And so on to the main event, the first of Renee’s debut recitals in Singapore on 16 March 2007 at the Victoria Concert Hall (the second concert the next night had been reviewed by Derek). Lieder of Schubert and Brahms took up most of the schedule, and filling the gaps are her favourite concert aria, Strauss’ Cäcilie, arias whose roles she had never sung onstage such as Korngold’s Ich soll ihn niemals (from Die Kathrin), Puccini’s O mio babino caro and Vissi d’arte, and two arias from Handel’s Semele. Being an opera fanatic, I would have naturally preferred more operatic selections but I suppose for a singer who has sung in all the world’s greatest opera houses, the prospect of singing these same roles with a piano reduction would be slumming it.  Thankfully, her trademark Song to the Moon (from Dov?ák’s Rusalka) is included as well. Plus there’s a chance that she might encore with a bel canto style cavantina-cum-cabaletta later. Here’s hoping…

In short, Renee’s show is nothing less than a revelation to local audiences, giving us an all-too-rare glimpse what a world-class voice should sound like. Her full, luscious tone reverberated off the walls of our small thousand-seater hall during the forte parts while her pianissimo passages suspended through the air yet still maintaining those warm colours we have come to love in recordings. Her characterizations in the lieder were heartfelt, even in numbers that see her alternating as narrator and protagonist, and the dynamic shadings in volume and styles were a lesson in technical mastery. Soft pink lighting decorated the stage as she strolled in decked in gowns designed for her by Angel Sanchez. Hartmut Höll’s mastery in the genre of lieder is quite apparent as well, as he weaves through the most complicated passages while keeping in perfect timing with his collaborator. In the orchestral reductions for aria selections, the sensitivity displayed in recreating orchestral textures made the best of what the physical piano could not provide, while paying close attention to the singer’s dynamic changes in tempi, volume and phrasing.

Renee started off the first half with a rather shaky ‘Endless Pleasure’ from Semele, an upbeat start to the event that was unfortunately marred by unsteady phrasing and smudging of the coloratura lines. Outfitted in a black number with matching gloves, she soon warmed up and delivered the goods in ‘Oh sleep, why doest thou leave me’, throwing up ethereal floating pianissimos that captivated audiences in suspended passages.

The Schubert selections were chosen for their contrast in emotional messages and musical styles. Of these numbers, Du bist die Ruh stands out for its peaceful, lyrical qualities at which Renee is most comfortable in. Relaxed and calm, she graciously allowed us to luxuriate in her warm soothing aural spa, then gently rocking us awake in the last passage “Dies Augenselt von deinem Glanz allein erhellt (The temple of my eyes is brightly lit by your radiance alone)”, with a crescendo that shone to a shimmering forte. A repeat of the same verse was sung in a reduction in volume, while maintaining the vocal shine in the earlier forte passage.

By the last of Schubert selection, Rastlose Liebe, Renee’s voice had fully warmed up, which she put to good use in shaping the contrasting imagery of war and love in a dramatic reading, without compromising the fullness of her voice.

Following the Schubert, Renee closed the first half with my personal highlight of the evening. Song to the Moon, surely one of her greatest hits if not her most well-known number, showed us a top-notch artist in her finest portrayal. With poetic characterization starting from the piano’s introductory chords, her voice dripped with soulful yearning at the verses throughout, subtly gaining in volume during the ‘chorus’ phrases before reducing volume just as subtly back to the ‘verses’, then throwing off dusky chest tones in the low recitative phrases before rising quickly to a full crescendo in the final B-flat. Pure heaven.

The second half started with five songs by Brahms. Re-entering the hall in a shocking red frock with a matching, floor-length shawl, she certainly created an early impact before a note had been presented. Starting the set with Botscaft, she was essaying the first lines “Wehe, l?ftchen, lind und lieblich (blow breeze gentle and loving)”, when lo and behold the score flew off the piano. “I didn’t know I was that powerful!” she remarked to a smattering of chuckles. If she had really been the meek teenager described in her autobiography The Inner Voice, she’s certainly making up for lost time now.

The Brahms selections contrast with the earlier Schubert’s with broader range of musical complexities calling for closer collaboration between performers (that is not to say that Schubert is a piece of cake either).  Of the songs presented, my favorite is Von Ewiger Liebe (Of Eternal Love), a tale told in minor key about a couple rendezvousing in the dark forest. Chosen to close the set for its dramatic bite, Renee alternates first as the narrator, setting the scenery of the dark forest with deep chest tones, then characterizing the yearning boy with emotional phrase-shaping before lightening up in tone to portray the steadfast girl.

In the Korngold selection, an aria from his opera Die Kathrin, Renee cut back on the vocal fireworks and instead showed us the actress part of her art, with a deeply emotional reading of the heroine’s heartbreak when writing a letter for her lover who is marching off to war. The sadness in her facial expressions is enough break you heart. Its instances like these that make one especially envious of New York and Parisian audiences, who get to watch her full opera portrayals in fully-staged productions live and take for granted.

With the gamut of operatic roles that she had sung to great acclaim, it was strange that she chose to close the show with a selection from the verismo repertoire, a genre which she had admitted does not really suit her voice well. In Vissi d’arte, the finely-honed control she had displayed to amazing results throughout the concert seem a little out of place in an aria where a sense of wild abandon might have been more appropriate. Still, the opportunity to bask in her voice one last time was an opportunity few would complain about, and the programme ended with shouts of ‘Brava!’ interspersed with enthusiastic applause.

In between curtain calls, she made an announcement that stunned the happy audiences, by apologizing for singing with a flu. Who would have guessed!? Not myself, nor any of my friends, or any of the people whom I spoke to after. One has to wonder how much more amazing she would have sounded if she was feeling fine. Nonetheless, she rewarded our attention with an encore; not quite the dramatic scena I had hoped for but Summertime from Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess. This was presented in the aria form composed as written in the opera. Starting a little under-pitched (guess the flu’s really starting to show), she soon recovered after that first note and delighted in bringing out the Southern roots flavour of the music, interpolating a high note on the line “You’re gonna rise up singing” before floating one last pianissimo at the aria’s end.

Having gained a large part of her fame with portrayals of operatic heroines, attending Renee’s song recital felt a little like sampling the appetisers without getting the main courses, being able to glimpse at her art without being treated to the experience of her full capabilities. Nonetheless, complaining would be like asking for more toppings on an already delicious sundae. For one night, Singapore audiences got to experience what we’ve only been reading about and heard on tape. With Renee setting the precedence and the continual growth of local and regional companies, here’s hoping for more operatic magic to be found in our little island.

By Steven Ang

 

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