SWEET & EASY
By Robert Commanday
David Daniels made his long anticipated regional recital debut
Friday in UC Berkeley's Hertz Hall. It was a performance that
confirmed his eminence as a countertenor, or more probably as male
mezzo soprano (male alto would be the traditional term), that his
voice is a phenomenon, his vocalism effortless and fluid. The singing
is true, consistent, a most grateful sound on the ears, always, and
the technique, if not always the diction, impeccable. Impressive as
that was, enough to stir the enthusiasms that evening, what was not
established was the completeness or depth of his artistry. Where
his selections were not light in weight, the performances often made
them seem so. This had to do with the very fluency that was at once
so engaging and something admired for its own sake, for effect.
In the first group, of 17th and 18th century songs, the variant
ornamentations he applied in Lotti's "Pur dicesti, o bocca bella"
lubricated the repetitions generously. But it was not until after
Caldara's familiar "Selve amiche," the Lotti, and the more interesting
Cesti, "Intorno al'idol mio" that some dramatic tension and weight
was found, in Gluck's "O del mio dolce ardor." ...
http://www.sfcv.org/
Janos Gereben/SF
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