John Holiday
Holiday Time
Countertenor John Holiday gave a beautiful recital in the Dallas Opera and Nasher Sculpture Center's Sculpting Sounds series.
published Saturday, March 16, 2019
Dallas
— The interdisciplinary approach toward art has always yielded great
innovations in artistic imagination and understanding. The delicate
weaving together of genres and styles breathes new life into the old,
ushering in exciting new interpretations of performance practice and
creative standards.
In a new partnership between The Dallas Opera and the Nasher Sculpture Center
called Sculpting Sounds, these principles operate in great effect as
the performing and visual arts come together; the program on March 10
featured a vocal recital inspired by the museum’s special exhibitions,
followed by a gallery tour.
Moreover, the featured soloist, Texas-native and acclaimed countertenor John Holiday,
demonstrated an adeptness across multiple vocal disciplines that, when
married together so seamlessly, worked to convey lovely artistry and a
moving narrative.
The first half of Holiday’s program consisted of beautiful French and
German art song, centered on a unifying theme of love, longing, and
romance. On pieces like “Si Mes Vers Avaient Des Alles (If My Verses Had
Wings)” and “À Chloris (For Chloris),” both by composer Reynaldo Hahn,
his diction was delicate and sensitive, with lush, long lines that were
warm throughout. Holiday’s countertenor is sweet and expressive, with a
natural affinity for the French style. The German was treated with equal
care and expression, but with what felt like an extra layer of verve.
Beethoven’s idyllic “Der Kuss (The Kiss)” whistled with charm as the
fullness of Holiday’s brightness gave movement and drive to each
animated crescendo. Holiday also displayed his virtuosic prowess on
“Adelaide,” also by Beethoven. The piece was active and athletic in its
diverse colors and tempi, and Holiday’s countertenor offered a unique
interpretation that was at once warm and light.
The second half of his program was characterized by selections from H. Leslie Adams’ song cycle Nightsongs,
which features the musical setting of poetry from African-American
poets. Here, Holiday’s technique was dripping with ethos. The movements
moved through wrenching lamentations to moments of reverent
introspection. Adam’s compositions draw on familiar tonalities that
harken to old Negro spirituals, which lead effectively into his final
set of jazz inspired selections.
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