{"id":64405,"date":"2019-11-05T10:25:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T15:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=64405"},"modified":"2019-11-05T10:27:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T15:27:02","slug":"scrutiny-diva-hibla-gerzmava-makes-grand-entrance-toronto-solo-recital-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/11\/05\/scrutiny-diva-hibla-gerzmava-makes-grand-entrance-toronto-solo-recital-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Diva Hibla Gerzmava Makes A Grand Entrance In Toronto Solo Recital Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abkhasian-Russian soprano Hibla Gerzmava returns to Toronto to wow audiences with an evening of vocalism by one of the most beautiful voices in front of the public today and a stage presence that\u2019s larger than life.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hibla
Hibla Gerzmava in Toronto (Photo : Vladimir Kevorkov)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Songs by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Hahn, and Faure; arias by Donizetti, Verdi, and Bellini. Hibla Gerzmava, soprano; Ekaterina Ganelina, piano. Show One Productions. 7 p.m. Koerner Hall, Toronto, November 3, 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cS<\/span>he came, she sang, she conquered\u201d may sound a bit like the PR hyperbole of an artist agency, but to those of us in attendance Sunday evening at Koerner Hall, it was a pretty apt description.<\/p>\n

Abkhasian-Russian soprano Hibla Gerzmava returned to Toronto after having wowed audiences two years ago as a soloist in Russian conductor Vladimir Spivakov\u2019s Moscow Virtuosi concert at Roy Thomson Hall. I wrote at the time in my review<\/a><\/span>:<\/p>\n

\u201c…a dark-hued spinto, beautiful, smooth and rich, with an impressive upper extension and agility. Her voice has excellent focus, and her stage presence is larger than life. In a striking gown and a very high hairdo topped with a chignon, she was every inch the diva.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That just about sums it up for her return visit, this time to make her Toronto solo recital debut in the acoustically friendly Koerner Hall. The voice last evening was every bit as beautiful, used with musicality and discerning taste. And her stage persona was that of a diva, from the flourish of her cape to her fingertips. The only thing missing last evening was her chignon.<\/p>\n

\"Hibla
Hibla Gerzmava in Toronto (Photo : Vladimir Kevorkov)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

L<\/span>et\u2019s not forget her powerful sense of drama. With the audience awaiting the soprano\u2019s arrival on stage, the house lights suddenly went out. We all thought, \u201cUh oh, what\u2019s happening?!\u201d No, there was no power failure. It was turned off to allow Gerzmava to make a grand entrance in her stunning outfit complete with cape, already facing the audience when the lights came back on.<\/p>\n

She opened with four groups of Russian songs, beginning with Glinka. It took her a very short time to warm up, and after that she was marvelous. One is struck by the beauty and purity of her timbre, its rich, smooth, and beautiful qualities. Her vibrato is on the fast side in high fortes but completely unobtrusive, unlike many Slavic voices.<\/p>\n

Russians songs do tend to be sad and often composed in the minor key \u2014 it seems that even the happy ones are somewhat melancholic, as if the collective soul of the Russian people is laid bare. Gerzmava sang like these pieces are in her DNA. Among the Russian songs, I was more familiar with the Rachmaninoff group, especially Lilacs, Op. 21, No. 2.<\/em> I first heard Elisabeth S\u00f6derstr\u00f6m sing this in Toronto over thirty years ago, and it left an indelible impression on me:<\/p>\n

In life, only one happiness \/ it was fated for me to discover \/ and that happiness lives in the lilacs \/ in the green boughs \/ in the fragrant bunches \/ my poor happiness blossoms.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Hibla
Hibla Gerzmava in Toronto (Photo : Vladimir Kevorkov)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he smooth-as-silk vocalism of Gerzmava in this song was marvelous \u2014 I thought I could smell the lilacs \u2014 well, almost. It would have been perfect if my favourite Rachmaninoff song, Spring Waters<\/em>, was on the program, but it was not. Oh well, there\u2019s always next time!<\/p>\n

