End of an era: the final Rosenblatt Recital at Wigmore Hall

Nahuel di Pierro (Photo Jonathan Rose)

Vivaldi, Handel, Rameau, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Debussy, Ravel, Berlioz; Nahuel Di Pierro and Alphonse Cemin; Rosenblatt Recitals at Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Ruth Hansford on Jun 5 2017
Star rating: 3.5
A young Argentinian bass provides the very last recital in this long running series

The recital by Nahuel Di Pierro and Alphonse Cemin for Rosenblatt Recitals at Wigmore Hall on 5 June 2017 was the end of an era for the celebrity (and future-celebrity) recitals devised and promoted since 2000 by opera-mad solicitor Ian Rosenblatt (interviewed by Robert here). There are two memorable things for me: one was my only ever lottery win was tickets to one of the early recitals. The other was in 2001 when Plácido Domingo rocked up and sat in the row in front of me at St John’s Smith Square; he was coming to listen to an up-and-coming Peruvian tenor called Juan Diego Flórez. I thought I’d better pay attention. 

Flórez is one of many talents Rosenblatt has introduced to us. The series has evolved, but they have been predominantly solo recitals of operatic and oratorio arias and songs, with piano and occasionally small orchestra. He moved from St John’s to the Wigmore, but the Wig has increasingly gone down the route of curating its own seasons of late and it has felt to me the Rosenblatts don’t quite fit there these days.

The last recital was the Argentinian bass Nahuel Di Pierro. He has as many bass-baritone roles on his CV as bass roles and, to my ear, at modern pitch, he did seem more at ease in the middle and top of the range than at the bottom.

The programme started with two punchy, bloodthirsty arias from Vivaldi’s Tito Manlio.

Honesty and poise: Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu, Rosenblatt Recital at Wigmore Hall

James Baillieu & Lise Davidsen at Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall (Photo Jonathan Rose)

Grieg, Cherubini, Strauss, Verdi, Giordano, Mascagni, Sibelius, Weber, Wagner; Lise Davidsen, James Baillieu; Rosenblatt Recitals at Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Ruth Hansford on May 9 2017
Star rating: 4.0
A programme of favourite songs and arias for the Norwegian soprano's London debut

Lise Davidsen at Rosenblatt Recitals
(Photo Jonathan Rose)

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen’s Rosenblatt Recital and London début, accompanied by James Baillieu at Wigmore Hall on 9 May 2017, started on home ground with five Grieg songs (in German). She went straight in with repertoire that she clearly loves. ‘Gruß’ was short and sweet, and the two slow songs that followed, 'Dereinst, Gedänke mein / wirst ruhig sein' (One day my thoughts will be at rest) and ‘Zur Rosenzeit’, had a perfect stillness and no gratuitous histrionics, which made them all the more powerful. She sang four of the six Op 48 songs of which the final one, ‘Ein Traum’, ends on a big fortissimo high note that demands applause. However she segue’d to the slow, quiet ‘En Svane’ (A swan) in Norwegian. Beautifully poised and obviously close to her heart.

Davidsen told us that the rationale for the programme was to sing her favourite songs, plus arias she has already performed, is about to perform or wants somebody to engage her to perform. There is nothing manufactured about her stage presence, just a straightforward Norwegian country girl. It certainly won over the Wigmore audience.

She didn’t quite find the bel canto idiom of Cherubini’s Medea, but it was nevertheless thrilling to hear this steely voice at full throttle. Four Strauss songs followed, ending with ‘Cäcilie’ and two gorgeous quiet ones in the middle, with some exquisite silences from Baillieu who made us wait just a fraction longer than usual in ‘Morgen!’ Really classy music making from both of them and I bet in ten years’ time they will be even better.

The real thing: Italian tenor Ivan Magrì at Rosenblatt Recitals

Ivan Magrì at Rosenblatt Recitals (Photo Jonathan Rose)

Bellini, Donizetti, Salvi, Verdi, Tosti, Massenet, De Curtis, Gastaldon, Puccini; Ivan Magrì, Iain Burnside; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Jan 13 2017
Star rating: 4.5
A classic Italian tenor recital, sung with fine technique and great charm

Ivan Magrì is a classic Italian lyric tenor (he sings Nemorino in Donizetti's L'Eelisir d'amore at Covent Garden in May) At his Rosenblatt Recital last night (3/4/2017) at the Wigmore Hall he gave us a programme which was classic in its own way in its combination of operatic arias and Italian song. Accompanied by Iain Burnside, Magrì sang two of Bellini's songs, arias from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, from Donizetti & Salvi's Il duca d'Alba, and from Verdi's I Lombardi and Rigoletto, songs by Paolo Tosti, arias from Massenet's Werther and Ernesto de Curtis's Non ti scordar di me and Stanislao Gastaldon's Musica proibita, finishing with 'Che gelida manina' from Puccini's La boheme. He even gave us O sole mio as an encore. The relatively unfamiliar arias from Il duca d'Alba (Matteo Salvi's complete of Donizetti's unfinished Le duc d'Albe) and I Lombardi added interest, but the main focus was on Magrì's voice and he did not disappoint. He certainly had both the voice and the technique to bring off the programme.

