|
RECITAL REVIEW
The Dawn of Twyla
March 18, 2001
|
By Janos Gereben
Twyla J Robinson (the J, without a period, is a tribute to her grandmother, Juanita) is 30. The soprano from Louisiana is now in her second Adler Fellowship, having also participated in the Merola Program. On Sunday afternoon, in her Schwabacher Debut Recital, she filled Old First Church with her clear, bright, powerful voice. Using great diction in English, German, French, Norwegian, and Swedish, she conveyed genuine humor and drama and a calm, self-confident, appealing presence. Few young singers come with a "package" so complete.
The program was exemplary: interesting, varied, an intelligent mix of standards and rarities, all well suited to Robinson's voice. This voice — already heard locally in roles as varied as Lady Billows in Albert Herring and First Lady in The Magic Flute — shifted effortlessly from Haydn to Poulenc to Wolf to Grieg to Sibelius to songs by Edwin Penhorwood to text by Emily Dickinson and Callum MacColl, and, in the end, to an a capella Irish song. (For the rest of the concert, Carol Isaac served as the fine, if occasionally overeager, accompanist.)
Robinson's consistent intonation and control at the high end of her considerable range are impressive indeed. Where she may need some work is in maintaining legato when singing in the lower range. But beyond matters of technique, the important thing about her is the effortless, believable sincerity of the presentation, whether the subject is whimsy, tragedy, quiet sadness, or uproarious mocking of the town's staying up all night to catch the man visiting his lover. Even without a single operatic selection in her recital (which is a bit strange, but there were no complaints), Robinson presented a convincing vocal and dramatic claim for some choice on the stage.
(Janos Gereben is arts editor of the Post Newspaper Group and technology editor for www.the451.com. You can contact him at janos451@earthlink.net.)
©2001 Janos Gereben, all rights reserved
|