Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Messiah by George Frideric Handel, conducted by Jean-Sébastien Vallée, featuring the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Roy Thomson Hall, runs until Dec. 22. Tickets here.
Since becoming artistic director of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir in 2021, Jean-Sébastien Vallée has excited my interest because of his inventive programming. Thus, when it was announced that he would be conducting Messiah for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the question was, would he bring his auteur style to this hallowed oratorio?
The answer is a resounding yes. The performance captivated the audience, who rewarded Vallée and his forces with a rapturous reception.
Some of the things Vallée implemented were not necessarily new, while others were a genuine surprise. Nonetheless, taken as a whole cloth, this performance of Messiah felt not only fresh, but downright adventurous.
The General Layout of the Performance
The TMChoir was not in the loft, but on bleachers behind the orchestra which allowed for a compressed blast of sound. The four soloists were also tucked behind the TSO, which was a very clever move. That meant that the tenor, who sings only at the beginning of Part One, could hide away, as could the soprano, who only sings at the end.
This also meant that the soloists had to walk around the orchestra to come to the front of the stage which really focused attention on them. They had memorized their parts, so they were not carrying scores. Thus, their bodies were free to react to what they were singing, which made this performance semi-operatic – not quite full physical expression, but certainly much more than the usual concert stance.
How they walked in, and walked away after they had sung also reflected their text. They were characters in a play, with their exits and entrances.
Innovations
My first clue that this was going to be a different Messiah came with American tenor James Ley after the overture. In his recitative and air, he tossed off unusually florid ornamentation — much more than is custom — but it was designed to emphasize the meaning of the words. The slow “Comfort ye” has never sounded more passionate, while the faster “Ev’ry valley” more exciting.
This is risky business for a staid oratorio. It was as if Vallée had acted as a stage director, overseeing how his singers walked into the set, so to speak, and detailing how the text would be rendered. In short, this was a performance that told a dramatic story.
Charles Jennens’ libretto sprang to life, and the words seemingly exploded with meaning. You could clearly see how the text had inspired Handel’s music.
And so it continued throughout the evening, with each soloist adding to the drama. Each repeat of the verses, as is custom in Baroque arias, contained new ornamentation for emphasis.
The marvellous TMChoir was just as detailed in the dynamics of their words, particularly how the part singing played against each other. They were also so disciplined that they could stop on a dime.
Vallée’s conducting reflected the same careful attention to how the music worked with the text, where he built up tension, where he softened the mood, where he elongated a pause. Part One had a joyous air, in contrast to the darker Part Two, and the fervent Part Three. Clearly, Vallée is as strong an orchestral conductor as he is a choral director.
This was a Messiah with a theatrical flair, and it was thrilling to experience.
Then there was the treble — young William Mar from St. Michael’s Choir School — that’s right, a treble, which was a Vallée innovation.
The stage door opened, and out he came in his school uniform. With his sweet piping voice, he told us, “There were shepherds abiding in the field”.
India-born soprano Sherezade Panthaki then sang about the arrival of the angel of the Lord, to which Mar told the shepherds what the angel said, “I bring you good tidings”, followed by the recitative which led into the choir’s rousing rendition of “Glory to God in the highest”.
Inserting a treble certainly was a departure, and it worked. Young Mister Mar was a voice of innocence, reflecting the simplicity of the shepherds. Perhaps even more so, the treble voice has an ethereal, other worldly quality which conveyed “the heav’nly Host”.
The Singers
It is important to note that Vallée hand-picked the soloists, all of whom were making their TSO debuts, and each one brought something special to the storytelling.
The aforementioned Ley was dramatic while Panthaki brought the sweetness. Canadian countertenor Nicholas Burns was reflective, while Filipino-American bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca was commanding.
All were extremely expressive in their delivery and, more importantly, they could negotiate through the demanding ornamentation which Vallée, presumably, had dictated.
Ley has the bright clear voice one wants in an early music tenor, but there is an interesting hint of darkness. There is also almost a wildness to his singing, as odd as that may sound, which makes him an exciting performer. He was the most operatic of the four, and his bio, not surprisingly, lists an extensive list of opera performances. I would love to see Ley in an opera.
Panthaki has a delectable, feathery soprano voice which is blessed with an ease of florid coloratura. For example, she could not cram one more trill into her rendering of “Rejoice greatly” if she tried. In short, her impressive ornamentation seemed absolutely effortless. There is no shrillness in her voice, only a purity of sound. Her diction was the weakest of the four, but, somehow, that didn’t matter.
Having a countertenor instead of a mezzo-soprano reminded us of Handel’s own time, an echo of the past which was an interesting choice on the part of Vallée.
Burns is certainly a major talent on the rise. He has a beautiful voice with a subtle expressive quality. There is an even tone throughout, and his delivery of text is thoughtful.
As a storyteller, he was more introspective than his colleagues, but he could show passion when needed, such as literally singspiel the words, “shame and spitting”. When he barked them out, he caught us by surprise. Overall, we needed Burns’ restraint in contrast to his more showy colleagues.
From the very first-time bass-baritone Lagasca opened his mouth, it was a force of nature. Hearty is too light a word to describe his ringing commanding tone. His low notes are in his toes, while he also displayed a surprising high register as well. He whipped through “Why do the nations so furiously rage together” at whirlwind speed, and when he sang “I will shake the heav’ns…”, you knew he meant business.
Lagasca is a very charismatic performer who certainly demands attention.
When the four soloists are taken together, they make a very diverse collection of storytellers, and it was these very individual differences which added to the drama of the text.
The Choir and the Orchestra
We can’t leave without applauding the TMChoir who were simply sensational. What Vallée has done with these singers is remarkable – the evenness of tone, their ability to play with sound, the dynamics that infuse their music-making.
We have only to look at the chorus “Lift up your heads, O ye gates”. The beginning has the women singing first, and then the men, and back to the women, and so forth. The two sides were absolutely matched in output — the women and the men were of the same strength. It was perfection to the ear.
In another Vallée-ism, they also got to perform a surprising little trill at the end of “His yoke is easy”.
The choir was simply brilliant in the Hallelujah Chorus, giving us the pure joy of it, but even more impressive was the final chorus “Worthy is the Lamb” and the “Amen”.
The build, the tension, the drama — Vallée led his forces up and up in sound until the final “Amen” rang through the hall in glorious splendour.
There was one other innovation. I have never noticed the timpani that precedes the Hallelujah Chorus, but there they were, three or four loud, commanding drum beats before the choir began to sing. It was like a grand announcement. The timpani also gave a loud crash during the final chorus which actually made me jump, but it sure added colour.
The TSO
As for the TSO, they seemed to be detailed like the soloists and the choir, and so they produced very interesting dynamics in the instrumental component of the evening. The musicians rose to the occasion and performed the demands Vallée placed on them with aplomb.
Special kudos to Associate Concertmaster Clare Semes for her beautiful violin solo in “If God be for us” and Associate Principal Steven Woomert for sounding the trumpet in commanding fashion.
A word to the wise: this TSO/TMChoir Messiah as envisioned by Vallée is not to be missed.
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