As part of Lang Lang’s Perspective Series, Angel Blue joined the pianist in his first full-concert duo to make her Carnegie Hall recital debut. The program covered a wide range, from turn of the 20th century French mélodies through late Romantic romances and Lieder to songs from musical theater and African American spirituals.
The evening began with three mélodies by Gabriel Fauré. Blue was most moving in the opener, Clair de lune, where she successfully reined in her huge dramatic soprano to create a calm, quietly reflective mood. While her French diction was mushy, her seamless legato traced the music’s gentle curves with clear, bright sound as it moved from a pianissimo opening to expressive crescendos in key passages.
Three impassioned outpourings by Rachmaninov allowed the singer ample variety of interpretation, from the mournful resignation of Sing not to me, beautiful maiden to the relaxing calm of How fair this spot and the ecstatic joy of Spring Waters, which showed off her agility in the upper register. However, as the evening progressed, one increasingly wished that the volume of Blue’s voice could be brought down a notch. This was especially true in the songs by Richard Strauss, where the elegiac Allerseelen and the hopeful Morgen! were noticeably lacking in Lieder-like intimacy, and the final reiteration of "O Glück!" (O joy!) in Befreit and the climax of Cäcilie were uncomfortably loud.
While there were moments to admire in the first half of the program, Blue’s enormous voice came across as less than ideal for this song repertoire. Other singers have invested these pieces with more singular characterization. Her interpretations seemed to rely more on her powerful operatic sound.
The second half of the evening was more satisfying. Following three art songs by the 20th century neo-romantic Lee Hoiby – the most engaging being the lovely Winter Song – Blue moved into a cabaret mood for three selections from musical theater. Sitting on a stool and armed with a microphone, she was movingly melancholic in Harold Arlen’s I Wonder What Became of Me and then segued directly into a somewhat hasty delivery of George Gershwin’s Our Love Is Here to Stay. She remained seated but abandoned the mic for a rakish rendition of Kurt Weill’s Youkali, an amusing tango-habanera about the search for a lost island paradise.
The recital concluded with four spirituals, all rendered with vigor and heart. A poignant delivery of pianist Stephen Hough’s In His Hands – blending He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – led into an ardent, high decibel account of Deep River. Hall Johnson’s version of the triumphant Ride On, King Jesus ended the sequence on a jazzy note.
Lang Lang was an attentive and strongly supportive partner for Blue throughout the evening, offering delicate or more highly spirited accompaniment as required, but was most impressive in his two solos. In Debussy’s Clair de lune his shimmering, almost weightless notes conjured up a moonlit landscape of soft, ethereal beauty, and his gentle rendering of Aaron Copland’s Story of Our Town perfectly captured the sense of peace associated with rural New England in the early 20th century.
For an encore, Blue invited Victory Brinker, a 13-year-old soprano she has been coaching, to share the stage with her and Lang Lang in what proved to be the vocal highlight of the evening – an enchanting performance of Puccini’s well-known aria "O mio babbino caro" from his opera Gianni Schicchi.
