SINGER ENTERING MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SPACES, With that Joyce Voice
BERKELEY, CA—-With soprano Joyce DiDonato, it’s never just another glowing recital by a Met star. It’s a talk, it’s a tribute, it’s a message, it’s a staged monodrama, this time it’s even a postlude by an inspired youth choir.
Breaking the bonds of the elderly recital medium, she is an object lesson for aspiring vocalists who absolutely need to tune in on her trajectory—a mandatory master class for conservatory students, whether they’re violin, kazoo, piano or piccolo specialists planning their recital.
She did it here once again at Zellerbach Hall, precisely the right place for her colloquium alongside all those Nobel Prize winners and other notables, including the octogenarian composer Gordon Getty dashing across the Bay for hearing a dose of uplifting Joyce voice, the amiable diva who grabs you in the international love package of her unique embrace.
Not so tight, please, Joyce—-I can’t breathe!!
Forget for now that colossal vocal power, nuance and unbelievable stamina at age 54, two decades older than a typical leading soprano’s retirement age. She arrives placed into a stage design and backed by a baroque orchestra for her solo-program production “Eden” glorifying nature and Mother Earth—an inordinately spiritual experience.
Her Eden is envisaged as an environmental nirvana rather than a Biblical site, extolling the virtues of the wonder that was given us long ago before we humans began the despoiling process. She loves humanity dearly, but it’s the environment that is her message, every bit as much as it is Greta Thunberg’s.
The program is a seamless one ranging over Italian, German and English, interpreting Handel and Cavalli all the way up to living composers like Rachel Portman of England, and a bit of Copland and Ives in between.
Her voice texture lies between spinto and dramatic, and is consistently well-focused, with delicacy where needed. The stamina and sheer vocal power is formidable, filling the whole hall comfortably. This singing is accomplished in all sorts of positions—-standing, prone, even ducking the giant rotating rings that envelop her image. She still cuts the figure of an operatic heroine in her silvery formal gown and trim waist. It’s hard to imagine that she was a Merola (apprentice) singer at the S.F. Opera a generation ago—and is still going strong, thank you!
The exquisite orchestra with a deft touch once again was the Italian group Pomo d’Oro conducted from the violin stand by Zefira Valova. Pomo had previously collaborated with DiDonato on the programs and tours for “In War and Peace” and “My Favorite Things.” The current “Eden” program is Concert No. 23 on her ongoing world tour.
As the postlude, some 30 youngsters of the Piedmont East Bay Choir came on with their choral message of flowers, trees, and preservation. She returned the favor by singing for them the nonsequitur aria opening Handel’s opera “Xerxes,” “Ombra mai fu,” where the countertenor follows the overture with an aria devoted to the beloved tree.
As a memento reminder, every attendee received on departure a packet of chamomile seeds to plant in the back yard—-seeds for a more promising future, an essential ingredient of the generous Joyce package/message.
DIDONATO NOTES—She is given to surprise declarations linked to her concert appearances. On an earlier concert trip here, she had provided a spontaneous spoken tribute to the late baroque conductor Alan Curtis (1934 –2015), who as a Berkeley Music Professor had been largely responsible for the renaissance of baroque music in the East Bay before continuing on his mission at length in Europe.
CAL PERFORMANCES, presenting soprano Joyce DiDonato’s “Eden” Jan. 21 at Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. For info on CalPerfs: (510) 642-9988, or go online, calperformances.org.
