Not since the 1998 debut recitals here by Anna Netrebko and Joyce di Donato has there been such a sensational event in the Schwabacher series as tonight's concert - a debut every bit as promising as those by the earlier two, who have since gone on to fame and fortune. Elza van den Heever - an Adler Fellow, much talked about around here, ever since her arrival from South Africa eight years ago to study at the San Francisco Conservatory, through her switch from mezzo to soprano, and her Merola Program participation - is tall, imposing, with a royal bearing that makes her look more mature than her 25 years. Supported by an admirable accompanist, the Opera Center's John Parr, van den Heever presented an ambitious, varied, demanding, and well-rewarding recital, prompting the full auditorium at Temple Emanu-el to give her several ovations, including one in which San Francisco Opera general director David Gockley was among those on their feet. Even at her relatively tender age, the soprano is not a "young talent." She performs as an accomplished artist - with power that will stand her in good stead in Wagner roles, and with beauty of tone and a brightness that at times - as in Berg's "Die Nachtigall," on the words "wildes Blut" - brought Elisabeth Schwarzkopf to mind. Van den Heever is also an intelligent singer, and a sensitive one, who understands and conveys the innermost meaning of the music (and the text) she sings. Add to that a warm, informal personality, superb communication with the audience, and a genuine, almost childlike enjoyment in performing - and you have a star aborning. She has a good high register, outstanding low notes and, most importantly, she nails everything in the middle voice. Almost alone among young singers performing in the Martin Meyer Sanctuary, van den Heever managed not to create eddies of excessive volume to bounce around the hall; although her voice is huge, mostly she sings instead of SINGING. Unlike most recitals by young artists, usually starting with difficulty or "cold" or getting the feel of the place, van den Heever opened the concert in full flight, at the top of her form, with two difficult Purcell songs, "Sweeter than Roses" and "The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation." Except for hit-and-miss diction (which turned out to be her only liability throughout), the performance was brilliant, the long line of "all is love to me" cascading effortlessly, the echoing repetition of "Gabriel!" haunting and powerful. Next, a delightful "French set," beginning with Berlioz's "Le spectre de la rose," spinning *almost* out of control, but equilibrium quickly regained, and continued with the best rendition of Debussy's "De fleurs" I have ever heard, Parr's accompaniment melting into the singer's superb legato phrases. And the best was yet to come: Duparc's "Extase," supremely simple, heartfelt, and on the line "Mort exquise" with uncanny perfection. Youth will out, however, and van den Heever rushed into the next song instead of allowing the Duparc linger, and... neglecting to take a breath. As she hit the opening high note of Faure's "Fleur jetee," she realized she cannot go on, so wisely, she stopped Parr, said "sorry" to the audience, and started again. The huge applause the followed the set was both in admiration and sympathy. Except for that little mishap, although singing without a score until the last set, the soprano had no other trouble with text or music. Berg's "Sieben Fruhe Lieder" unfolded with gorgeous phrasing, although the singer - whose dual mother tongues are English and the Dutch-based Afrikaans - was as inconsistent with German as with English. Consonants soft, some last letters of words merged into what followed, diction is a clear candidate for improvement. Once again, Parr's pianism was both effective and affecting. With all that went on before, van den Heever's Brahms set was probably the evening's high point. "Wie Melodien zieht es mir" (even with the missing "f" in "Duft" and "ruft"), "Am Sonntag Morgen," the thrillingly quiet lyricism of "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer," the amazingly "right" interpretation of "Von ewiger Liebe," "O komme, holde Sommernacht," the utterly charming "Die Mainacht" - the singer becoming as one with the doves cooing behind the leaves, and "Botschaft" - went from triumph to triumph. Although she didn't need to look at it, van den Heever brought out the score for the first time for the concert-closing Walton "A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table," a devilishly difficult and perhaps not entirely rewarding cycle of five songs, the soprano's powers almost imperceptibly diminishing at long last. With the impossible challenge for good diction in a wacky musical setting, van den Heever nevertheless made "Wapping Old Stairs" work by sheer power of personality. It's impossible to resist her own enjoyment of the humor in the song... even if it takes a reading of the text to figure out what it is. For encore, she sang a beautiful old South African song, in Africaans, and the crowd erupted in ovation for the last time in the evening. The end of the concert, however, more significantly signaled an opening milestone in a great career to come. Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask]