Patrick D. McCoy: 'Examiner: Reigning Divas: Opera Greats Share Historic Stage for the First Time'

[Opera Superstars Kathleen Battle, Denyce Graves and Jessye Norman shared the stage for the first time at a recent performance in D.C.'s Ford's Theatre. Credits: Various]

Here are excerpts from an article by Patrick D. McCoy on Examiner.com:

“What do you get when you put sopranos Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves on the same stage? From all accounts, an inside source stated the obvious to the D. C. Performing Arts Examiner: a performance that bears repeating. Ms. Battle, Ms. Norman and Ms. Graves performed at Washington, D. C.'s Historic Ford's Theatre in honor of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister.”

“According to The Washington Post, the idea to bring the three superstar soloists together came from Wayne Reynolds, who serves as chair of the Ford Theatre's board.”

'In Concert / Kathleen Battle, Jean-Pierre Rampal,' Sony 5136 (1993) Reissued by Arkiv Music

[In Concert / Kathleen Battle, Jean-Pierre Rampal; Sony 5316 (1993) (77 mins.)]

The African American soprano Kathleen Battle and the consummate flute player Jean-Pierre Rampal (1922-2000) recorded In Concert live in Alice Tully Hall in February 1991. The CD was originally issued in 1993, but was recently reissued by Arkiv Music, more than a decade after the death of the legendary flute player. Liner notes are included. A Gramophone review from September 1994 is quoted at the website of Arkiv Music:

“'With flute obbligato': it used to be a regular feature of concerts and recordings by the great madames of old. If their programmes had been as enterprising as this one, they would not have provoked so readily, if unwittingly, the odious term 'canary-fancier'... The bell-like purity of [Battle's] voice is delightful in itself... Her fluency and evenness, her free production of perfectly steady tone, are all admirable and none too common in the world today (but then, she is generally acknowledged to be one of the leading singers in that world). She is also highly skilled in making effective use of her naturally limited power, as, for instance, when she fills out the tone towards the end of 'Sweet Bird' or repeats the words 'can you be' in 'There's not a swain'. The enervated droop of some high sopranos is not for her, and she can turn from mere pleasantness to gaiety, as in some of the Spanish songs...

“Among the songs, Roussel's settings of Ronsard for voice and flute without accompaniment make a strong impression: fine two-part writing and perfect for the occasion. Several others are remarkably happy 'finds', including the Bird-song of Michael Head. But musical interest centres on Martinu's Flute Sonata, a marvellous work... Written in a week at Cape Cod in 1945, it has inexhaustible vitality: apparently simple (but never commonplace), and sometimes dizzyingly intricate and diverse in form and reference...”

-- Gramophone [9/1994]

Works

1. Nel dolce dell'oblio, HWV 134 (Pensieri notturni di Filli) by George Frideric Handel

2. L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, HWV 55: Sweet bird, that shun'st the noise of folly by George Frideric Handel

3. If music be the food of love, Z 379 by Henry Purcell

4. Rule a Wife and Have a Wife, Z 587: There's not a swain by Henry Purcell

5. What can we poor females do?, Z 429 by Henry Purcell

6. Oedipus, Z 583: Music for a while by Henry Purcell

7. Une flûte invisible by Camille Saint-Saëns

8. Poèmes (2) de Ronsard, Op. 26 by Albert Roussel

9. Sonata for Flute and Piano by Bohuslav Martinu

10. Comedy of errors: Lo, here the gentle lark by Henry Bishop

11. Bird-Song by Michael Head

12. Hippolyte et Aricie: Rossignols amoureux (Nightingale aria) by Jean-Philippe Rameau

13. Canciones Clasicas Españolas: Al Amor by Fernando J. Obradors

14. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: Del cabello más sutil by Fernando J. Obradors

15. Canciones Clasicas Españolas: Chiquitita la novia by Fernando J. Obradors

16. Canciones Clásicas Españolas: La mi sola, Laureola... by Fernando J. Obradors

Comment by email:

Bill, Glad to see this back into circulation. Yes Battle was good, very good indeed even excusing dynamic limitations. The CD is actually a bit uneven. However Rampal's version of Martinu's sonata is absolutely definitive!!

Mike

Kathleen Battle in Ottawa Citizen: 'I'm going to sing This Little Light of Mine in an arrangement by Hale Smith'

[ABOVE: Hale Smith (1925-2009) BELOW: Although no longer at her peak, soprano Kathleen Battle still radiates star quality. Photograph by: Image courtesy, Douglas Foulke]

OttawaCitizen.com

"'One of the great voices of our time'

Soprano Kathleen Battle chats with Steven Mazey about her songs and inspirations. She comes to Ottawa Tuesday

By Steven Mazey, The Ottawa Citizen July 3, 2010

“It was 12 years ago, but Ottawa cellist Julian Armour can describe in vivid detail the night he shared a stage with the American soprano once praised by critics as 'among the singing elite of this century' and 'the best lyric coloratura soprano in the world.'"

“Battle has sung with the NACO three times, most recently in 2005, and Armour says he's thrilled to present her in the more intimate recital format Tuesday as part of his new Music and Beyond classical music festival, which begins Monday. Accompanied by pianist Ted Taylor, Battle will perform songs by Schubert, Liszt and Rachmaninov and spirituals, including Way up in Heaven, This Little Light of Mine and Ev'rytime I Feel the Spirit.

“Can you discuss the spirituals you'll perform in Ottawa and why you chose them?

It's mostly from the point of view of the arrangements. The great Hall Johnson arranged two of them, Way up in Heaven and Ev'rytime I feel the Spirit. He was one of the great arrangers ever. I'm going to sing This Little Light of Mine in an arrangement by Hale Smith, who we lost in November. He was a composer, a jazz pianist and a fantastic orchestrator and arranger. His arrangement is so beautiful. [Hale Smith (1925-2009) is profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a complete Works List compiled by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University Conservatory, Appleton, Wisconsin.]