Bellini's Malinconia, Ninfa gentile was given the full operatic treatment, so we were able to appreciate Magrì's vibrant, lyric Italian tenor (albeit at the expense of Bellini's delicate song), with a fine openness to the voice, and interestingly dark sheen to it yet a nice evenness of emission all the way to the top. In the second Bellini song, Ma rendi pur contento, Magrì brought things down to a more intimate level suitable to the material, here we could appreciate his lovely mezza-voce. He also started to relax on stage, and give us a very dynamic, mobile performance. Throughout the evening, the best moments were when Magrì forgot himself and really sold the material to us, creating a strong personal link in the concert hall.

Slow burn: Sondra Radvanovsky's London recital debut pays dividends in the end

Anthony Manoli & Sondra Radvanovsky at Rosenblatt Recitals at Cadogan Hall (photo Jonathan Rose)

Giacomelli, Bellini, Richard Strauss, Liszt, Barber, Giordano; Sondra Radvanovsky, Anthony Manoli; Rosenblatt Recitals at Cadogan Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Mar 16 2017
Star rating: 4.0
An interesting and varied programme which only came fully alive in the final items

Sondra Radvanovsky (photo Jonathan Rose)

Amazingly, soprano Sondra Radvanovsky was making her London recital debut when she performed a recital at Cadogan Hall on Thursday 16 March 2017 with pianist Anthony Manoli as part of Rosenblatt Recitals season. Radvanovsky and Manoli's programme included 'Sposa son disprezzata' from Geminiano Giacomelli's La merope, three ariette by Vincenzo Bellini, a group of Richard Strauss songs, Allerseelen Op.10 no.8, Befreit Op.39 no. 4, Morgen Op.27 no.4, Heimliche Aufforderung Op.27 no.3, three of Franz Liszt's French songs, a selection of songs from Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs and 'La mamma morta' from Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chenier.

There was something slightly old school about Sondra Radvanovsky's recital in the way she started with arie antiche. The programme was an interesting one which eschewed opera arias entirely until the last item, but it was only in the Giordano and the encores (three opera arias and a song from a musical) that Radvanovsky's voice seemed to come fully alive and fill the Cadogan Hall with vibrant life. Though their voices are very different, in many ways Radvanovsky's recital reminded me of the ones I heard Montserrat Caballe give at Covent Garden, with the careful trajectory from opening arie antiche to final encores when hair is finally let down.

Alessandro Parisotti's arrangement of Geminiano Giacomelli's 'Sposa son disprezzata' was written in 1890, in an age long before period performance practice. The aria is from Giacomelli's opera La merope, but is best known for being included in Vivaldi's pasticcio La Bajazet. Radvanovsky sang it using a beautifully modulated middle voice only rising to full voice at climaxes, her expressive phrasing taking classic 19th century view of the music.

Sony Radvanovsky has quite a large voice, her signature roles include the title role in Bellini's Norma and Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatora, roles which require a certain combination of volume and flexibility. Radvanovsky has this in spades, she regularly fined her voice right down and showed an impressive degree of control. This is combined with a rather particular, vibrant quality which means one's impression of the voice is of the highly distinctive and expressive phrasing rather than a pure sense of line.

Tara Erraught at Rosenblatt Recitals

Louis Spohr, Franz Lachner, Schubert, Mozart, Rossini; Tara Erraught, Ulrich Pluta, James Bailieu; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Mar 6 2017
Star rating: 5.0
An imaginative and engaging programme gave us the opportunity to hear the Irish mezzo-soprano in a wide range of repertoire

The Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught brought an imaginative programme to the Wigmore Hall for her Rosenblatt Recital on Monday 6 March 2017. Joined by pianist James Baillieu and clarinettist Ulrich Pluta, the first half of the programme consisted of 19th century German music for voice, clarinet and piano with three of Louis Spohr's Sechs deutsche Lieder, Op. 103, Franz Lachner's Auf Flugeln des Gesanges and Seit ich ihn gesehen, and Schubert's Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. The second half reflected Erraught's operatic roles, with Sifare's aria 'Soffre il mio cor con pace' from Mozart's Mitridato, Re di Ponto,  Cherubino's 'Voi che sapete' from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Rosina's 'Ah se e ver' from Rossini's Il barbiere di Sivigla (an aria Rossini added for a performance of the opera in 1819), and Rossini's cantata Giovanna d'Arco. Ulrich Pluta returned to the platform for the first encore, when he joined Erraught and Baillieu in a performance of Sesto's 'Parto, parto' from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito.

