Review: IVAN FISCHER AND THE BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA at The Mostly Mozart Festival

One of the joys of attending a concert a where some of the artists are unfamiliar, is discovering new talent. Such occurred in a very big way Sunday evening at one of the concluding concerts of this year's Mostly Mozart Festival at David Geffen Hall. The distinguished Budapest Festival Orchestra under the baton of the accomplished maestro Ivan Fischer played host to a wonderful soprano hitherto unknown to me-Jeanine De Bique.

She is from Trinidad and holds a Masters Degree from Manhattan School of Music. She spends a great deal of time in Europe and has quite an eclectic repertoire, ranging from Handel to Verdi to John Adams.

Ms. De Bique has a ravishingly beautiful soprano that she used effectively in a trio of Handel arias from RODELINDA ("Ritorna oh caro e dolce mio tesoro"), GIULIO CESARE ("Da tempeste il legno infranto"), and LA RESURREZIONE ("Disseratevi, o porto d'Averno").

The aria from GIULIO CESARE has special resonance for me since the first interpreters of this aria for me were Joan Sutherland and Beverly Sills. Ms. De Bique is a worthy successor to these great singers and put her own stamp on the aria, including some ornamentation unfamiliar to me as well as a genuine trill in the final phrase. I would love to hear her in the complete GIULIO CESARE, which she will be performing next season. The plaintive RODELINDA aria (where the heroine discovers that her husband, hitherto thought dead is quite alive) and RESURREZIONE aria (where the soprano spars with the brass soloists) were similarly transporting. Mr. Fischer and the Budapest players provided the impeccable accompaniment.

The orchestra had its own turn to shine in the two symphonies that bookended the vocal segment, namely Haydn's SYMPHONY #88 in G MAJOR and Mozart's glorious "JUPITER" SYMPHONY #41. Their playing was exemplary.

It was a beautifully curated program and I count myself fortunate to have discovered for myself an exciting new voice.