Sumptuous Strauss from Louise Alder

By Mark Pullinger, 23 July 2017

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“her melting opening lines of À Chloris won me over immediately”

Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 22 July 2017

Hahn, Mélodies, 2e recueil: À Chloris

Hahn, Douze Rondels: Le Printemps

Debussy, Quatre chansons de jeunesse

Liszt, Tre sonetti di Petrarca, S 270

Poulenc, Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon, FP 122

Strauss R., Wie erkenn ich mein Treulieb?, Op.67 Nr.1

Strauss R., Guten Morgen, 's ist Valentinstag, Op.67 Nr.2

Strauss R., Sie trugen ihn auf der Bahre bloß, Op.67 Nr.3

Strauss R., Ständchen, Op.17 no.2

Strauss R., Allerseelen (All Souls' Day), Op.10 no.8

Strauss R., Heimliche Aufforderung, Op.27 no.3

Strauss R., Zueignung (Dedication), Op.10 no.1

Strauss R., Morgen! Op.27 no.4

Britten, On this Island for soprano or tenor and piano, Op.11

Bolcom, Cabaret songs: George

Louise Alder, Soprano

Gary Matthewman, Piano

Leeds Lieder+ From Europe to America – A Day of Song

Richard Wilcocks, 14th October

The sharp linguistic and enunciative abilities of Romanian mezzo Adriana Festeu are as impressive as her singing. Accompanied by Nico de Villiers, she launched “Leeds Lieder+ From Europe to America – A Day of Song” in the morning at Leeds University’s Clothworkers Hall with “Songs My Mother Taught Me”. She dealt very convincingly with Dvořák’s Gypsy Songs in Czech, followed by 5 Lieder, Op.

****1

Songs of Travel at the Wigmore Hall with Roderick Williams and Gary Matthewman

Emily Owen, 12th September

Those few seconds of breathless silence at the end of a recital before thunderous applause are a rare thing, and a sure sign that the evening has been a success. Such was the case at the Wigmore Hall on Wednesday night after Roderick Williams and Gary Matthewman were called back to the stage for a second encore.

****1

Willis-Sørensen headlines a successful Arabella revival at the Met

Ako Imamura, 10th November

The Metropolitan Opera revives Otto Schenk’s venerable staging of Strauss’s intimate melodrama.

****1

A strong new Figaro opens at Glyndebourne

Dominic Lowe, 29th June

Mariame Clément is a popular director at Glyndebourne, and her new production of Figaro shows her trademark approach to hardhitting comedy.

****1

Everlasting Everding: another beautiful Munich Zauberflöte revival

Laura Servidei, 4th January

August Everding’s Magic Flute is revived in Munich with a solid cast for the enjoyment of all ages.

***11

All play and no work: an exuberant Figaro in Munich

Orsolya Gyárfás, 17th July

Evgeny Titov's new production is heavy on the jokes and light in substance, but delights anyway thanks to its high-class cast.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Sumptuous Strauss from Louise Alder in Wigmore jump-in