San Francisco Classical Voice

A holiday program with the intriguing title of "Mysteries of the Season" graced Tiburon's Shepherd of the Hills Church, Sunday, with soprano Michelle Troise, harpist Cheryl Ann Fulton, and pianist Alexander Katsman presenting music mostly associated with winter and the Nativity. Overall, unfortunately, the occasion missed its mark. This event, with program notes extolling the performers, opened with remarks that promised spiritual uplift and intense listening pleasure, but foundered on the mundane rocks of erratic programming, apparently inadequate rehearsal, and vocal problems.

The handsome sanctuary was infused with afternoon sunlight streaming through large windows that provided a panoramic view of lofty pines and San Francisco Bay. Troise began by inviting members of the audience to close their eyes and relax into experiencing sounds through "every cell of their bodies," promising a greater appreciation of the event and the music.

The songs of first half of the program, Strauss' Die Nacht ("Night") and Das Georgine, ("The Dahlia"), Fauré's Autonne ("Autumn"), and Brahms' Geistliche Wiegenlied ("Sacred Lullaby") seemed to have been chosen for their textual rather than their musical affinity. The Brahms lullaby, though written for voice, viola, and piano, suffered from omission of the string part and so lacked the gravitas that the viola obbligato should provide.

The second half of the program consisted of carols from many parts of the world, several set to familiar melodies but with lesser-known words. Copland's setting of the Appalachian tune "A Gift to be Simple" was the vehicle here for the spiritual-like "Lord of the Dance." Troise's message came across with more immediacy in these songs than in those of the program's first half. She's lived in France and has excellent French, but her rendition of German texts was less successful. The final song, Cantique de No”l, was accompanied by the lever harp, which has only gut strings and did not offer the support needed for this dramatic celebration of Advent. The available piano accompaniment might have been a more suitable choice.

Michelle Troise has a rich, warm, mezzo-soprano voice, especially in the middle and lower registers. However, her wide vibrato, together with a tendency to sing on the lower edge of a note, makes her pitch difficult to hear. She has a smooth legato line, but her intonation in moving passages could be improved. Was there some vocal difficulty that necessitated a sip of water before nearly every song?

In harp solos interspersed with the songs, Cheryl Ann Fulton played haunting, traditional Celtic melodies. These were well executed on her contemporary instrument, a design she helped create, which, lacking metal strings, produces a muted, flutelike sound. Pianist Alexander Katsman's playing was wooden, sometimes inaccurate, and often insensitive to the singer's needs.

Following warm applause, Ms Troise offered as an encore, Gershwin's Summertime, a strange choice for a program devoted to the winter solstice. Her vocal technique proved unsuited to its high tessitura. Ms Troise is new to the Bay Area, and one hopes that she will soon conquer her vocal difficulties and release her rich, warm, potentially very moving, voice.

(Margot Power has performed solo roles with the Baltimore Civic Opera and San Francisco Spring Opera, with the Carmel Bach Festival, and with many symphony orchestras. Originally a concert pianist, she has more recently specialized in lieder singing.)

©1999 Margot Power, all rights reserved