Natalie Dessay. Zeneakadamie Budapest
April 19th 2018
This was a gorgeous recital in what must t=be one of the most spectacular concert halls in the world – certainly it is in Budapest. The mixture of lieder and opera arias was beautifully chosen and Dessay, after I felt somewhat warming up in her first few items, glowed for the rest of the evening.
The Pfitzner lieder sounded fascinating and her performance was particularly passionate and involving (even though I did not have a close idea of the subject matter – no subtitles on song recitals! The Chausson and Bizet (in the wholly French second half) were, unsurprisingly, [particularly idiomatic I felt and stylish. Ending with the Jewel Song, she showed that the repertoire in which she made her reputation and sang on stage could still be brought off but the voice was impressively rich and full and not a piping coloratura such as we often hear.
Her accompanist, Philippe Cassard was superb. They had a very close musical relationship and this was entertainingly shown by the relaxed and often-jocular relationship on stage. The day of the recital was her birthday and the evening started with Cassard playing Happy Birthday and then going into a Mozart sonata before seguing into the first item, from Mozart’s Figaro. At the end there were three lovely encores, with, each time, either Cassard or Dessay magically producing the music, which they did not visibly carry on to the stage!
Lovely, lovely evening and my first event at a Spring Festival concert (although am going to another one tonight…)