Tara Erraught sang the entire programme from memory, and her performance was notable for her highly communicative manner, creating a sense of character in each of the items and conveying a real feeling of engagement, enjoyment and enthusiasm. Singing with a beautifully modulated and bright toned mezzo-soprano, there was a freshness to her lieder performances in the first half, which made even the more routine items seem something special. She is clearly a great story-teller, and in the second half introduced each of the arias.

Uneven partnership: Maria Katzarava & Stefano La Colla at Rosenblatt Recitals

Maria Katzarava

Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Gounod, Giordano; Maria Katzarava, Stefano La Colla, Simon Lepper; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Jan 10 2017
Star rating: 3.5
Some fine soprano solos redeem and evening of unequal duet partnership

The first Rosenblatt Recital of 2017 on 10 January at the Wigmore Hall saw the Mexican soprano Maria Katzarava and the Italian tenor Stefano La Colla, accompanied by pianist Simon Lepper performing a programme of arias and duets by Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Gounod and Giordano including music from Aroldo, Manon Lescaut, Le Cid, Romeo e Juliette, Andrea Chenier, Tosca, La Boheme and Madama Butterfly.  Neither singer seems to have worked much in the UK so it was a welcome opportunity to hear them their core repertoire. Maria Katzarava won the first prize and zarzuela prize at Placido Domingo's Operalia 2008 and plans include Maguerite (Faust) in Lausanne, Mimi (La boheme) in Bologna, and Madama Butterfly in Palermo. Stefano La Colla's plans include Radames (Aida) in Naples and Verona, Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut) in Amsterdam, Rodrigue (Le Cid) in St Gallen, Ismaele (Nabucco) in Milan and Calaf (Turandot).

Stefano La Colla

The evening started with an element of confusion. The programme led the audience to believe that we were were to hear Aroldo and Mina's duet Sotto il sol di Siria ardente from Verdi's Aroldo, his 1837 re-write of Stiffelio. But Stefano La Colla sang us a solo, which turned out to be the tenor cavatina extracted from the duet with the soprano part omitted, which seemed a shame given that there was a soprano included in the evening. But this was indicative of the general tenor of the evening, when the partnership of Stefano La Colla and Maria Katzarava seemed, from our side of the footlights, to be somewhat one-sided with the tenor as the dominant partner. At least it was noticeable that Maria Katzarava gave her best, and most subtle performances in her solos.

Stefano La Colla has an attractive, spinto voice and a vocal style which seems to be modelled on Mario del Monaco with a firmness of line, yet a rather unsubtle robust attitude to phrasing. He has the virtue of reliability, with a nice evenness of emission though he seemed to have only two volume settings, mezza-voce and loud. The mezza-voce moments were lovely, and we could have done with hearing more, but virtually everything at the top of his voice was sung full. This was rather too loud for the Wigmore Hall, and in the duets it forced Maria Katzarava to match him. La Colla also had a habit which, heard once was acceptable but when repeated came to annoy. For climactic top notes he tended to push his voice somewhat and kept going sharp.

A climax really worth waiting for: Simone Piazzola at Rosenblatt Recitals

Simone Piazzola - Rosenblatt Recital
photo Jonathan Rose

Tosti, Liszt, Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi; Simone Piazzola, Giuseppe Vaccaro
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Nov 1 2016
Star rating: 4.5
A recital which started rather low key, but climaxed with a stunning trio of Verdi arias at the end.

The young Italian baritone Simone Piazzola made his UK debut on Tuesday 1 November 2016 at a Rosenblatt Recital at the Wigmore Hall. Accompanied by pianist Giuseppe Vaccaro, Piazzola sang a programme which mixed songs by Tosti with arias from Mozart's Don Giovanni, Donizetti's La Favourita and Lucia di Lammermoor, Verdi's Il Trovatore and Gounod's Faust, whilst Vaccaro played Liszt's Paraphrase de concert sur Rigoletto and Hungarian Rhapsody No.2.

There is no doubt that Piazzola has baritone voice which is very fine indeed, combining a lovely resonance with a sense of line, fluidity of phrasing and a great sense of the words. He is one of those singers whom you would be happy to hear singing the proverbial laundry list, but to start the programme with a group of five songs by Tosti seemed rather lacking in either confidence or imagination. Thankfully, this was a recital which grew as it progressed. For the arias in the second half, Piazzola got rid of the music stand and sang from memory, thus aiding his communication with the audience. Having finished the recital proper with Il balen from Verdi's Il Trovatore, for his encores Piazzola turned in a vividly intense account of Posa's prison scene from Verdi's Don Carlo and poised performance of Germont's Di provenza il mar from La traviata.

