Sunday afternoon Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre was packed. The main floor was filled with Professors from the university and local theater patrons willing to pay a premium to get closer to the stage and the balcony was full of Vocal Performance majors and local high school students who were just as excited for the afternoon’s performance.
Jamie Barton’s much anticipated recital began promptly at four with an announcement from the stage: she’s sick. My heart immediately sank as I assumed she was cutting the recital short, or worse, had been replaced with a healthy singer to pacify the anxious crowd. The director of UMS explained how Jamie Barton had been a part of masterclasses at the university during the week, sang in another concert Friday, and was scheduled to sing at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday (a performance which was live streamed to movie theaters around the world) in addition to this solo recital. Apparently, she knew that something had to give and, much to the relief of the audience, she had canceled her appearance at the Metropolitan Opera and would still present her recital in Ann Arbor.
Her entrance caused a hushed murmur to go through the audience – the beautiful mezzo whom everyone was expecting to come out in a spectacular gown was dressed in black snow boots, jeans and a graphic long sleeve shirt with white angel wings printed on the back. Martin Katz, the pianist for the evening, was dressed more casually than I have ever seen him dressed on a daily basis – much less a concert! Katz’s red button up shirt was hanging, untucked, over light wash jeans and shoes of the non-dressy variety. After the applause and murmurs died down Jamie Barton addressed the audience – apparently your luggage can be lost on a direct flight!
The recital itself was breathtaking. I have heard Jamie Barton perform live before and this (along with her intermittent coughing) was the only reason I could tell that she was under the weather. Even from my seat at the back of the hall, the timbre of her voice was clear and full for the vast majority of the music. The Turina set which began the performance brought my friend to tears and the Chausson set which followed (especially Le colibri and Hebe) were presented in a such sensitive, natural way that caused me to be deeply moved. The last piece of the Chausson set, Les temps des lilas, did not create this same effect as the acting become more of a performance and lost the naturalistic honesty of the previous pieces, however, Jamie Barton’s superb technique and musicality carried the piece well.
Intermission was unusually long as Jamie Barton’s luggage had arrived at the end of the standard intermission length and they had extended it to allow her to change into the gorgeous floor length gown that we had all expected her to wear.
The recital ended with Dvorak’s Gypsy Songs and two pieces by Rachmaninoff. The Gypsy Songs were especially strong – the rest which her voice received during intermission served her well and her voice was the fullest during this set. By the Rachmaninoff set her voice was clearly tired and rather than push through to perform the entire set (risking damaging her voice and performing them at a caliber less than her standards) one of the three pieces from the set was cut.
Jamie Barton presented a magnificent concert on Sunday – a true feat for someone so obviously sick – proving yet again, that the hair, the make up or the gown or even a voice singing to it’s full potential is not what intrigues the audience or moves the masses.
