Lights" from William Bolcom's opera A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. He'll be singing Belmonte in Mozart's DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL at the Met this season.

Last but certainly not least on the program was soprano Christine Goerke, who was so impressive as the Dyer's Wife in Strauss's DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN at the Met two years ago, was the Richard Tucker Award winner in 2001 and, most recently, was named Musical America's 2015 Vocalist of the Year.

Goerke was the most seasoned performer on the program and first showed off her grasp of Strauss and Brahms songs, with a remarkable juxtaposition of the soaring "Cecilia" and the thoughtful, poignant "Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen". Then she gave a tantalizing hint of the future, when Met audiences will hear her in Wagner's Ring. Her performance of Brunnhilde's "Immolation Scene" from GOTTERDAMMERUNG--her first performance of the piece in New York--was earthy, big, bold and, well, incredible. This year, we'll have the "settle" for Goerke as Puccini's Turandot and Strauss's Elektra.

All in all, it was quite an action-packed evening. A key to the success of all three singers was the thoughtful, flexible accompaniment of pianist Brian Zeger, who also happens to be Executive Director of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Program--as well as head of the Vocal Arts Department at the Juilliard School. (No slacker, he.)

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