The Tosti songs included the very well known Non t'amo più!, L'Ultima Canzone and Ideale plus the lesser known Chanson de l'adieu and A vuchella. This are not easy songs to sing and Piazzola did so with great beauty of tone and fine control. He sang them as if he really believed them, and whilst he was singing so did we, as we appreciated the intensity of his expression. But by the end of the group we were longing for something a bit meatier.

Rosenblatt Recitals 2016-2017

Sondra Radvanovsky in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux at the Met,
with Mariusz Kwiecien

Rosenblatt Recitals 2016/2017 season has its familiar tempting mix of established names and rising stars (mainly at the Wigmore Hall). The season is opened by tenor Alek Shrader and pianist Roger Vignoles in a programme which mixes new music, Iain Bell's song cycle The Undying Splendour, with American greats including Samuel Barber and Virgil Thomson, plus arias by Mozart, Handel and Rossini.

Other highlights include a recital from American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky (who recently performed Donizetti's Roberto Devereux at the Met) accompanied by Anthony Manoli in arias by Vivaldi, Dvorak, Giordano and songs by Bellini, Liszt and Barber (at Cadogan Hall). And Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, accompanied by James Baillieu, will be giving her first Rosenblatt Recital with lieder by Spohr, Lachner, Schubert and arias by Mozart and Rossini.

There are two UK debuts in the recitals, Italian tenor Ivan Magri (a pupil of Luciano Pavarotti) accompanied by Iain Burnside will perform arias by Verdi, Donizetti and songs by Bellini, Tosti, De Curtis and Gastaldon, whilst Italian baritone Simone Piazzolla (who won 2nd price in the 2013 Operalia competition), accompanied by Giuseppe Vaccaro, will perform music by Tosti, Donizetti, Gounod and Verdi.

Other recitals include Italian soprano Eleanor Buratto (the other Luciano Pavarotti pupil of the season), Mexican soprano Maria Katzarava and Italian tenor Stefano La Colla in a duo recital, soprano Lise Davidsen (who makes her Glyndebourne debut next year), and Argentine bass Nauel di Pierro.

Full details from the Rosenblatt Recitals website.

Iconic but inconclusive - Mariella Devia at Rosenblatt Recitals

Mariella Devia at Rosenblatt Recitals
at the Wigmore Hall - photo Jonathan Rose

Ravel, Liszt, Massenet, Gounod, Verdi, Bellini; Mariella Devia, Giulio Zappa; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Jun 14 2016
Star rating: 4.0
A chance to hear an iconic singer, even if the encounter was cut short

The Italian soprano, Mariella Devia, has become something of an icon; at the age of 68 still singing demanding repertory including Bellini's Norma and Donizetti's Tudor queens. That she has not sung at Covent Garden since 2000 meant that her Rosenblatt Recital at the Wigmore Hall on Tuesday 14 June 2016 was highly anticipated. Accompanied by the pianist Giulio Zappa, she performed Ravel's Cinq melodies populaire grecques, Liszt's Oh! quand je dors and Tre sonetti di Petrarca, Massenet's Adieu, notre petite table from Manon, Gounod's Je veux vivre from Romeo e Juliette, two Verdi songs, Perduta ho la pace and Deh, pietoso, oh Addolorata, plus Sempre all'alba from Giovanna d'Arco, and four of Bellini's ariettes. The recital was supposed to end with Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma, but at the interval Devia was announced as being a little unwell, and after the last Bellini ariette it was announced that she would sing no more, thus giving the evening a somewhat inconclusive feel.

In Ravel's Cinq melodies populaire grecques Mariella Devia displayed a remarkably ageless technique with a remarkably strong middle voice. Le réveil de la mariée captured the exotic tone of the song, whilst Là bas, vers l'église was rather affecting with a lovely attention to the colouring of words, though it had become apparent that very few of the words themselves came over. Quel galant m'est comparable was vividly characterful, Chanson des cueilleuse de lentisque started with jut a thread of sound and a lovely sense of fluid line. And the cycle ended with the delightful Tout gai!

Unexpected delights: Ekaterina Siurina and Luis Gomes at Rosenblatt Recitals

Luis Gomes & Ekaterina Siurina in rehearsal - Rosenblatt Recitals
photo Jonathan Rose

Puccini, Mascagni, Bizet, Gounod, Tosti, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Rachmaninov; Ekaterina Siurina, Luis Gomes, Iain Burnside; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Mar 16 2016
Star rating: 4.0
Delight and charm, despite last-minute change of personnel

Last night's Rosenblatt Recital (16 March 2016) at the Wigmore Hall was intended to be a joint recital by husband and wife team, tenor Charles Castronovo and soprano Ekaterina Siurina, with pianist Iain Burnside in which they performed love duets by Mascagni, Puccini, Bizet and Gounod, plus song by Tosti, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Liszt and Rachmaninov.

