Dawn of the Soprano at her Peak – Dawn Upshaw with the ACO
March 2nd 2009 05:25
I recently had the privilege of attending a Dawn Upshaw concert with the ACO – I’ve waited a long time to hear her as she was due to tour here some 4 – 5 years ago but her voice failed her in Brisbane. So serious was her condition she was forced to take time off to rest for several months – very disappointing for all concerned.
Fast forward five years and she returned to Australia to continue her collaboration with the ACO healthy. She sang Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra, written especially for her by Osvaldo Golijov, some Hungarian Folksongs by Bartok and arranged by our master violinist, Richard Tognetti, and finally, Richard Strauss’ Morgen! The Golijov was the highlight of the evening for me. Upshaw sang movingly, with commanding dynamic range and superior technique, and by her body language the audience knew she was singing from the heart. Quite simply, she had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. The only tiny flaw in the Bartok was that the orchestra momentarily drowned out Upshaw at one stage. It would be difficult for the playing leader of an orchestra to be so aware of such things whilst listening to himself playing! Morgen! by Richard Strauss was the perfect way to end the evening. Whilst Upshaw isn’t quite the velvety lyric soprano, she again held the attention of the audience, singing beautifully – the deafening silence of intimacy was music in itself!
Interspersed with the song-bird was a programme of Ledger and Mozart. Restless Night was commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Richard Tognetti leading the ACO. A lively and busy piece, it was certainly exciting and listenable – such is the ability of Maestro Tognetti that I believe works should be commissioned for him all the time! The Mozart Symphony No 29 in A, K. 201 was played on imitation original, and some original instruments, so the pitch had to be tampered with on the evening – for this performance, concert A was of a slightly lower pitch. It’s always a joy to listen to the energy and spirit of Mozart and this was no exception. The final piece, the Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364 was also an opportunity to hear a solo violin and viola in the one sitting, and again, it was fun and a welcome change to hear some “alternative Mozart” repertoire rather than the standards usually heard in the concert hall. It was a fun and energetic dénouement to the evening.
Fast forward five years and she returned to Australia to continue her collaboration with the ACO healthy. She sang Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra, written especially for her by Osvaldo Golijov, some Hungarian Folksongs by Bartok and arranged by our master violinist, Richard Tognetti, and finally, Richard Strauss’ Morgen! The Golijov was the highlight of the evening for me. Upshaw sang movingly, with commanding dynamic range and superior technique, and by her body language the audience knew she was singing from the heart. Quite simply, she had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. The only tiny flaw in the Bartok was that the orchestra momentarily drowned out Upshaw at one stage. It would be difficult for the playing leader of an orchestra to be so aware of such things whilst listening to himself playing! Morgen! by Richard Strauss was the perfect way to end the evening. Whilst Upshaw isn’t quite the velvety lyric soprano, she again held the attention of the audience, singing beautifully – the deafening silence of intimacy was music in itself!
Interspersed with the song-bird was a programme of Ledger and Mozart. Restless Night was commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Richard Tognetti leading the ACO. A lively and busy piece, it was certainly exciting and listenable – such is the ability of Maestro Tognetti that I believe works should be commissioned for him all the time! The Mozart Symphony No 29 in A, K. 201 was played on imitation original, and some original instruments, so the pitch had to be tampered with on the evening – for this performance, concert A was of a slightly lower pitch. It’s always a joy to listen to the energy and spirit of Mozart and this was no exception. The final piece, the Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364 was also an opportunity to hear a solo violin and viola in the one sitting, and again, it was fun and a welcome change to hear some “alternative Mozart” repertoire rather than the standards usually heard in the concert hall. It was a fun and energetic dénouement to the evening.
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