Just being "perfect" in opera and lieder is not what sets Barbara Bonney
aside from other singers.  There are those -- if not many -- who have her
unerring pitch, consistent tempo, clear diction, convincing expression of
emotions, spectacular good looks, brightness and...  why go on? She has it
all.

The truly special Bonney quality -- coming through repeatedly tonight
in her Herbst Theater recital -- is in those thrilling moments when her
voice soars under full power -- clean, clear, gorgeous, arching, peaking,
reminding the audience of great singers of the past, and yet a voice
uniquely hers.

In a program of Scandinavian music, Bonney offered two cycles by Grieg,
Swedish and Finnish songs by Sibelius (including the dizzying "Lost in the
forest," performed so authentically that at the end, she almost lost her
balance), and the novelty (in the U.S.) of songs by Wilhelm Stenhammar.
These century-old works, very much part of Swedish musical literature but
virtually unknown here, were most rewarding with their romantic, melodic,
passionate sound and text.

Beginning with "The girl came home from meeting her lover" (whose setting
by Sibelius was also on the program) and climaxing with "Sweden" (a virtual
anthem in that country), Bonney gave her all to these songs, caught up in
and giving convincing expression to the lyrical beauty of "Guiding spirit,"
"Adagio," "To a rose," and "In the forest."

Through the evening, Thomas Schuback provided sensitive, self-effacing
accompaniment.  The Swedish pianist and conductor -- with extensive
experience in Australia -- has conducted opera in the U.S., and he has
over 30 recordings in recitals with Bonney, Hakan Hagegard, Elisabeth
Soderstrom, Tatiana Troyanos, and Gosta Winbergh.

Tomorrow, San Francisco Performances will give us Bonney and Schuback
again, in Herbst, with an afternoon program of tribute to Jenny Lind.

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