In the event Charles Castronovo was ill and he was replaced, at extraordinarily short notice, by tenor Luis Gomes (making his second unscheduled appearance at a Rosenblatt Recital). The programme was remarkably unchanged, we still had the duets from Masacgni's L'amico Fritz, Puccini's La Boheme and Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, but just had the soprano aria from Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles, and in the songs we lost the Liszt but gained rather more Rachmaninov.

We started with the Cherry duet from Pietro Mascagni's L'amico Fritz, a delightful, rather low-key piece in which both Ekaterina Siurina and Luis Gomes brought out the charm of the work, only ramping up the passion in the final pages. Though singing from a score (just the one, which they shared), throughout the evening the two created a believably strong bond between their two characters and this was anything but a stand and song evening. It was difficult to believe this had been put together at such short notice.

Heroique flashes - Bryan Hymel, Irene Roberts & Julius Drake at Rosenblatt Recitals

Irene Roberts and Bryan Hymel in the final scene of Bizet's Carmen at Rosenblatt Recitals - photo Jonathan Rose

RVW, Wagner, Gounod, Berlioz, Bizet; Bryan Hymel, Irene Roberts, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Julius Drake; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Feb 25 2016
Star rating: 4.0
Gounod's Romeo and a scenes from Carmen burn brightly in a somewhat mixed recital

Last night's Rosenblatt Recital (25 February 2016) at the Wigmore Hall was shared by the American tenor Bryan Hymel (known for his performances as Aeneas in Berlioz' Les Troyens at Covent Garden and his disc Heroique of French 19th century heroic opera arias, see my review), and the young American mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts (who will be singing the title role in Bizet's Carmen with San Francisco Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin this year). The two singers were accompanied in a programme of RVW, Wagner, Gounod, Mascagni, Berlioz and Bizet by pianist Julius Drake. The programme opened with Bryan Hymel singing RVW's Four Hymns for Tenor, when he and Drake were joined by viola player Krzysztof Chorzelski, then Irene Roberts sang four of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. Bryan Hymel then gave us Ah! leve-toi, soleil! from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette and Mamma, quel vino e generoso from Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, with two excerpts from Bizet's Carmen to conclude the programme.

One of the fascinating things about Rosenblatt Recitals is the way the series places opera singers in a concert context, and showcases their repertoire choices when moving away from operatic drama. Bryan Hymel's choice of RVW's Four Hymns for Tenor was an intriguing choice indeed. The work is an early one, written in 1911 shortly after the Five Mystical Songs and partaking of the same aura of mystical rapture. We are used to hearing the work sung by classic English lyric tenor voices but Hymel has shown that his voice has the refreshingly old-fashion combination of narrow-focus power with remarkable flexibility. For all the big bright sound in at the opening, Hymel was able to bring his tone down and give us moments of lower key intimacy. This was quite a big boned performance, and Hymel was finely matched by viola player Krzysztof Chorzelski and pianist Julius Drake. However Hymel's performance seemed a little constrained and score-bound (it was the only work of the evening where he sang from the score), and it perhaps was not the ideal work to open the programme. For all the inward quality which he brought to it, the performance did rather miss the sense of mysticism that these songs need. However Hymel did give the music a very intense presence.

Next, Irene Roberts sang four of Wagner's Fünf Gedichte für eine Frauenstimme (Wesendonck Lieder); she missed off Im Treibhaus, one of the two songs which Wagner labelled 'Studie zu Tristan und Isolde' (studies for Tristan and Isolde). The five songs should probably not be regarded as a song cycle, Wagner wrote them over the period of a year (1857-1858) and the present order of the songs was only fixed by the publishers, Schott, in 1862. However it was a shame that we missed the perfumed Tristan-esque exoticism of Im Treibhaus, and thankfully we were treated to it as an encore at the end of the recital.

From Monteverdi to Verdi - Gianluca Buratto at Rosenblatt Recitals

Gianluca Buratto at Rosenblatt Recitals - photo Jonathan Rose

Monteverdi, Cazzati, Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi; Gianluca Buratto, James Baillieu; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Jan 12 2016
Star rating: 4.0
Some dazzling moments and a stupendous voice in this recital from the young Italian bass

The Italian bass Gianluca Buratto has sung in London before (he was in the cast of John Eliot Gardiner's performance of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo at the 2015 Proms), but Buratto's Rosenblatt Recital at the Wigmore Hall on Tuesday 12 January 2016 was his first recital in London. Accompanied by pianist James Baillieu, Buratto sang a programme of mainly operatic arias from Monteverdi's L'Incoronatione di Poppea, Handel's Orlando, Vivaldi's Tito Manlio, Mozart's Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflote, Rossini's Il barbiere di Sivigla, Bellini's I Puritani and Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, plus Maurizio Cazzati's cantata In Calvaria rupe moribundus.

