{"id":37752,"date":"2016-07-24T10:27:11","date_gmt":"2016-07-24T14:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=37752"},"modified":"2016-07-26T01:03:22","modified_gmt":"2016-07-26T05:03:22","slug":"a-day-full-of-song-re-generation-at-the-toronto-summer-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/07\/24\/a-day-full-of-song-re-generation-at-the-toronto-summer-music\/","title":{"rendered":"A Day Full of Song: Re-Generation At Toronto Summer Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year’s crop of fresh, young voices a particularly good one at Toronto Summer Music Festival Art of the Song Re-Generation.<\/h3>\n
\"Toronto
Toronto Summer Music Festival Art of the Song: Re-Generation (Photo: Joseph So)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto Summer Music Festival Art of the Song:\u00a0Re-Generation 1 and 2 at Walter Hall, Friday, July 22.<\/h3>\n

The 2016 Toronto Summer Music Festival Art of the Song program wrapped up on Friday with two recitals, Re-Generation 1 and 2, at Walter Hall on the campus of University of Toronto. A strong component of the Academy wing of TSMF is the Art of the Song program, where exceptionally gifted young artists are mentored by the best singers and pianists in the business. At the end of the two-week period, a couple of recitals are given to showcase the wealth of talent found every summer at TSMF.<\/p>\n

Participants this year were sopranos Adanya Dunn, Whitney Mather and Ellen McAteer, mezzos Rose Naggar-Tremblay and Simone McIntosh, tenor Asitha Tennekoon and Marcel d\u2019Entremont, and baritone Jeremy Hirsch. Pianists were Rachael Kerr, Helen Becqu\u00e9, Madeleine Christie, and St\u00e9phane Mayer. In the first week, they received coaching from pianists Craig Rutenberg and Cameron Stowe, and in the second week from soprano Sasha Cooke. The public got to hear the end result, in recitals drawn from the French, German, and English song repertoire. Since these recitals are during the day, Walter Hall is never full, which is a shame.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always found these events very enjoyable. It\u2019s great to hear fresh, young voices on the verge of a career, showing us what they can do. The 2016 crop is a particularly good one, with not a weak link in either voice or collaborative piano. To be sure, the road to perfection is an arduous one, and they are not quite there yet. But given their talent, drive and youthful enthusiasm, I predict they\u2019ll forge significant careers.<\/p>\n

The first of two recitals happened at noon. First up was soprano Adanya Dunn with Helen Becqu\u00e9 at the piano, in five short Poulenc songs. These are essentially miniatures and recognisably Poulenc. Dunn has a first rate, lovely lyric soprano, with gleaming tone and hall-filling volume. These pieces are often taken by singers with smaller, lighter instrument, so it\u2019s a refreshing change. She delivered these songs beautifully, with sensitivity and textual nuance. Later in the afternoon, she offered \u201cChevaux des bois\u201d from Ariettes oubli<\/em>\u00e9es<\/em> by Debussy, sung with a lovely sheen. She also gave us from Hugo Wolf\u2019s Spanisches Liederbuch<\/em> \u201cIn dem Schatten meiner Locken,\u201d a rather coy, even sexy song \u2013 within the 19th-century context, that is! \u00a0Dunn delivered it with the feminine playfulness and whimsy. Becqu\u00e9 proved once again a very supportive pianist.<\/p>\n

Soprano Ellen McAteer squeezed five songs into the first recital, allowing her time to prepare for the evening performance of Rape of Lucretia<\/em>. Three familiar songs from Frauenliebe und Leben,<\/em> sung with fresh, youthful tone, a few fleeting moments of unsteadiness notwithstanding.\u00a0 Her interpretation was on the reserved side, just missing a bit more of a smile in the tone in a happy song like \u201cEr, der Herrlichste von allen.\u201d\u00a0 Her best was the soft, radiantly sung \u201cDu Ring an meinem Finger.\u201d Rachael Kerr\u2019s playing was rock solid but never obtrusive, just as it should be. McAteer returned later for \u201cVilles\u201d from Les Illuminations<\/em>, which she had sung previously in the public masterclass. Excellent, very dramatic piano playing by Madeleine Christie. McAteer was anything but reserved in \u201cRoyaut\u00e9\u201d also by Britten, acting out the story with relish.<\/p>\n

