After three encore performances, the full house at Spaulding Auditorium sounded like it still hadn't gotten enough of mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade.
Though there were several highlights during the show, von Stade's finest moments were during the second half of the program and the three-song encore.
The first half of the concert included Four Ariettes by Alessandro Scarlatti, Five Lieder from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" by Gustav Mahler and Cinco canciones populares Argentinas. She sang with enthusiasm and energy for the final piece of the set, "Gato," and shaded her voice with sadness for Mahler's compositions.
Her technical mastery of the nuances of singing are clearly beyond reproach. Her range and control are near perfect, and technicalities like breathing and enunciation come naturally to her.
However, this is not the most striking aspect of her artistry. She posesses the rare talent of fully engaging her emotions into the compositions, adding something extra that escapes explanation, or rather, transcends explanation. It is the hallmark that has distinguished her as one of the finest singers in the world today. Her emotional intensity during a performance shows through clearly, ruling out any vocal acrobatics or gimmicks.
Another exceptional feature of last night's concert was the diversity of the song selection. Von Stade caught most of the audience off-guard with her second encore performance, "My Funny Valentine," a tune immortalized by jazz musicians in the past few decades.
Other highlights during the second show were six pieces by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives and William Bolcom. Von Stade, in this segment, sang two Emily Dickinson poems set to Copland's music."Why Do They Shut Me Out of Dartmouth" (a parody of "Why Do They Shut Me Out of Heaven") and "Heart, We Will Forget Him" showed the contemplative, pensive side of von Stade's voice while Bolcom's "Amor" was as playful and lighthearted as a Disney theme song.
Von Stade's accompanist, pianist Martin Katz also provided excellent support during the two hour concert. He was quite comfortable playing alongside von Stade -- after all, he regularly performs with soloists such as Marilyn Horn, Kathleen Battle, Cecilia Bartoli and Sylvia McNair.
Katz played with plenty of vigor, especially during "My Funny Valentine," when he employed crowded arpeggiated chords in the tradition of pianists Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner. The University of Michigan professor also eased right into the Latin mood for the five selections titled "Cinco canciones populares Argentinas."
As her career is amidst its third decade, von Stade sounds like she has not lost a step since her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1970. If anything, her voice is more mature, her demeanor more confident, and her singing more refreshed and emotionally intense.