Gianluca Buratto at Rosenblatt Recitals
photo Jonathan Rose

It was, perhaps, a mistake to begin with Seneca's long death scene from Monteverdi's L'Incoronatione di Poppea. Not that Buratto didn't have the voice for it, he certainly did. From his first notes he revealed a wonderfully sonorous and rich bass voice with a lovely sense of line and legato and an enviable ease at both ends of his range. But his stage presence was so discreet, so unassuming that the scene just did not make the impact that it should have. You felt that at times Buratto was using the music stand to shield himself from the audience, rather than bringing Monteverdi's flexible recitative to dramatic life. Add to this the omission of the chorus parts for Seneca's followers (played on the piano), and you had a piece where the drama did not quite happen. This was a shame because Buratto's voice seemed perfect for the role; he captured the sombre dignity of the part and really brought out the words. Perhaps he simply needs a good director.

Next came the cantata In Calvaria rupe moribundus by the 17th century Italian composer Maurizio Cazzati. This was a long fluid recitative followed by a quite discreet aria.

For Zoroastro's aria Sorge infausta una procella from Handel's Orlando, Buratto started to reveal a bit of bravura temperament, and projected a bit more emotion from the stage. He had an enviable control of the virtuoso elements of the aria, with firmly resonant tone, good passagework and a fine sense of drama. If we don't hear him in a Handel role in London soon then we are seriously missing out.  The final item in the first half was in a similar vein, Tito Manlio's aria Se il cor guerriero from Vivaldi's opera Tito Manlio. This was Vivaldi in instrumental mode, with the voice being given long instrumental-like passagework which Buratto despatched with facility and vivid energy.

Inspired by Goethe - Dorottya Láng

Dorottya Láng
picture credit Jonathan Rose

Schubert, Wolf, Eisler, Liszt, Gounod, Berlioz, Lehar; Dorottya Láng, Helmut Deutsch; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Dec 01 2015
Star rating: 4.0
A programme inspired by Goethe from this talented young Hungarian mezzo

The young Viennese-trained Hungarian mezzo-soprano Dorottya Láng made her debut at the Wigmore Hall in a recital for Rosenblatt Recitals on Tuesday 1 December 2015 when she was accompanied by Helmut Deutsch. Their programme was themed around the poetry of the great German poet Goethe, with settings by Schubert, Wolf, Eisler and Liszt, plus arias from operas by Gounod and Berlioz based on Goethe's work, and an aria from an operetta by Lehar based on an episode in Goethe's life.

They started with Schubert with a group of eight songs from the years 1815-1822. Hoffnung introduced us to Dorottya Láng's rich, warm tones, beautifully supported and wonderfully even across the range. The song was sung quite straight, rather chorale-like. Auf dem See had fine sensitivity to the words and was appealing but seemed to need a bit more underlying anxiety. Klarchen's Lied was beautifully done if a bit placid, but we got the right amount of vibrant intensity in Rastlose Liebe. Meeress Stille was all contemplative calm, whilst Erster Verlust was plangently expressive, An die Entfernte was beautifully haunting and Versunken showcased Deutsch's brilliant piano playing.

Yet after listening to Dorottya Láng singing the whole group of eight Schubert songs I was aware that though she did all the right things, and shaped the songs beautifully with sensitivity to the words, each seemed to lack just a little intensity. It was as if she hadn't yet found the right spark, but she is young (30 next year) and these performances were more than highly promising.

A thrilling evening - Quinn Kelsey at Rosenblatt Recitals

Quinn Kelsey at Rosenblattt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
photo Jonathan Rose

Tchaikovsky, Finzi, Massenet, Ravel, Copland, Mussorgsky
Quinn Kelsey, Llŷr Williams
Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on Nov 11 2015
Star rating: 5.0
Thrilling evening from young Hawaiian baritone in an eclectic programme

Hawaiian baritone Quinn Kelsey first came to prominence in London with his terrific performance in the title role of Rigoletto with ENO (see my review), so his recital  at the Wigmore Hall, accompanied by Llŷr Williams, for Rosenblatt Recitals was a welcome chance to hear this young baritone in a rather different context. He and Llŷr Williams performed an imaginative and eclectic mix of Russian, English and French composers in pieces which all showcased Kelsey's dark-hued baritone voice. The programme consisted of Prince Yeletsky's aria Ya vas lyublyu from Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades, Gerald Finzi's song-cycle Let Us Garlands Bring, Herod's aria Vision fugitive from Massenet's opera Herodiade, Maurice Ravel's Don Quichotte a Dulcinee, a group of Aaron Copland's Old American Songs and Modest Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death.

With such a varied programme, it was impressive that Quinn Kelsey sang everything from memory and that he had not fallen into the trap of simply giving us a mixture of arias and songs by operatic composers. This was a programme which really tested the singer and showed off the many facets of his rich baritone voice, with its dark chestnut tones and fine, even production. Whatever he sang, Kelsey produced a strong, even line which was made all the more telling by his attention to the words. As far as I could tell, his Russian was entirely creditable and certainly comprehensible, whilst his French was superb and his English too.