\"Toronto
Toronto Summer Music Festival Art of the Song: Re-Generation (Photo: Joseph So)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeremy Hirsch started off with \u201cDas Abendroth\u201d by Schubert. His warm, engaging, forwardly placed baritone was heard to advantage, making a big sound at the top. The lowest notes were more of a work in progress. In the second half, he sang a lovely \u201cSehnsucht nach der Waldegegend.\u201d Over all, a more developed mezza voce<\/em>, particularly in the upper middle of his range and a less open top would serve him well in the future. I also liked his stab at the sardonic \u201cLa paon\u201d by Ravel, very vividly delivered.<\/p>\n

Mezzo Simone McIntosh sang three of the Sieben fr<\/em>\u00fche Lieder<\/em> beautifully. I don\u2019t normally comment on appearance, but her spectacular, Klimt-inspired gold necklace had a real fin de si\u00e8cle air to it and was perfect for the Alban Berg cycle. She sang with lovely, gleaming tone. The only criticism is her rendition of \u201cSommertage\u201d with its tricky pitches was sung a bit tentatively. Perhaps she would have been better off with \u201cDie Nachtigall\u201d as she certainly has the top register to do it justice. Kudos to Rachael Kerr for her impressive piano playing, particularly in \u201cSommertage.\u201d \u00a0For a change of pace, McIntosh sang the Frank Bridge song, \u201cLove went a-riding\u201d with exuberance, helped in no small way by the fabulous playing of St\u00e9phane Mayer.<\/p>\n

\"Toronto
Toronto Summer Music Festival Art of the Song: Re-Generation (Photo: Joseph So)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asitha Tennekoon\u2019s bright, nicely resonant tenor was lovely in three songs from Schumann\u2019s Dichterliebe<\/em>. He sang \u201cIm wundersch\u00f6nen Monat Mai\u201d with expression and sensitive phrasing.\u00a0 I also liked his \u201cPhidyl\u00e9\u201d and \u201cChanson Triste\u201d by Duparc very much, both delivered with a beautiful mezza voce<\/em>. And I was pleasantly surprised by \u201cSince we loved\u201d by Finzi, sung with excellent English diction. Altogether a winning performance. High soprano Whitney Mather contributed three of the Strauss\u2019 Ophelia Songs and three by Debussy. Her bright, soubrette voice with its characteristic flutter and lovely stage presence were ideal in these songs. I can imagine her as a winning Sophie in Werther<\/em>. She also has excellent stage instincts, acting some of these pieces like a mini-opera, holding the stage brilliantly, especially in the Ophelia songs. Well done!<\/p>\n

The one true low female voice in the group belonged to Rose Naggar-Tremblay. It\u2019s a big, rich, hall-filling low mezzo bordering on contralto, yet her top is big and firm. I loved \u201cVon ewige Liebe\u201d by Brahms, which she sang with dramatic acuity. \u201cComment disaient-ils\u201d showed off her excellent technique, complete with a beautifully controlled pianissimo. But the best was \u201cImmer leiser wird mein Schlummer\u201d which really showed off the richness and resonance of her sound. Madeleine Christie and Helen Becqu\u00e9 were the two fine pianists, offering her full support.<\/p>\n

The final singer was tenor Marcel d\u2019Entremont, who also participated in last summer\u2019s masterclass. His development has been quite remarkable, with greater technical security. He sang the Liszt and Strauss with fine German diction. \u201cC\u00e4cilie\u201d has the proper ecstatic quality so important in this piece, and like the masterclass last week, he sang the diminuendo G ending beautifully. Rachael Kerr offered impeccable playing. But the tenor\u2019s best moment was his two pieces in the afternoon. \u201cI hear an army\u201d by Samuel Barber was sung with stentorian tone, practically an opera. He saved the best for last, when he sang Schubert\u2019s \u201cErlk\u00f6nig,\u201d a Mount Everest of German Lieder that taxes the singer and the pianist alike. d\u2019Entremont impressed with clarion tone and dramatic urgency. The four characters (father, child, the Erlking and the narrator) were well distinguished. If I had to quibble, the voice for the child should sound younger. Other than that, he did a fantastic job, as did St\u00e9phane Mayer at the keyboard. It was a fitting end to a marvellous afternoon of song.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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