Suave baritone Stéphane Degout was mood – and word – perfect in the brooding melancholy of Debussy. In perfect collusion with pianist Alain Planès, he was even better in droll fables by Poulenc and Ravel.
On Sunday night Shriver Hall was packed with Baltimore opera fans who had gathered to enjoy a solo recital of the internationally acclaimed opera “anti-diva” Magdalena Kožená. True to her reputation, this Czech mezzo-soprano came on stage dressed in a casual black gown, which (ignoring the dress change tradition established by her stage colleagues) she chose to wear all night long.
