Wonderfully illustrated exploration of challenges for opera soprano

Opera Prelude lecture recital — Love, Laughter and Loss: the trials and tribulations of operatic sopranos

Christ Church, Henley

Friday, February 21

THIS Opera Prelude lecture recital was, in the words of one audience member, “totally fabulous” and “an amazingly wonderful morning”.

A very likeable Phoebe Smith, one of the charity’s new cohort of young artists, presented a well-structured exploration of the highs and lows of the operatic soprano. She was joined on piano by Thomas Ang.

Phoebe, who recently completed her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, spoke of the demands on the operatic soprano.

Often the heroine and central character of the plot, she has to demonstrate not only vocal brilliance and a musical understanding of the score but also an ability to convey the emotion and drama of the story.

From the first moment, we could hear that Phoebe and Thomas had all these in spades.

In her opening aria, Je Veux Vivre, Juliet’s aria from Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, it was clear that Phoebe has a superb voice.

She demonstrated a sense of joy through the gorgeous melody and a technical proficiency in her effortless high notes.

Of course, there is no shortage of female heroines in opera who fall in and out of love. They also die horribly of consumption, lose their sanity and even make the ultimate sacrifice.

The duo performed a generous collection of arias of some of opera’s most beloved heroines to illustrate this. We heard the heartbreak of Mozart’s Contessa in The Marriage of Figaro, the tragedy of Puccini’s Liu in Turandot and the loss of sanity of Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor.

Phoebe was able to convey the torture and angst of these characters as well as managing the technical demands of the music.

If her voice was a tad too powerful for the Kempster Hall, her love of singing was infectious and the audience was drawn in.

With Thomas, we were in safe hands. A versatile pianist, he had the lush orchestral scores comfortably under his fingers, playing with energy and sensitivity and getting the best out of the Christ Church piano.

It turns out that the soprano heroine can also portray laughter.

We heard from two of opera’s maids, Mozart’s Despina from Così fan tutte and Strauss’s Adele from Die Fledermaus. It was in this repertoire for me that Phoebe demonstrated her versatility, so unusual for a singer of her age.

In contrast to the lyric melodies we had heard earlier, her personality shone through the light, playful phases and rapid rhythmic sections, all with crisp diction. Delightful.

We were sent skipping home with a characterful performance of Adelaide’s Aria from Jonathan Dove’s whimsical tale, The Enchanted Pig.

These two young artists were on fine form musically for a well thought-out talk delivered with commitment and energy.

Opera Prelude’s next offering is “Love and hate: the complex relationship of soprano and tenor in opera” on Friday, March 21 from 11am to 1pm, featuring tenor Will Diggle with Adrian Salinero (piano). For more information and to book, visit www.operaprelude.org

Amanda Sadler