Review: LEONA MITCHELL RETURNS TO NEW YORK at Theater Of St. Jean

When a legendary diva, one of the great voices of the 20th century, announces her return to the New York stage after an absence of two decades, fans are generally overjoyed – at first – then curious – then trepidatious – finally, hopeful that the return will be a success. 

For nearly two decades Leona Mitchell was a fixture at the greatest opera houses in the world.  She has sung with every major conductor (and alongside all three of the 3 Tenors and was the co-star of Luciano Pavarotti’s only feature film role “Yes Giorgio” in 1982).

When Ms. Mitchell, took to the stage at the Theater of St. Jean, any fears were quickly set to rest:  the voice was, in short: magnificent.   The diva took to the stage to a mammoth standing ovation from the sold-out house, and from the moment she began her first number, till the time she did her final encore, it was a lovefest.  

Ms. Mitchell’s eclectic program (2 sets-worth) began with a first set of opera and a few Broadway numbers, while the second set focused on jazz, and the encores brought her back to her church roots, featuring two spirituals.

Rodrigo’s  “¿Con qué la lavaré?” opened the program, but its sorrowful tone hardly set the mood for the rest of the evening.    As with the next number “Je te veux”, saddness gave way to a playful sexy waltz and Ms. Mitchell savored (and had fun) with the French text: Dear lover, yield to your desires. Make of me your mistress. Let’s throw discretion and sadness to the winds. I long for the precious moment when we shall be happy: I want you.

It’s worth noting that often as classical singers reach the latter stages of their careers, noticeable technical shortcomings become evident (a wobble in the high range, questionable pitch, overly broad vibrato, etc) but Ms. Mitchell exhibited no such signs.  Her technique remained rock solid throughout her entire (extraordinary) range and through an extremely eclectic program.  

Her high end was steady and centered.  Father time may have slightly diminished some power from the highest notes, but in this setting it was difficult to determine whether that was a stylistic choice.

Ms. Mitchell’s middle range (once called “silky and buttery” by the NY Times) remains smooth, rich and colorful.   There was a slight touch of huskiness at the lowest end of the voice but in general Ms. Mitchell’s bottom voice has grown in size and depth over time into a ravishing mezzo (almost alto-ish) velvety sound, particularly in the beautifully dark-toned vowels.   She used this sound to wonderful effect in the “Habanera” from “Carmen.”  After a career-full of Micaelas, it was a lovely change to hear Ms. Mitchell’s take on the protagonist of the work!

The operatic sections of the program were for the most part, well-chosen (and familiar).  “Io son l’umile ancella” from Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea (seemingly a favorite of every diva since the beginning of time!) was a particular highlight.  Ms. Mitchell chose a medium tempo (unlike many divas who tend to indulge in uber slow tempi to luxuriate in the long legato phrases).  Her scrupulous attention to text (in all the selections) brought a freshness and immediacy to a well-worn aria.   

The one due of the evening “Gia nella notte densa”  from Otello, felt a little out of place programmatically.  For the duet, Ms. Mitchell was joined by tenor Matt Brown.  Brown’s Otello was not a booming, thundering one; rather a pretty mellow, lyric one.  He brought a fresh sincerity and earnestness to the duet.  It was a sweet moment, but they couldn’t help looking more like mother and son, rather than lovers.    

In general, Ms. Mitchell brought an intelligence, honesty, and a welcome lack of mannerism to all the selections.  She clearly understood that with material this good and a voice this good, very little embellishment is required.  

The two Broadway numbers were big crowd pleasers.  “Can’t Help Lovin’ dat Man” was sweet and “I Could Have Danced All Night,” complete with audience singalong was delightful and engaging.  There’s an old adage that if you are having fun, then your audience will have fun as well.  Ms. Mitchell clearly took the adage to heart as she appeared to be having a ball.

The second half of the evening – the jazzier half – featured a number of songs by Leonard Cohen.  The Canadian singer songwriter, who enjoyed an enormous resurgence of fame and popularity very late in his life, had an extremely rare gift of combining (literary) genius-level lyrics, with fairly simple, but remarkably dulcet melodies.   Here, once again, Ms. Mitchell’s attention to text was in full effect.  Cohen’s songs often have A LOT of words – important words – frequently “a mouthful” of words.   And the key is to put them across in a manner that is melodically pleasing, but also completely comprehensible to the audience – no easy feat!  The closing number in particular: “Closing Time” is full of tongue-tying lyrics and long lines that give the singer virtually no time to breathe, but again, Ms. Mitchell successfully put the difficult material across like a seasoned cabaret professional.  

There were of course some moments that were less successful than others.  It was a bit odd for Ms. Mitchell to sing to recorded tracks on two numbers, and the trio felt a bit under-rehearsed on a few of the numbers, but these blemishes were minor in the scheme of things. 

Ms. Mitchel returned to a long and ruckus standing ovation to deliver two traditional gospel numbers, "Yes, Lord" and "How Great Thou Art” on which she accompanied herself on piano.

Personal note: for ages, opera singers have explored other genres with mixed results, frequently unable to “turn off the opera voice” and croon where appropriate and patter where appropriate.  Ms. Mitchel had no such difficulty.  She smoothly transitioned from genre to genre elegantly and effortlessly.  One hopes we have the pleasure of hearing her do much more of this kind of material! Welcome back, Ms. Mitchell!  New York City missed you!

Peter Danish

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