Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Susan Graham returns to New York in a stirring evening-length concert inspired by Schumann’s FRAUENLIEBE UND -LEBEN

• By drediman
• February 6, 2020
• No Comments

Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham performs in a recital at Alice Tully Hall. Photo by Dario Acosta.

Along with millions of other Americans, I have long had a soft spot in my heart for star mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, who this week returned to New York (she now resides in California) for a one-night-only concert at Lincoln Center to perform an evening inspired by Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und -leben. Ms. Graham has a natural, warm presence onstage, a quality that has made her a favorite at opera houses around the world (in fact, my initial exposure to live opera was a performance of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at the Royal Opera way back in 2000, co-starring Ms. Graham and Renée Fleming!) and one of the key spokespeople for the Metropolitan Opera. That charisma was once again on full display on Tuesday night at Alice Tully Hall, the site of her first New York recital.

What Ms. Graham and pianist Malcolm Martineau have ingeniously concocted is in fact a stirring solo opera of sorts. They’ve augmented and expanded Schumann’s work with other similarly-themed songs (from the likes of Fauré, Berlioz, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Strauss, etc.), thereby filling in the dramatic gaps only suggested by the beloved song cycle. The eight original songs – which tell, from the perspective of a sensitive woman, the unfolding story of budding love, celebratory marriage, ecstatic lovemaking, the joys of family life, and ultimately devastating loss – have hence been expanded into mini-scenes or chapters which collectively result in a unique and wholly satisfying evening of both song and drama.

Musically, Ms. Graham continues to be a treasure. The lustrous voice and open-hearted song stylings remain intact, which was particularly evident in a program as eclectic as this one was. Indeed, Ms. Graham effortlessly ravished the adoring audience in a number of languages (e.g., German, French, German, Russian) while portraying a wide range of emotional states. She was especially moving in the final eighth segment, in which she communicates the loss of her lover and soulmate (“Songs of grief and mourning”). The transparency and emotional nakedness of her plaintive rendition of songs such as Berlioz’s deeply affecting “Absence” was heartbreaking. Throughout the evening, Ms. Graham was generously and lovingly accompanied by her friend and the evening’s co-conceiver, Mr. Martineau.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

SUSAN GRAHAM RECITAL
Classical Music, Opera
Alice Tully Hall
1 hour, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Closed