Banking on Greatness

I have no greater joy than basking in the artistry of a great singer at the top of her form. Such was my feeling as mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, perfectly accompanied by pianist John Churchwell, began her San Francisco Performances recital Monday at Herbst Theatre. Singing to an eager audience that included many supporters and fans who have followed her ever since her 1997 San Francisco summer in the Merola Opera Program, DiDonato looked every inch the star in the baby-blue, Grecian-style dress and gold-patterned cinch that perfectly complemented her shining blonde hair.

She also sang like a star. At her finest in the opening group of six mostly familiar Italian Arie Antiche, DiDonato (see our interview) was quick to share her considerable strengths. Durante’s Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile (Dance, dance, young girl) displayed the fiery passion and almost growling chest voice that are so amply displayed on her sensational new CD, Rossini: Colbran the Muse.

For Pergolesi’s more subdued Se tu m’ami (If you love me), she summoned up her perfect trill, as well as a sweetness sparsely employed on the Rossini disc. The real proof of her greatness came as Churchwell joined her as if one for the perfectly judged legato, marvelous trills, and exquisitely soft, breath-stopping singing of Caccini’s Amarilli mia bella (Amaryllis, my lovely one), and the thrilling full tone and gorgeous highs in the 20th-century arrangement of Rossi’s Mio Ben (My beloved).

DiDonato followed with the “Willow Song” from Rossini’s (not Verdi’s) opera Otello. After Churchwell’s absolutely riveting, poetic introduction, DiDonato produced her most gorgeous, heartfelt singing of the evening. Alive to the meaning of every word, her lower tones she seemed to open a portal to the soul. With her full voice at the end the most wondrous of the recital, DiDonato was magnificent.

Coming Down to Earth

Alas, not every singer is exceptional in all things. Thus the set’s close, four songs by the little-known 20th-century Italian composer Francesco Santoliquido, came as something of a disappointment. After commenting that the songs are “as close to Puccini as I’ll get,” DiDonato proved that she is not a Puccini spinto who throws her voice away for love. Rather than reveling in the composer’s romantic excess, and giving phrases their idiomatic full swell and extra kick, she held back. Either she was husbanding her resources for what was to come, or these songs call for an energy that is not in her voice and blood.

The all-Spanish second half, available on her CD Passion!, was a mixed bag. DiDonato thrilled when she opened up all the way on the first of the three songs that comprise Granados’ La maja dolorosa (The disconsolate maja), and emitted gorgeous, squeezed sounds of pain in the second song. Her dark low tones, appropriate sweetness, and depth of soul were other high points.

But in Obradors’ seven Canciones Clássica (Classic songs), plus four songs from Montsalvatge’s Cuban-tinged Cinco canciones negros (Five Negro songs), the reluctance to give climaxes their all — singing on interest rather than diving into the principal — was a letdown. Obradors’ “Del cabello más sutil” (From the finest hair) was gorgeous, but the final number, Montsalvatge’s “Canto Negro” (“Negro Song,” folks, not the politically correct “Black Song” printed in the program guide), fell flat. Turn to Cecilia Bartoli to hear all the fire, dance, and spirit that DiDonato failed to provide.

Encore to Cherish

Although the adoring audience was too discriminating to stand, when energetic applause from a seated position seemed more appropriate, DiDonato returned with the operatic encore we had hoped for. Singing “Tanti affetti” (So many emotions) from Rossini’s La donna del lago (The lady of the lake) for only her third time in public, DiDonato accompanied a host of perfect trills and immaculate runs with a deliciously teasing two-octave drop that would have gotten two thumbs up from Marilyn Horne, who made a great recording of the aria. The performance, even better than DiDonato’s recently recorded traversal, brought the audience to its feet.

DiDonato announced that her second and final encore, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, was an expression of thanks to the city that helped set the course of her career by giving her her first leading Rossini role, Cenerentola in Merola Opera's Stern Grove production of La Cenerentola. Alas, the performances was far too studied, with the few gratuitous variations in the second stanza sounding far more La Scala than Hollywood. She’s still a great singer, just one who needs to choose repertoire with greater attention to her strengths, and shake a little more loose in recital.