If I were to quibble \u2014 why no translations of song text? To be sure, most of the audience members were Russian speakers, but what about the rest of us poor souls? While I\u2019m at it, there was far too much extraneous applause. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s elitist to say that one should refrain from clapping between the aria and the cabaletta of both Anna Bolena<\/em> and Norma<\/em>, which continued even when the pianist raised her hand to ask the offenders to stop.<\/p>\n

The second half consisted of high voltage opera arias alternating with French art songs \u2014 a clever bit of programming. The soft, ethereal French chansons \u2014 which she sang exquisitely \u2014 allow the singer a respite from the Italian barnburners of Donizetti, Verdi, and Bellini. Gerzmava opened with the long scena<\/em> from Donizetti\u2019s Anna Bolena<\/em>.<\/i> It\u2019s the best part of the opera, as Anna is preparing to have her head chopped off. While Gerzmava never gave the impression that she was going to lose her head, everything else was there.<\/p>\n

In \u201cPace, pace\u201d from Forza<\/em>, her smooth vocalism was very much in evidence, and she could summon up plenty of drama, as in the climactic high B at the end, which she held impressively. True, her pianissimo B-flat wasn\u2019t the softest on record, but she made up for it with dramatic urgency. Brava! The pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance<\/em> for me was \u201cCasta Diva\u201d from Norma<\/em>, aria proper plus cabaletta, a real test piece for the dramatic coloratura soprano voice.<\/p>\n

Her wonderfully serene opening slowly built to repeated high A’s followed by the B-flat, before the descent, one of the most sublime melodies in Italian bel canto. Gerzmava sang the high A\u2019s as a single \u201cattack,\u201d which is non-traditional and not to everyone\u2019s taste. Surprisingly, she also did it with a couple of extra breaths. Elsewhere in the cabaletta, her runs and coloratura in general weren\u2019t quite impeccable, but given the size of her voice and its dramatic weightiness, it remained an impressive showing.<\/p>\n

\"Hibla
Hibla Gerzmava in Toronto (Photo : Vladimir Kevorkov)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A<\/span>s you can imagine, by now she had the audience eating out of her hand. The ovations were endless, including many bouquets as is the typical Russian tradition. By the way, one audience member couldn\u2019t wait to the end and went to the front of the stage to hand her a bouquet \u2014 fifteen minutes after the start of the show and<\/em> in between songs! In my nearly six decades of attending concerts, this was a first.<\/p>\n

Through it all, pianist Ekaterina Ganelina was rock solid, not to mention impeccable, showing off her excellent technique but never taking the spotlight from the singer. By then, the audience with its rhythmic applause brought the artists back again and again. Gerzmava\u2019s first encore was the Neapolitan song \u201cNon ti scordar di me\u201d by Ernesto de Curtis. With that kind of superb vocalism, she has no fear of being forgotten!<\/p>\n

She then sang two Russian songs unknown to me. I was particularly taken by the second song, in a cabaret-operetta style. The Russians in the audience were really responding to the songs. I will endeavour to find out the details and amend it here. It was a wonderful end to an evening of vocalism by one of the most beautiful voices in front of the public today. Let\u2019s hope the Show One Impresaria Extraordinaire<\/em>, Svetlana Dvoretsky, will bring her back to Toronto.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us\u00a0on <\/em>Facebook<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span>, <\/em>Instagram<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span> <\/b>or <\/em>Twitter<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abkhasian-Russian soprano Hibla Gerzmava returns to Toronto to wow audiences with an evening of vocalism by one of the most beautiful voices in front of the public today and a stage presence that\u2019s larger than life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":64411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43,52,56,63],"tags":[9611,32612,3006],"yst_prominent_words":[32599,32597,32601,32598,32602,32388,32619,32617,32614,32387,32616,32613,6606,32620,32219,32600,14743,32618,32615,32621],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/11\/Hibla-Gerzmava-header.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-gKN","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64405"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64416,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64405\/revisions\/64416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64405"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=64405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}