Why would a 23-year-old sing Schumann's "Dichterliebe"?

Because he can.

He really can, Brad Alexander does, and he proved it today at the
Schwabacher Debut Recital in San Francisco's Old First Church.  Vocally
exceptional, emotionally-intellectually well on the way, it was a
remarkable reading of a classic masterpiece that is always a challenge,
even for noted baritones twice Alexander's age.

Very young people can write great music or perform it brilliantly on the
piano or violin, but singing requires maturity - physical and otherwise -
especially so in the lower range.  (Please concentrate on not thinking
about a certain English lass or pink elephants; we do not want to go
there.)

Alexander, a Merola graduate and current Adler Fellow, is winning prizes
left and right these days, but he is apparently not interested in making
"Ciao, Brad" just yet.  He used the opportunity of his recital debut to
present a low-key, difficult, important piece of music.  That's an A for
good intentions.  The same high grade goes for a thoughtful, sincere
presentation.

The equipment is outstanding: a high, warm, lyric baritone, but with
some steel underneath.  It's a voice producing a clean sound, even in the
echo-filled din of the hall.  Most of the diction was excellent, but with
some swallowed syllables here and there.

Medium grade goes for conveying the varied, deep feelings of both
Schumann's music and Heine's text.  All those tears did not flow
sufficiently, although the enchantment with the lover (and love itself)
was well expressed.  Upbeat songs - "The Rose, the Lily," "There Is Fluting
and Fiddling" - were fine, but the deep, strong resentment of "I Bear No
Grudge" wasn't nearly intense enough.  On a more elementary level, there
were numerous (although slight) problems with intonation.

Beyond fault-finding, however, there was a beautifully sung cycle, made
whole by John Parr's partnering (rather than "accompaniment") on the piano.
The concluding passage was simply glorious.

Withal, the Schumann served as a warm-up act - ridiculous as that may sound
about "Dichterliebe."

This was a joint recital, with the second half taken up by 26-year-old
Elena Bocharova, a former Merola and Adler participant.  She too chose an
unconventional, bold program.  The seven Tchaikovsky and eight Rachmaninov
songs Bocharova presented were quiet, thoughtful pieces (with one riotous
exception), and although the Russian-born San Franciscan has a big voice,
she avoided showy, "popular" music.

Bocharova is at the beginning of a promising opera career, singing Mercedes
in an upcoming Seattle "Carmen" and Olga in the Hawaii Opera Theater
"Eugene Onegin." She has the perfect voice for both, but clearly she is
working up to Carmen herself, Dalila, maybe Eboli, certainly lyric mezzo
roles, to which she can bring extra power.

Hers is a rich, well-projected, "very Russian" mezzo, unusual in that
category by her attention to detail and the meaning of the text.  The
Tchaikovsky songs, especially, sound pretty much the same, to a non-Russian
audience, but Bocharova's approach to them, her artistic integrity,
brought out the subtle differences, the wealth of detail under the apparent
similarity of the main musical lines.  Better-known songs, such as "None
But the Lonely Heart," were "balanced" with the likes of the wonderful
Tchaikovsky-Apukhtin "Does the Day Reign?" "Not a Word, O My Friend" and
"To Forget So Soon" made a deep impression.

The exception to the over-all Chekhovian resignation and quiet sorrow was
"The Cuckoo," a very funny and somewhat suicidal song, which ends with an
endless string of imitations of the bird's call.  Bocharova finally brought
her hand to her throat and then, Parr working up to a big final "Cuckoo!"
she stepped forward, opened her mouth. . .  and no sound came forth.

The mezzo, I believe, is the first singer in the Schwabacher recital series
appearing in a designer gown.  The dress' black mat material is also used
as a stole and, apron-like, it comes down front to the floor, with white
lace showing through side slits.  I have no idea who the designer is, but
the inevitable word for the costume is "interesting."

Janos Gereben/SF
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