He started with Yeletsky's heart-breaking aria, where the character tells Lisa that he loves her but realises she does not reciprocate. Kelsey started quite still on stage but got more animated as the music did, throughout the recital I was impressed how he used stillness on the platform whilst never seeming impassive and his very mobile face was always conveying the emotion involved. There are some thrilling moments in the aria, as well as the heartbreaking ones, and Kelsey managed his voice finely giving us a thrilling top.

Sumi Hwang & Helmut Deutsch at Rosenblatt Recitals

Helmut Deutsch and Sumi Hwang - Rosenblatt Recitalls at the Wigmore Hall
photo Jonathan Rose

Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Massenet, Puccini; Sumi Hwang, Helmut Deutsch; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Ruth Hansford on Oct 28 2015
Star rating: 4.5
Straussian treats worth waiting for

The young Korean soprano Sumi Hwang and veteran Viennese pianist Helmut Deutsch gave a programme of mostly Lieder at the Wigmore Hall in the third Rosenblatt Recital of the season. Their programme mixed Lieder by Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Berg and Strauss with operatic arias by Puccini and Massenet.

They started the evening with Schubert's 'Ganymed'. Hwang demonstrated a bright, attractive voice and solid technique, sailing effortlessly through the treacherous final phrase Alliebender Vater with gallons of breath to spare, while Deutsch provided a rich and characterful grounding on the piano. The remaining items in the Schubert set were all settings of Goethe poems but they did not match the early promise. Hwang didn't not convince us she had explored the complexity and darkness of the texts, and her German diction was at best approximate, at worst lacking vital consonants. The Wigmore Hall audiences are changing, but they would expect to hear the words in standards like 'Gretchen'. The most successful of the Schubert songs was in her first encore 'Seligkeit', which was eminently suited to her sunny, candid stage presence. And it left us wondering why she didn't do more like that to show off the voice and set the scene.

Light and shade for the encores - Leo Nucci at Cadogan Hall

Leo Nucci and the Italian Chamber Ensemble, Rosenblatt Recitals at the Cadogan Hall - photo credit Jonathan Rose

Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini; Leo Nucci, Italian Chamber Ensemble; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Cadogan Hall
Reviewed by Ruth Hansford on Oct 13 2015
Star rating: 4.0
Veteran Italian baritone shows his voice is in fine fettle, but we had to wait until the encores for any light and shade

Leo Nucci and the Italian Chamber Ensemble in recital at the Cadogan Hall on 13 October 2015 for Rosenblatt Recitals; there is no doubt that baritone Leo Nucci is still in full command of his vocal powers at the age of 73; he demonstrated his incredible stamina and gave us a masterclass in how to produce an impressive 'squillo'.

This Rosenblatt celebrity recital demonstrated the powerful voice to its full extent in a programme of bel canto arias by Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini, songs and arias by Verdi and arrangements for string quartet, piano and harp by the Italian Chamber Ensemble's pianist, Paolo Marcarini. 

Somewhere for the weekend: Branscombe Festival

Branscombe Manor Mill water wheel

Ian Rosenblatt's Branscombe Festival returns to the Devonshire village on 24 to 26 July 2015. Performing in the village's picturesque venues and even on the beach (let us hope the British weather does not intervene), the performers will include the Sacconi Quartet in Schubert and Beethoven, soprano Susan Bullock and pianist Richard Sisson in a programme called Songs my Father taught me, and Francesco Meli and Angel Blue (both of whom have sung for Rosenblatt Recitals) in a joint concert with pianist Matteo Pais. The Band of the Royal Marines will performing a concert on the beach, there is late-night jazz from The Leo Green Experience, and the opening concert will be 4-MALITY in a concert of contemporary music including Geir Rafnsson and Steve Reich.

Rosenblatt Recitals 2015-16

Jessica Pratt and Vincenzo Scalera at their recent Rosenblatt Recital at Wigmore Hall - photo Jonathan Rose

Rosenblatt Recitals has announced the plans for the 2015/16 with a strong season of recitals by a mixture of returning artists and those new to Rosenblatt Recitals. There will be Rosenblatt Recital debuts from Gianluca Buratto, Russell Thomas, Sumi Hwang and Charles Castronovo, and returning artists include Bryan Hymel, Javier Camarena and Ekaturina Siurina, Juan Diego Florez gives a recital at the Royal Albert Hall, whilst Leo Nucci gives a recital at the Cadogan Hall.

