BWW Reviews: Horne of Plenty for Diva's 80th Birthday at Zankel Hall

There was a lovefest for the great mezzo Marilyn Horne in New York last week, filled with the music of friends, acquaintances and admirers at Carnegie Hall's sibling, Zankel Hall. It was hosted by two longtime colleagues of Horne, mezzo Frederika von Stade and bass-baritone Samuel Ramey, who also contributed to the festivities with Lerner & Loewe's "I Remember It Well," from GIGI.

More than bel canto

Horne came to the forefront of the opera world in 1961, at Carnegie, in a concert staging of Bellini's BEATRICE DI TENDA, and while the audience came for Joan Sutherland (or so Horne herself claims), they discovered the mezzo as well. With Sutherland, Beverly Sills, Montserrat Caballe, Luciano Pavarotti and a few others, she was at the center of the (post-Callas) bel canto revival in this country and elsewhere--but there was much more to her than Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini.

In her prime, Horne had one of those voices that was distinctive and amazing, with a bottom as deep as the Grand Canyon and a flexibility that took your breath away. I especially liked her comic roles, where she sang with a relish and gusto that was unmatched. Her Isabella in L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI, Rosina in BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA and Dame Quickly in FALSTAFF were priceless and I was thrilled to hear them live. That's not to say that her Carmen (with Bernstein conducting) or Rinaldo weren't wonderful as well, because I wouldn't have missed them for the world--and I would have been curious to hear her Marie in WOZZECK--but there was something about her buffa roles that really spoke (sang?) to me.

An annual celebration

The concert was the climax of this year's series of "The Song Continues," an annual celebration of the art of song created by Horne to nurture gifted young vocal talent. (It originated with Horne's foundation and is now part of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute.) The program was assembled by artist manager and opera impresario Matthew Epstein, pianist Martin Katz--a longtime collaborator of the singer--and Jeremy Geffen, Carnegie Hall Director of Artistic Planning. Each of the evening's selections referenced Horne's varied career and, while every singer on the program last Thursday was not young, there is no question that they were all gifted. There were many highlights.

You'd never know that Renee Fleming had come from a full day's rehearsal of RUSALKA from her performance of "Traume" from Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder--she sounded relaxed and as involved as she's ever sounded. Later in the program, with vibrant tenor Piotr Beczala and pianist Katz, she gave an enchanting preview of Lehar's DIE LUSTIGE WITWE, which is in her future at the Met, singing "Lippen scheigen," better known in these parts as the Merry Widow Waltz. Beczala, also fresh from the RUSALKA rehearsal, was sweet-toned and urgent, both tender and thoughtful, in an early Beethoven song, Adelaide.

From baroque to contemporary

Countertenor David Daniels brought three samples of his repertoire to the program, from baroque to Alec Wilder's contemporary "Blackberry Winter." I particularly liked "Sono nata a lagrimar," from Handel's GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO, in which he was paired with the up-and-coming mezzo Jamie Barton, their voices melding perfectly in the harmony of this mournful aria between mother and son. Barton also showed off her wonderful low notes and thoughtful presentation in "Urlicht" from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

The other mezzo on the program was Isabel Leonard, this year's winner of the Richard Tucker Award, and her two selections showed some of the reasons why she was chosen. I first heard her sing Montsalvatge's "Cancion de cuna para dormir a un negrito," from Canciones negras, at the Met's concert in Central Park, and she proved once again her great affinity for the material. Her sensuous voice was mesmerizing in this lullaby to a young boy. She stole the show once again with "Nacqui all'affano...Non piu mesta" from Rossini's LA CENERENTOLA, taking the aria's leaps, ornamentations and sly humor all in her stride. She was well matched with her accompanist, pianist Warren Jones, who shared the evening's honors with Katz, and Lee Musiker in the finale.

Poignant and wise

While all the other singers on the program were identified by their voice types, Barbara Cook is simply described as "vocalist." Perhaps a better description would be "force of nature." Though she's past the point of doing Bernstein's "Glitter and be gay," which she introduced in CANDIDE over 56 years ago, Cook's rendition of Artie Butler's "Here's to Life" was simple, poignant and wise, and the perfect end to the tribute to La Horne--except for the prolonged standing ovation from the overflow audience.

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