The Wigmore Hall season is opened by tenor Russell Thomas, who made his UK debut as Lazarus in ENO's production of The Gospel According to the Other Mary. His recital includes arias from The Damnation of Faust and Fidelio plus songs by Brahms, Tosti and Barber (21 September). Leo Nucci and the Italian Chamber Orchestra perform Rossini, Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti. at Cadogan Hall (13 October).

At the Wigmore Hall, Korean soprano Sumi Hwang performs a programme including Puccini, Schubert, R. Strauss and Berg (28 October). Hawaiian baritone Quinn Kelsey, who made his UK debut in ENO’s Rigoletto, sings Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death and music by Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Finzi and Copland (11 November). Mezzo-soprano Dorottya Láng, who is joining the ensemble of Hamburg State Opera, performs music by Wolf, Liszt, Schubert, Berlioz and Gounod (1 December).

In 2016, performances include bass Gianluca Buratto making his Rosenblatt Recital debut (12 January 2016), Charles Castronovo and Ekaturina Siurina (16 March 2016) and Javier Camarena returns by public demand following his thrilling, and last minute debut last year. (14 April 2016). American tenor Bryan Hymel returns to the Rosenblatt Recital series for the first time since 2009 (25 February 2016). Juan Diego Florez returns to the Royal Albert Hall for his second Rosenblatt Recital there (his first was in 2012), and he gave his first Rosenblatt Recital in 2001.

Bel canto delight - Jessica Pratt in recital

Jessica Pratt - photo Jonathan Rose

Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Massenet, Gounod, Bachelet, Dell'Acqua, Delibes, Thomas
Jessica Pratt and Vincenzo Scalera; Rosenblatt Recitals at Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on May 19 2015
Star rating: 5.0
Welcome opportunity to hear British-born soprano in a bel canto programme

The soprano Jessica Pratt is British born, raised in Australia and Italian trained, she studied with Gianluigi Gelmetti, Renata Scotto and Lella Cuberli, and her career has very much been based in continental Europe with few, if any, opportunities for British audiences to hear her in the bel canto repertoire for which she has become known. So it was a double pleasure to be able to hear her in recital, with pianist Vincenzo Scalera, at the Rosenblatt Recital at the Wigmore Hall on Tuesday 19 May 2015. Their programme consisted of songs by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Massenet, Gounod, Bachelet, Dell'Acqua and Delibes, along with arias from Bellini's I puritani and Thomas' Hamlet, carefully organised so that the Italian songs led into the Bellini aria at the end of part one, with the French songs in part two concluding with the Thomas aria.

Songs by early 19th century Italian opera composers are rarely as complex as their operatic arias, but all require a strong technique to bring them off. In her selection of arias by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini, Jessica Pratt chose ones which in the main veered more towards opera with some being almost as complex as an operatic cavatina.

Ben Johnson and James Baillieu

Ben Johnson

Tosti, Respighi, Stanford, Parry, Coates, Elgar, Sullivan, Head, Hughes, Woodforde-Finden, Lehmann; Ben Johnson, James Baillieu; Rosenblatt Recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on April 8 2015
Star rating: 4.0
Out of the parlour: Beautifully thoughtful performances of songs spanning high and low culture.

Ben Johnson's Rosenblatt Recital at the Wigmore Hall on Wednesday 8 April 2015 explored songs which were written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, works produced by composers in the intersection between popular and high culture, the well made lyrical song. The composers were all, with one exception, perceived as in some way British. Accompanied by James Baillieu, Ben Johnson sang song cycles by Francesco Paolo Tosti (naturalised British) and Respighi, plus songs by Parry, Stanford, Elgar, Sullivan, Eric Coates, Michael Head, Herbert Hughes, Amy Woodforde-Finden and Liza Lehman. This is repertoire which requires a strong technique to be done well and is often neglected partly through being badly performed or not taken seriously; errors which Ben Johnson certainly never made. He lavished the same care on the songs as any in his repertoire, and most responded beautifully.

Ben Johnson and James Baillieu opened with Tosti's cycle of five songs setting Gabriele d'Annunzio, Malincolia, written in 1887. The melancholy of the title being elegant rather then depressive with a suggestion of stylish posturing from d'Annunzio. Dorme la selva had a long slow line which Ben Johnson caressed and shaped making something highly expressive with clear words. Perfect of its style and of great beauty in the combination of song, performance and voice. Ben Johnson had a lovely low-centred lyric tenor voice with dark hints. He is becoming known for the Italian operatic repertoire and his technique has Italianate elements but without the glare and wide open tones which can sit uneasily on the concert platform. Quando'io ti guardo was more urgent, rising to fine passion. L'ora e tarda combined a lyric piano line with a more conversational vocal line, finely shaped by Ben Johnson. Or dunque addio developed from conversational to real passion in a way which reminded me perhaps of Puccini-lite. Chi sei tu che mi parli was slower and darker, the lovely melody when it finally came was given an Italianate feel, but beautifully controlled without belting.